Listen to the Midlands

Day Three of the Great British Battlebus Tour saw the CWU team head to the heart of England, where Midlanders face the threat of losing five of their Crown Post Offices as part of the company’s controversial back-door privatisation plan.

CWU teritorial rep Jim Reeves explained that Crowns in Harbourne, Willenhall, Beeston, Kingstanding and Bromsgrove are set to be ‘franchised’ to private retailers in a process that the union and the public are resolutely opposed to.

Speaking from Bromsgrove High Street this afternoon, Jim said: “We’ve got the Battlebus parked up here, just a few doors from the Post Office and we’re asking local people to come and sign the giant post card and support us in our fight to save it.

“We were also here campaigning last month and the support is even stronger now than it was then,” Jim added. “People want to keep this Post Office where it is.”

Bromsgrove is also the constituency of Sajid Javid MP, who was until recently the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. Following the recent reshuffle, Mr Javid is now the Cabinet’s Communities Secretary.

Midlands Regional secretary Kate Hudson explained that the union would still be taking this issue up with Mr Javid, both as the local MP and as an issue vital to communities, as well as keeping the pressure on with the Government’s Business Department, and its new head, Greg Clark

“The Government has got to listen to the people, stop this back-door privatisation and halt the decline of the post office network,” she insisted.

Earlier, the Big Red Battlebus had called outside the Birmingham Mail Centre, and postal workers came out during their breaks to add their names tothe ever-growing list of supporters on the post card.

“It’s great to win the full support from other parts of our union for our Post Office members,” said Kate, adding: “We need to be bringing Royal Mail and the Post Office back together under public ownership and this aim is fully supported by all our members.

“In the Birmingham area, and right across the Midlands region, the CWU and the public are united in support of the People’s Post Office.”