Local Post Offices

Jessica Toale Excerpts

Thursday 30th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jessica Toale (Bournemouth West) (Lab)]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for Taunton and Wellington (Gideon Amos) for securing this debate. Members across the House have spoken eloquently about the importance of their local post office, particularly at a time when high streets across the country are suffering. Shops have closed, and banks have left or are leaving the high street. The post office is usually the remaining thriving hub of activity on the high street.

Last year, residents found out from media reports that the future of Westbourne post office was uncertain. There was no prior consultation, and no input from those who use it daily. Many of them wrote to me with their concerns about the loss of such an essential community asset, and I share their worries about the possible loss of such a popular and well-used service.

At the end of November, we launched a petition to save this much-loved post office. To date, more than 2,200 people in the area have signed it. As part of the petition, I asked people to share what they love so much about the post office and what it means to them, and I have been inundated with messages from local residents. It is essential to businesses that use its services, and to the disabled and elderly, who need it for banking, paying bills and accessing government services. It always has a queue coming out of the door. It has been described as a lifeline and the heart of the community. I will read out a few of the responses I received, to give the House a sense of the importance of our post office. One reads:

“It is an essential service for so many in the area. I am disabled and I can’t travel further to deal with the things the Post Office helps with. It’s nearly always busy, with queues out of the door. To remove it is sheer madness”.

Another response reads:

“The Post Office has been open since 1910 and is an essential part of Westbourne village. It serves as a vital resource for elderly residents like me, who may not know how to use the internet and no longer have any banks in the area”.

Another person said:

“As a manager of a local charity shop, the post office is integral to our day to day running as provides banking opportunities and enables us to send stock. We use it for stationery and supplies. It’s a vital part of the community”.

That is just a snapshot of the responses I have received from different sections of the community. They show that the post office is not simply a business; it is an essential for many people who use it.

I have heard from the Post Office that no decisions have been made yet about the future of the branch. Like my hon. Friend the Member for Chelsea and Fulham (Ben Coleman), I have heard that the branch is losing money, but I have not seen any evidence of that. I know a franchise model is being explored, which may have benefits. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for North Durham (Luke Akehurst) for raising the issue of WHSmith. We are concerned locally about the franchise model because our branch of WHSmith has just closed in the town centre, not far from the post office branch. Understandably, there is scepticism locally about relying on that model, when we have just seen the loss of a post office, with no plan to replace it, despite the high demand for its services.

I welcome the Government’s commitment to the Post Office, the financial support that has been outlined, and the forthcoming Green Paper. That shows that the Government understand the importance of post offices to communities. In his closing remarks, I hope the Minister can reassure us that there will be no impact on the quality of services that communities get, and that he is exploring all options—for example, the possibility of providing services, including banking services, through hubs, or offering Government services in post offices to make them viable and keep them in communities. I reassure my constituents in Bournemouth West that I will continue to fight for the post office in Westbourne, and the ones in the town centre.

Budget Resolutions

Jessica Toale Excerpts

Wednesday 6th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Jessica Toale (Bournemouth West) (Lab)]

As the Business Secretary and many hon. Friends have said, the central mission of this Government is to get the economy growing after years of stagnation. Fourteen years of poor economic management and short-term decision making are writ large in my town centre in Bournemouth West and in high streets up and down the country, as my hon. Friend the Member for Leigh and Atherton (Jo Platt) set out so powerfully. We see this in our creaking infrastructure and the crumbling schools that my hon. Friend the Member for Kettering (Rosie Wrighting) mentioned and the pothole-ridden streets we drive our cars on. While the public made their views on the state of the country very clear on 4 July, the Conservative party seems still to be in denial. This Budget gives us the opportunity to turn a page, fix the foundations and rebuild our country.

I welcome the Business Secretary and Chancellor’s focus on investment. My constituency of Bournemouth West is a microcosm of the UK’s diverse economy. Just last week I visited a new manufacturing plant whose products have “Made in Britain” proudly branded all over them. We have a vibrant retail, hospitality and leisure sector and while there are some concerns about rising costs it is given confidence by the Government’s focus on growth and getting money back into people’s pockets. We have strong education and finance sectors and a burgeoning tech and creative industry sector, and I was pleased to see support for these industries reflected in our industrial strategy, giving them certainty over the long term.

Underpinning all of this are our people. This Government’s Budget will benefit the 8,300 people in my constituency on the minimum wage and the 1,880 people in receipt of, or eligible for, carer’s allowance, and the 30% of children who live in poverty and their families will benefit from the investment in our schools, hospitals and affordable homes to live in. Healthier, happier and more secure workers and constituents are good for business; it is good for growth and good for our economy.

I wish to make one point on infrastructure. My hon. Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Tony Vaughan) mentioned that when we knock on doors people always bring up our public services and the NHS, and they do, but every good constituency MP knows that potholes are the bane of everybody’s life, so I welcome the £500 million for potholes announced in the Budget.

We cannot achieve sustainable growth without a solid foundation with stable public finances and public services that benefit everybody. This is what we are doing with this Budget and I look forward to supporting it today.