Hundreds of post office closures put on ice until after the polls

They want 2,500 branches to shut by the end of 2008 - but decisions on which ones will go have yet not been made.

The delay means that many electors will not find out if their local post office is to close until after they have cast their vote. And critics claimed that the Government had acted to avoid a drubbing at the polls.

A letter sent by the Post Office to every subpostmaster in England and Wales, said: "As you will be aware, the closure of any post office can be highly sensitive and can potentially become a local political issue.

"For that reason, we have been asked by Government to introduce a

freeze on some elements of the Network Change Programme during the run-up to these elections."

There will be no closure decisions between April 7 and 2 May - the period immediately prior to London's mayoral elections and local authority elections, it added.

A sub-postmaster from the South West, whose office is under threat, said: "This is political interference, pure and simple.

"If it was being done for the good of the country we could understand, but it's being done for the good of the Labour Party - to get bums on council seats."

Alan Duncan, Tory business spokesman, said: "This is a blatant admission on the Government's behalf that the Labour Party's chances in next year's local elections will be affected by the closures.

"They have showed alarming cynicism in this case. They've been caught red-handed trying to bury bad news in advance of what will be bad news for them at the ballot box."

The Post Office said some consultations would be brought forward, while those in other affected regions would be delayed until after May 2.

The closure of 2,500 branches represents more than one in five of the 14,300-strong network.

Liberal Democrat business spokesman Lembit Opik said: "This would be good news if it meant an end to post office closures.

"Unfortunately this sounds like a stay of execution for party political reasons.

"Campaigners will have to use the extra months granted to them to build the momentum behind saving this vital local service.

"Despite the Government's efforts, the challenge is to make saving local post offices a major electoral issue for May."

Postwatch, the watchdog for postal services, welcomed the delay. A spokesman said: "It's a sensitive issue and what's needed is constructive engagement. If it can be done away from the heat of political campaigning so much the better."

George Thomson, general secretary of the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters, said: "While this delay does inevitably add to the uncertainty faced by subpostmasters during the Network Change closure programme, we acknowledge that Post Office Ltd has no choice but to accept it.

"We remain confident that the loss of this period will be made up, and that Network Change will be completed by the proposed deadline of November 30, next year, at which point we will be left with a network which will hopefully be sustainable, viable and fit for purpose for the future."

The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform said that normal procedures which apply during election periods, mean that no public consultations will take place and no network change announcements will be made between April 7 and May 2.