Post Office plans on hold for polls

In a letter to sub-postmasters, Post Office Ltd said it had been asked to suspend its network shake-up during the elections. Public consultations have begun on the closure of 2,500 branches around the UK.

The letter says: "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 public consultations or any final closure decisions between April 7 to May 2 - the period immediately prior to London's mayoral elections and local authority elections in England and Wales. A Post Office spokesman said the letter had gone to every sub-postmaster in England and Wales.

Consultations are being rolled out on a regional basis. Some will be brought forward while other affected regions will be delayed until after May 2, the spokesman said. He was unable to specify how many branches will be affected.

Shadow business secretary Alan Duncan 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."

A Postwatch spokesman said: "Any consultation that's under way during that period is effectively put on ice for those weeks that are political purdah. From Postwatch's point of view it's welcome. It's a sensitive issue and what's needed is constructive engagement."

A spokeswoman at the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform said: "Due to the application of normal purdah procedures which apply during election periods, no public consultations will take place and no network change announcements will be made between April 7 and May 2 next year."

However 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."