Postal Services: Rural Areas

Bayo Alaba Excerpts

Wednesday 4th February 2026 Westminster Hall

[Mr Bayo Alaba (Southend East and Rochford) (Lab)]

It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. I thank the hon. Member for South Shropshire (Stuart Anderson) for securing this important debate. I have heard from many constituents about the challenges they face in receiving reliable and consistent postal services, so I am grateful to him.

Far too often, those living in rural and semi-rural areas feel that they are expected to simply accept a less efficient service than more urban communities, and the consequences of that disparity are clear. To be clear, I salute the staff of our postal service, who work unbelievably hard, but are sadly being let down by management—I say that as the son of a postie and mum who worked for Royal Mail.

The modern challenge is very real. In Shoebury, for example, a small town bordering Southend, my constituents have long endured a postal service that feels disjointed and dysfunctional. I have spoken to residents who have had Christmas presents arrive months late and legal letters lost, and who have missed vital medical appointments due to letters arriving after their allotted date.

That is just not good enough. Being located at the end of a railway line or beyond the boundaries of a busy city cannot be a justification for substandard service. Residents of Shoebury and across the UK feel that they are being punished on the basis of their geographical location. We also know that, in many cases, the most rural parts of this country have older populations, for whom a reliable postal service is even more crucial. Although many people are moving away from paper communications, that is not the case for everybody. We cannot allow those who rely on traditional post to be neglected.

I welcome the Government’s decision to launch the first comprehensive review of the Post Office in 15 years, and I look forward to seeing how investment will improve services across the country.

Pub and Hospitality Sector

Bayo Alaba Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Westminster Hall

[Mr Bayo Alaba (Southend East and Rochford) (Lab)]

I thank the hon. Member for Mid Leicestershire (Mr Bedford) for securing this debate. This is a matter close to me because my background is in the hospitality sector. I spent 23 years running and owning bars, pubs, restaurants and festivals, and I provided consultancy services to the industry. In my role as the MP for Southend East and Rochford, I have spoken to a lot of businesses because they are particularly important to the regeneration of the town centre and the high street, and that is something that I have been keenly engaged with.

With all those industries, as some hon. Members have mentioned, it is quite important how they run, plan and make their business. The example that they have given me is the increasing costs from business rates, food, beverages and even wages, which make their businesses quite hard to run. They shoulder that burden, sometimes against the backdrop of increasing antisocial behaviour and decreasing footfall. Those are the challenges that, as I have mentioned before, I faced myself in running my business. I am sure many Members here, once upon a time, worked in pubs and bars as an entry-level job to get into the workplace. We should not underestimate the importance of the soft skills that this sector develops, such as responsibility, punctuality, problem solving and dealing with people from many cultures in different types of situations. Other businesses benefit from those as those individuals move further into the workplace.

It is also worth noting that many operators in this sector, including myself, in some circumstances put their life savings into their business as well. It is important that we support this industry. Pubs and bars provide a vibrant hospitality sector, and it is an industry that helps the next generation prepare for work. Service providers and operators in this sector should be championed for what they provide for our communities.