Alexander Blasts Post Office Closure And Local Media Coverage

MP for Falkirk, Eric Joyce is responsible for the closure of the Thornhill Road Post Office and the local press are covering up for him says SNP Councillor David Alexander.

An angry row has erupted following the announcement that the busy Thornhill Road Post Office is to close following a proposed cull of 2,500 post offices ordered by the UK New Labour government.

Local New Labour MP, Eric Joyce, has leaked details of the closure of the post office to the local media then proceeded to spin the line that he was opposed to the very process he had voted for.

Mr Joyce faced a broadside from long term local Councillor for the area, David Alexander who described the MP's behaviour as "sadly typical of the spin over substance that New Labour have become known for."

Mr Alexander went on to say,

"Eric Joyce voted for the closure of a further 2,500 post offices on top of the 4,000 that have already closed since New Labour came to power in 1997.

It is inconceivable that there would not be post offices within his Falkirk constituency yet the most loyal of Tony Blair's back benchers was prepared to vote for the closure programme."

Councillor Alexander also hit out at the local Falkirk Herald for their coverage of the issue after they refused to publish a letter from the Councillor that was critical of the MP. The full text of the letter is published below.

"We have become used to the political bias of the Falkirk Herald over the years but recently the paper has become even more partisan.

The balance sought by the reported to Mr Joyce's public comments on this issue was not, as you would have expected, provided by political opponents but by the Labour Leader of Falkirk Council, Linda Gow. This is bizarre given that only a month previously Mrs Gow had defeated an SNP motion calling on the local MP's to support Falkirk Council's position of opposing post office closures.

Gow and Joyce write the spin and the Falkirk Herald publish it."

The SNP had launched a campaign to save the post office with a public meeting arranged for 18 October in the Thornhill Road Community Centre with Michael Matheson MSP and a representative of Post Watch Scotland as the main speakers.

Posters advertising the meeting and 3000 leaflets will be distributed throughout the Thornhill, Middlefield, Castings and Bog Road areas over the next week.

For more information on the campaign contact Cllr David Alexander on 01324 506166

Text of letter to the Falkirk Herald

Dear Sir

I was surprised and disappointed by the coverage of the threat of the closure of the Thornhill Road Post Office.

First of all, the threat only exists because the UK Labour government, including the MP for Falkirk, have decided to close a further 2,500 post offices on top of the 4000 already closed since Labour came to power in 1997, a fact omitted from the article.

Also omitted was the fact Eric Joyce has effectively misused his position to leak information ahead of the release date in order to create the false impression of the MP's support for local post offices.

As recently as August the matter of the cull of post offices was debated within Falkirk Council's Policy and Resources committee. An SNP motion calling on the local Labour MP's, Eric Joyce and Michael Connarty, to support the council and the Scottish government's position that there should be no further post office closures was defeated by the casting vote of the leader of Falkirk Council's Labour / Tory Administration.

The people of Falkirk and district, particularly the communities who will be affected by the cuts deserve to be told the facts by the local media, not faced by national tabloid New Labour spin.

Yours sincerely

Cllr David Alexander
SNP Group Leader