Mar 26 2008
A sad day for Fulford
Today sadly is the last day that Fulford Post Office is open for business, and when Aasif Rabbani (sub postmaster) closes the door for the last time it will not only mean the lose of yet another local post office but also for the residents of Fulford, the lose of their local community shop as well.
This morning I went down to visit Aasif at the post office to whish him all the best for the future and to apologise for not succeeding in our quest to save this vital community facility from closure. Sadly it could have been so much different if the Government hadn’t pushed ahead with its plans to close 2,500 post offices across the country, pulled business out of the post office network and undermined its finances.
When the closure was announced the local community rallied around in support, we put in objections, gathered signatures on our petition which culminated in Aasif and myself presenting the petition to Number 10 Downing Street, but all to no avail as the closure plan ploughed ahead regardless of local opinion. Then a ray of hope as the Conservative Party put forward an early day motion to halt all 
closures. Surely all Labour MP’s campaigning against PO closures in their own constituencies would support this, sadly that was not the case as we lost the vote by a mere twenty votes. At least 19 principled Labour MP’s voted with us including John Grogran.
Unfortunately it is local communities like Fulford that have lost out as yet another important community facility closes its doors for the last time, a sad day for Fulford.
