News Date: Wednesday 12th December 2007
Prime Minister fails to take up Tim's invite to meet local residents
Today at Prime Minister's Question Time in Parliament, East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tim Loughton challenged the Prime Minister Gordon Brown to meet a delegation of residents from his constituency to discuss the closure of local Post Offices, threatened downgrading of local health services and shortfalls in funding for bus services.
Tim asked the Prime Minister:
"My constituents in Adur and Worthing are battling against the closure of not 18% of local post offices, which is the national average, but nearer 50% of all branches - despite serving a well above average pensioner population and the remaining Post Offices already being unable to cope with existing demand.
"At the same time my 2 Local Councils face a shortfall of over ?650 thousand to fund concessionary bus fares, West Sussex County has again received the lowest local Government grant increase and we are still waiting to hear how many of our hospitals are to be downgraded.
"Will the Prime Minister meet a delegation of residents involved in these local campaigns to explain to them what we are doing so wrong to be treated so unfairly in West Sussex."
The Prime Minister Gordon Brown did not respond to Tim's request for a meeting and after Question Time Tim commented:
"I am very disappointed that Gordon Brown did not agree to meet representatives of the KWASH and Save our Post Offices campaign. If he had agreed to have the meeting he would be closer to understanding the very real fears my constituents have about the effect this severe downgrading of local services will have on their lives."
ENDS
Note to Editor:
1) For the full text of Prime Minister's Question Time please visit www.parliament.uk
