Shadow business secretary says post office is vital hub

Published on 29/03/2012 12:00

LABOUR’S shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna spoke of the vital role of post offices on a visit to Edinburgh.

Accompanied by Edinburgh South MP Ian Murray, he officially opened the new Bruntsfield post office run by Ibrahim Joulack at 115 Bruntsfield Place.

Mr Umunna said the UK Government had yet to reveal its plans for the Post Office’s future, but he said: “Post offices are more than businesses. They are essentially a community hub which helps bind people together and we want to ensure that’s preserved.”

Mr Umunna said Labour had opposed the privatisation of the Royal Mail. He added: “What the government has done is it has nationalised the debt by transferring the pension liability to the public sector and it has privatised the profit by seeking to sell it off.”

He said the Royal Mail had been left feeling it had no choice but to put up the price of stamps.