Cllr Patrick Smith

Walthamstow councillors have launched a stinging attack on Labour parliamentary candidate Stella Creasy by accusing her of “two-faced cynicism” over local post office closures. 

The Labour parliamentary candidate has attempted to position herself at the centre of efforts to save the three Walthamstow post offices threatened with closure.  However, during her time as councillor for Walthamstow’s Lea Bridge ward she attempted to vote down a Liberal Democrat motion to Full Council that called on the Council to oppose the government’s closure programme. 

The angry reaction by local Liberal Democrats comes as they prepare to present a further motion to Full Council that calls on councillors from all sides to state their opposition to post office closures.

 Cllr Bob Carey, whose Chapel End ward could see two branches axed, said: “It is galling to see Ms Creasy jump on the bandwagon with regards to these closures. “Unfortunately for her, people have longer memories than she may give them credit for.  As a councillor 5 years ago, she, along with her Labour colleagues, attempted to remove a clause from a Liberal Democrat motion that expressed concern about both the effect of proposed post office closures on the vulnerable and elderly and the distance that they would be forced to travel in order to access vital services. 

“Now resident outcry about these Government closures has reached a crescendo, we hear her become one of those rushing to repeat these concerns almost parrot-like. 

“I’m sure that residents will see this two-faced scramble to act as a champion for our most vulnerable residents as little more than a cynical act of political chicanery. 

Cllr Carey, who will move the Liberal Democrat motion before Full Council, warned that opposition to the six immediate proposed closures in Waltham Forest was only the beginning of the work that needed to be done.

 “ Post Office representatives confirmed to council scrutiny just this week that  even if we are successful in saving one of the six branches immediately under threat, this would more than likely mean another branch closed in order to meet the required quota of government closures. “We hope both Labour and the Conservative councillors will support our motion this Thursday and come out strongly against the government’s closure programme.