Post Office — Condemnation of previous Conservative government — 29 Jan 2002 at 21:59

The Majority of MPs voted in favour of the motion:^[1]

• This House
• condemns the running down of the Post Office under 18 years of Conservative government, which saw 3,500 post offices close, hundreds of thousands of days lost through industrial action, a lack of investment which allowed the Post Office to slip behind its competitors, a failure to give the Post Office the commercial freedom it needed to invest and compete;
• congratulates the current Government for giving the Post Office commercial freedom to make its own decisions, enshrining the universal service obligation in legislation, establishing a new regulatory framework, bringing in new managers, modernising and supporting the post office network and encouraging partnership between employers and unions; and
• furthermore notes that Consignia invested £296 million in the last financial year, is addressing its cost base, strengthening its management and striving to achieve a world class service in Britain.

This replaced a motion put forward by the Conservative Party at the start of the debate before it was voted out.^[2]

• [1] Patricia Hewitt MP, House of Commons, 29 January 2002
• [2] Post office - Condemnation of Government - rejected

Debate in Parliament | Historical Hansard | Source |