YOUR correspondents Pat Collins and Christine Quick both criticise Ann Keen's stance on the proposed closure of local post offices (letters, April 10) but in reality the Brentford and Isleworth MP has probably got the balance about right on this very difficult issue.
True, Mrs Keen did vote against the Tory motion to suspend the closures. However, the Conservatives have been entirely opportunistic about this matter because when they were in government thousands of post offices were closed.
Indeed, it was the Tories that started the process of taking business away from the post offices by encouraging people to have their pensions and benefits paid directly into bank accounts. That is one of the reasons why the post office network is now making a loss of £170m per annum.
With three post offices under threat in her constituency, Mrs Keen has adopted the realistic strategy that she might just have a shot at persuading the network to salvage one of them.
She has looked at all the factors and concluded that the most viable one that she can make a case for is the Park Avenue post office in Whitton Road.
This situation is far from ideal, but people should not be conned into thinking that things would be any better if the Tories were in charge. They would not.
P HALING Farm Close, Southall.
