Post office closures

mark starr · 16-07-2008, 03:45 PM

We have been doing well locally with letters to the papers focussing Post Office closures and problems on the EU but Peter Luff a local Tory MP has written to all of them to say EU involvement is a myth.
Having made Mike Nattrass aware of this he has written as follows
As a Member of the European Parliament I am astonished by the letter from Peter Luff, printed in your paper.:-

"I note that attention is being drawn away from the EU involvement in Post Office Services and yet we are losing these vital community facilities due to EU directives.

There have been several directives on postal services the first in 1997 (97/67/EC) and the second in 1999 (2002/39/EC) , demanding liberalisation, under which Royal Mail had to open its service to commercial firms.

These companies then moved in to take over great slices of the business sector, which is the lucrative part. Some of these firms admit their part in this destruction. Jan Bart-Henry of TNT Netherlands admits, “TNT are cherry pickers”. In 2006 came another adjustment leading to the "Third Postal Directive" which is now in the EU machine and takes us to 2009, when it will be in place.

By taking the money making business post and leaving Royal Mail the expensive part of collecting from post boxes, sorting and delivering all the mail,- including the final stages of the business post-, the heart has been ripped out of the service.

To cap it all about three years ago Tony Blair did a deal with the European Commission, whose agreement was necessary, for member states to subsidise their own industries. The post office need a subsidy of two hundred million pounds per year but Blair accepted the EU ruling that he could spend only one hundred and fifty million pounds per year.

That means the Post Office is left short to the tune of a million a week. Now do you understand why postal rates are going up, with fewer deliveries and collections, and why post offices are closing right, left and centre?

The sad part is that MEPs of all parties, except UKIP, voted for all this and now pretend it was not them and I see letters to you saying it did not happen! You only have to check the voting records to see these facts. So now we have a puppet government which, must obey EU rules, and the other parties worshipping this new law maker, whilst collecting their expenses and pretending it did not happen.

No wonder 75% of our law now comes via EU directives.

ALL West Mids MEPs (other than UKIP) EU voting record on Post Offices was as follows:

2002 2nd postal directive rejection amendment. ALL VOTED AGAINST
2007 3rd postal directive. ALL VOTED FOR
2008 3rd postal directive rejection amendment. ALL VOTED AGAINST

In each case this was in the other direction to UKIP who tried to stop these directives. The Lib.Lab.Con all voted against any amendment and in favour of the package.

THIS IS THE RECORD IN BLACK AND WHITE. So how can it be otherwise and why the denials?

Please check it yourself, if you do not believe me.

Mike Nattrass MEP (UKIP West Midlands)"

Earthling · 17-07-2008, 07:56 AM

Excellent letter.
Does anyone know if he still does the weekly column in the Nantwich Chronicle? Or was it the Crewe Chronicle?

Anthony Butcher · 17-07-2008, 11:43 AM

EU Referendum disagrees:

EU Referendum: Not us, Guv!

Later they went on to add:

EU Referendum: Now you can blame the EU

Anthony Butcher · 17-07-2008, 11:46 AM

The main argument that Nattrass makes is:

Quote:

To cap it all about three years ago Tony Blair did a deal with the European Commission, whose agreement was necessary, for member states to subsidise their own industries. The post office need a subsidy of two hundred million pounds per year but Blair accepted the EU ruling that he could spend only one hundred and fifty million pounds per year.

specifically EU referendum counters that with:

Quote:

the commission actually concluded that the subsidy paid by the British government to rural post offices did not constitute state aid. Furthermore, said the commission:

Even if the measures were deemed to be State aids, they would be compatible with the common market under Article 86 (2) EC in that the mechanisms will be put in place to ensure that the State payments and loans are commensurate to the net cost of the public service and its continued delivery and in that the measures do not affect trade to such an extent as contrary to the Community interests.

It is well worth reading the article in full (and the following one), because it debunks this theory that UKIP is peddling; and that's from a highly anti-EU source.

16-07-2008, 03:45 PM	#1 (permalink)
mark starr Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 645	Post office closures - Mike Nattrass We have been doing well locally with letters to the papers focussing Post Office closures and problems on the EU but Peter Luff a local Tory MP has written to all of them to say EU involvement is a myth. Having made Mike Nattrass aware of this he has written as follows As a Member of the European Parliament I am astonished by the letter from Peter Luff, printed in your paper.:- "I note that attention is being drawn away from the EU involvement in Post Office Services and yet we are losing these vital community facilities due to EU directives. There have been several directives on postal services the first in 1997 (97/67/EC) and the second in 1999 (2002/39/EC) , demanding liberalisation, under which Royal Mail had to open its service to commercial firms. These companies then moved in to take over great slices of the business sector, which is the lucrative part. Some of these firms admit their part in this destruction. Jan Bart-Henry of TNT Netherlands admits, “TNT are cherry pickers”. In 2006 came another adjustment leading to the "Third Postal Directive" which is now in the EU machine and takes us to 2009, when it will be in place. By taking the money making business post and leaving Royal Mail the expensive part of collecting from post boxes, sorting and delivering all the mail,- including the final stages of the business post-, the heart has been ripped out of the service. To cap it all about three years ago Tony Blair did a deal with the European Commission, whose agreement was necessary, for member states to subsidise their own industries. The post office need a subsidy of two hundred million pounds per year but Blair accepted the EU ruling that he could spend only one hundred and fifty million pounds per year. That means the Post Office is left short to the tune of a million a week. Now do you understand why postal rates are going up, with fewer deliveries and collections, and why post offices are closing right, left and centre? The sad part is that MEPs of all parties, except UKIP, voted for all this and now pretend it was not them and I see letters to you saying it did not happen! You only have to check the voting records to see these facts. So now we have a puppet government which, must obey EU rules, and the other parties worshipping this new law maker, whilst collecting their expenses and pretending it did not happen. No wonder 75% of our law now comes via EU directives. ALL West Mids MEPs (other than UKIP) EU voting record on Post Offices was as follows: 2002 2nd postal directive rejection amendment. ALL VOTED AGAINST 2007 3rd postal directive. ALL VOTED FOR 2008 3rd postal directive rejection amendment. ALL VOTED AGAINST In each case this was in the other direction to UKIP who tried to stop these directives. The Lib.Lab.Con all voted against any amendment and in favour of the package. THIS IS THE RECORD IN BLACK AND WHITE. So how can it be otherwise and why the denials? Please check it yourself, if you do not believe me. Mike Nattrass MEP (UKIP West Midlands)"

17-07-2008, 07:56 AM	#2 (permalink)
Earthling Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Cheshire Posts: 292 Party: UKIP	Excellent letter. Does anyone know if he still does the weekly column in the Nantwich Chronicle? Or was it the Crewe Chronicle? __________________ Earthling's Blog Don't let EU rule Britannia! Vote UKIP and say NO to Brussels Bureaucracy.

17-07-2008, 11:43 AM	#3 (permalink)
Anthony Butcher Administrator Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Long Ashton, Bristol Posts: 10,315 Party: None	EU Referendum disagrees: EU Referendum: Not us, Guv! Later they went on to add: EU Referendum: Now you can blame the EU __________________ If you care about what's in your food and where it comes from, then get it labelled! Label My Food - http://www.labelmyfood.org.uk

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode