There was NO vote on post office closures in parliament!

The Conservatives only suggested a delay to allow local councils to step in- but have not promised a penny more in subsidy. The Conservative Central HQ Campaign Pack on Post Offices makes only two serious suggestions: 1) that they ‘get in early to prevent the Liberal Democrats from making the running’, and 2) only suggests that they ask local councils to take over some offices.

The Tories accept the need for Post Office closures. In the Opposition debate on 19 March 2008, their spokesman Alan Duncan said;

o ‘’We have to face facts about the future of the postal offices in this country’’
o ‘’We understand that the Post Office is haemorrhaging around £4million a week’’.
o ‘’Let me make it clear that we fully expect the network to shrink in size’’
o ‘’It must be admitted that the internet has displaced much of the revenue-earning activity preciously enjoyed by post offices’’

The Conservative motion would not have stopped the closure programme. They proposed no alternative which would change the facts facing the Post Office network and in fact lengthy delay would have ended up costing more money as it would have delayed the Post Office from addressing the losses affecting the network week in week out.

During the opposition day debate on the 19 March, in response to Martin Salter MP, asking him to;

‘’…give an undertaking on behalf of his party to put £1.7 billion of investment into the network so it can be sustained…’’

Conservative spokesman Alan Duncan replied; “I will not do that”

The Conservatives claim to be fighting to save local Post Offices, but without putting in a penny of extra subsidy. Before 1997, the Conservatives did not subsidise the Post Office. We have put in £2 billion and will be spending more than £1 billion between now and 2011, but only 4,000 Post offices- less than a third of the total- pay their way, and 4 million people fewer used the service last year, compared with three years ago. It is absolutely right that we should subsidise this important service, and I am fighting very hard to maintain it locally.

Indeed, we just won the battle over the Harrow Road crown Post Office in Queen’s Park. What we must now accept is the argument of an opposition which closed Post Offices in the 80s and 90s, offered no subsidy and are not promising any more money themselves.

London Tigers are a successful grass roots sports and community organisation- sprung from Church Street, but priced out of Westminster facilities,

Karen took Mesba Ahmed, the club’s organiser, to meet Secretary of State Andy Burnham to ask for his support in improving access for London Tigers to Regent’s Park and other local facilities- and to look at what more can be done to boost sports in Westminster. Meanwhile, Karen is also asking Westminster Council to axe charges for schools using Paddington Reek, and is backing the All Star’s Boxing Club’s bid for funds from Ken Livingstone’s ‘Young Londoners’ fund, after the project was turned down by Westminster Council.

What more can we do to boost community sport in Westminster? Let me know

Karen has joined many other MPs expressing their concerns about the increasingly worrying situation in Gaza:

That this House expresses its revulsion at the mounting death toll in Gaza caused by Israeli military strikes; notes that around half of the 108 Palestinians killed in the six days between Wednesday 27th February and Monday 3rd March 2008 were civilians; also condemns the rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza which have killed one Israeli civilian in southern Israel in the last nine months and which, according to figures supplied by the British Israel Communications and Research Centre, have been responsible for the deaths of 24 Israelis since 2001; further notes that Israel’s military strikes and its economic blockade of Gaza are achieving the opposite of their stated aim of deterring such rocket attacks; further notes that the strikes and blockade are causing widespread humanitarian suffering and, by collectively punishing the entire people of Gaza for the actions of those firing rockets, Israel’s actions are contrary to international law; further notes the UN Security Council statement of 2nd March, and the statements from the United Kingdom Foreign Secretary and the EU Presidency dated 2nd March and 3rd March respectively; and therefore calls upon the international community to press for an immediate ceasefire in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank and adherence to international law by all parties, including requiring Israel to abide by its legal obligations as an internationally recognised state, and emphasises the United Kingdom’s particular responsibility to ensure international compliance with humanitarian law as a High Contracting Party to the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Karen has joined other MPs by signing the following Early Day Motion:

That this House notes with concern the decision taken by a number of energy companies to increase prices by in the region of 15 per cent.; further notes that energy companies continue to make huge profits with British Gas announcing profits in excess of £500 million for the past year; recognises that while energy companies satisfy shareholders the consumer is left to suffer, in particular those on low incomes and fixed incomes; and calls on the Government to impose a windfall levy on the privatised energy companies and use the money to increase the winter fuel payment payable to pensioners.

Karen joined Select Committee Chair Keith Vaz and other MPs at a high level seminar this week to launch an enquiry into policing for the 21st Century. It will examine how we can reduce police bureaucracy; improve local accountability and build on the achievements of Labour’s Safer Neighbourhoods programme, which has put a dedicated police team into every community.

Read more and feed in your comments via the Home Affairs Select Committee website.