Residents have to wait nearly twice as long at Post Offices today than they did six months ago it has been revealed. Postwatch, the government’s Post Office watchdog, showed that the average time taken for residents to be served was 28 minutes – up from 15 minutes. Local Liberal Democrats have highlighted that this is further evidence of the disastrous effect Labour’s Post Office closure programme is having on local communities.

The new figures uncovered by Postwatch coincide with the launch last week of the Liberal Democrat survey to uncover the impact on waiting times for residents in Haringey using Post Offices.

Cllr Richard Wilson, who launched the Liberal Democrats Post Office survey last week with Lynne Featherstone MP, commented:

“We all knew that the Post Office closures were going to impact heavily on the few remaining branches. Now we have the evidence that shows what we all knew would happen – longer queues and more waiting at our Post Offices.

“This comes just as our local services are needed most, residents have no where to turn.

“It is completely unacceptable but this seems to be a surprise to Labour who did very little to help locally to stop this mess.”

Lynne Featherstone MP, added:

“Evidence like this, together with the information we are collecting about local residents experience will hopefully force the Post Office to re-think its disastrous policy.I will not give up without a fight.”