New Year

Posted by Christine Bampton Smith
Thursday, 4 January 2007

As we enter the New Year there is some good news for those of us who campaigned to save the Post Office Card Account. On 15th December it was announced that a new card would be introduced in 2010 and work in the same way and thereby support the 4.3 million card holders, many of whom are elderly and live in rural areas, like ours in Calderdale. It was a key campaign for the Liberal Democrats and a number of Newspapers, and shows that public pressure can work. Let us hope that the feared threat by the labour Government to close uneconomic Rural Post Offices does not make this a shallow victory!

The bad news is that the slaughter continues in Iraq, with civilians being innocent casualties in frightening numbers, over 100,000 deaths. A wrong war and a post war humanitarian disaster. As Mr Blair steps down from being Prime Minister - this surely will mark his place in history.
Christine Bampton-Smith

Liberal Democrat Councillor