Labour has committed to “maintain and strengthen” the number of Post Offices operating across Britain’s high streets despite the trend of bank branch closures in recent years.
In the House of Commons, Business Minister Gareth Thomas was asked by the Shadow Business Minister Dame Harriet Baldwin about the Government’s plans to keep sites open following news that 115 locations were earmarked for closure.
Baldwin said: “One of the ingredients for a successful high street is having a Post Office in the mix. The Government has inherited a network of 11,500 Post Offices and that number has been stable since 2010.
“Last month, the Post Office announced plans to close 115 sites across Britain as part of a major operational shake-up.
“The restructuring could result in up to 1,000 head office job losses. Will he commit to supporting high streets by maintaining the scale of the Post Office network in this Parliament?”
Thomas replied: “Yes, we’re determined to maintain and indeed strengthen the Post Office network. I suspect she will recognise we inherited a Post Office with huge problems, which we’re working with the new leadership of the Post Office to try and begin to tackle.”
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The Government has stated it is committed to “strengthening and maintaining” the Post Office on the high street
PA
In his response, the minister cited Labour’s intention to identify commercial opportunities to bolster business for the company and cited banking services as being “the most significant one in that regard.”
“We’re also working with the Post Office to identify some of the infrastructure problems they have, not least developing a replacement for the Horizon scheme,” Thomas added.
The recently announced potential Post Office closures come amid broader concerns over access to cash services, following widespread bank branch closures throughout the UK.
Since January 2015, high street banks and building societies have closed more than 6,000 branches in the UK, at a rate of around 53 each month.
This represents 63 per cent of the sites that were open in early 2025.
Labour’s Business Secretary addressed concerns about the Post Office announcing another wave of closures
PA / PARLIAMENT
Among the biggest offenders is NatWest Group, which is made up NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank. NatWest has shut down the most branches of any banking group at 1,428 closures.
In comparison, Lloyds Banking Group, which comprises Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, has closed 1,243 sites. Notably, Barclays has slashed its branch portfolio the most out of any other individual banks with 1,228 disappearing from the high street.
The recent confirmation that 115 Post Office branches could be closed down as of the organisation’s wider restructuring plans comes as another blow to cash access in Britain.
Despite these probable closures, the Post Office has firmly stated it has no plans to reduce its overall network of 8,500 branches managed by independent postmasters.
The company dismissed earlier reports suggesting that two-thirds of postmasters could lose their jobs.
Most Post Office branches are operated by independent postmasters and local businesses. Around 2,000 branches are run by major retailers including WHSmith and Tesco.
The number of crown post offices has dropping from nearly 400 in 2012 to over 100 today. The Government noted that the Post Office network currently stands at 11,500 branches, a figure that has remained stable since 2010.
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