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WALTHAM FOREST: MP Cohen criticised over post office vote
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| Harry Cohen |
MEMBERS from all three political groups on the Waltham Forest Council have slammed Leyton MP Harry Cohen for voting against a Commons motion calling for a rethink on post office closures.
Labour rebels came within 11 votes of forcing the postponement of plans to close 2,500 branches, including six in Waltham Forest and five in Redbridge.
Chingford and Woodford Green MP Iain Duncan Smith voted for the motion, but Leyton and Wanstead MP Harry Cohen did not, to the bemusement and anger of local councillors.
At a full Waltham Forest Council meeting on Thursday, a Liberal Democrat motion opposing the closure programme was amended by the Conservatives to include criticism of Mr Cohen.
The new motion, supported by all three groups said: "This council instructs the interim chief executive to write to Mr Cohen to express deep disappointment that he did not support local post offices."
Conservative Cllr Graham Sinclair described the actions of Mr Cohen and other Labour MPs who voted against the motion as "disgusting and abhorrent."
He said: "Harry Cohen is one of those people who says he is community person first and a Labour man second.
"Is this really looking after the people? I say no, it is not."
Lib Dem group leader Cllr Keith Rayner said those Labour MPs who did not support the Conservative motion "don't have a conscience and don't care."
Cllr Rayner said: " I know that in this chamber my colleagues and party colleagues do care."
Labour Cllr Milton Martin said: "There are times when Harry Cohen does silly things, this is one of them. But he also does good things.
"I'm standing here not fully defending him."
Council leader Clyde Loakes said he was happy to support the council's motion, but pointed out that the Conservatives never said it will continue to match the subsidy Labour has been putting in to the service.
The unsuccessful Commons motion, among other things, called for post office closures to be suspended until geographical factors, transport networks and opportunities for links between post offices and councils had been discussed further.
It also expressed concern that the consultation period is only six weeks.
Walthamstow MP Neil Gerrard did not attend the vote as he is still recovering from heart surgery.
Mr Cohen defended his decision and insisted that he believes post offices should remain open.
He said: "I looked carefully at the motions, especially the two main ones, Conservative and Labour.
"In effect it is a straight choice between the two.
"Generally I have a lot of sympathy with what is in the Tory motion. However, as Gordon Brown pointed out at Prime Minister's questions, the Tories do not say they would commit to any funding for the post office network.
"That makes much of what they put in their motion hollow. Without supportive funding, as the Labour Government is supplying, the situation would be worse than now.
"I therefore voted against the Conservative motion and for the Labour one. However, I have personally met with the Government Whip and said the consultation period is too short and should be extended.
"London Mayor Ken Livingstone has also made this point. Also that the criteria used must properly take into account areas with high levels of deprivation and high usage of the post offices in those areas.
"It does not do so at present. Those post offices should not close.
"The Whip promised me to communicate these essential points to Government Ministers to try to achieve a change in policy in these respects.
"I shall still be making strong representations on behalf of the two post offices in my area which are under threat."
2:04pm Tuesday 25th March 2008
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CommentPosted by: Dumbo, walthamstow on 2:46pm Tue 25 Mar 08
Mr Cohen may have been taking our taxpayer's money for his outrageous and immoral expenses for some time but he is not a stupid man. He should know how people feel about this issue. Is he really the useless lump he has allowed himself to appear to be over this? He recently did a lot of 'research' into pornography, which must have used a ton of his so-called talent. To go into that subject in such depth and fail to do his research on what everyone round there thinks on the post office closures issue is astonishing.
Either he really is thick and has a hide as think as a pachyderm or there is some other elephant in this room. Has he been got at by the whips?
Mr Cohen may have been taking our taxpayer's money for his outrageous and immoral expenses for some time but he is not a stupid man. He should know how people feel about this issue. Is he really the useless lump he has allowed himself to appear to be over this? He recently did a lot of 'research' into pornography, which must have used a ton of his so-called talent. To go into that subject in such depth and fail to do his research on what everyone round there thinks on the post office closures issue is astonishing.
Either he really is thick and has a hide as think as a pachyderm or there is some other elephant in this room. Has he been got at by the whips?
Posted by: Mr khalid, walthamstow on 2:56pm Tue 25 Mar 08
we can do all postoffice thing online computear and no need going post office. this is good we can get tax ed for car and pay all tv license and save stamp. old ladys must lern to use like everbody. computear is for 2008
we can do all postoffice thing online computear and no need going post office. this is good we can get tax ed for car and pay all tv license and save stamp. old ladys must lern to use like everbody. computear is for 2008
Posted by: DEXTERDOG on 3:51pm Tue 25 Mar 08
How arrogant that you should think old ladies have to learn anything. Old ladies need looking after and the last thing they need is some pompous idiot telling them what they should be doing.
How arrogant that you should think old ladies have to learn anything. Old ladies need looking after and the last thing they need is some pompous idiot telling them what they should be doing.
Posted by: Mr Khalid, walthamstow on 3:55pm Tue 25 Mar 08
old ladys must learn and go collage as good for the mind and no have alchasmeze desease. No good q in post ofice talking rubish to old lady and old man. all things post office now is on the intnet and is now 2008 so evrybody laern
old ladys must learn and go collage as good for the mind and no have alchasmeze desease. No good q in post ofice talking rubish to old lady and old man. all things post office now is on the intnet and is now 2008 so evrybody laern
Posted by: Gary, e17 on 3:55pm Tue 25 Mar 08
Party political tinkering does nothing but take us away from the debate. If offices lose money I don't care who is in power they will be closed, what is lacking is proper thought about the Post Office improves faced with other challenges. Is anyone from the Libs or Tories telling me they would keep pumping money into loss makers? I think not and they should be honest about it. Other articles on this sight about wasting money should be considered with this thread.
The Tory motion in Parliament promised nothing.
Party political tinkering does nothing but take us away from the debate. If offices lose money I don't care who is in power they will be closed, what is lacking is proper thought about the Post Office improves faced with other challenges. Is anyone from the Libs or Tories telling me they would keep pumping money into loss makers? I think not and they should be honest about it. Other articles on this sight about wasting money should be considered with this thread.
The Tory motion in Parliament promised nothing.
Posted by: Sue, Leytonstone on 6:27pm Tue 25 Mar 08
I agree with Gary. The Tory motion in parliament was pure politicking. I am glad that Mr Cohen didn't fall for it. If he says he's been lobbying the government I believe him. He's never been a push over in over 20 years representing the area. Why would he start now?
I agree with Gary. The Tory motion in parliament was pure politicking. I am glad that Mr Cohen didn't fall for it. If he says he's been lobbying the government I believe him. He's never been a push over in over 20 years representing the area. Why would he start now?
Posted by: md250, ilford on 9:09pm Tue 25 Mar 08
[quote][bold]Mr Khalid[/bold] wrote:
old ladys must learn and go collage as good for the mind and no have alchasmeze desease. No good q in post ofice talking rubish to old lady and old man. all things post office now is on the intnet and is now 2008 so evrybody laern[/quote] maybe you should go college you thick 2 bob ponce.
no doubt the amount of money you scrounge in benefits would go a long way to keeping post offices open, you are the dregs of the worlds society and we have you here
Mr Khalid wrote:
old ladys must learn and go collage as good for the mind and no have alchasmeze desease. No good q in post ofice talking rubish to old lady and old man. all things post office now is on the intnet and is now 2008 so evrybody laern
maybe you should go college you thick 2 bob ponce.
no doubt the amount of money you scrounge in benefits would go a long way to keeping post offices open, you are the dregs of the worlds society and we have you here
Posted by: Disgraceful, Waltham Forest on 12:48am Wed 26 Mar 08
Harry Cohen (and Gary e17 as well) is talking out of his backside when he tries to claim that his vote was because of some rubbish about promising funding. Labour MPs vote for unfunded and often uncosted things all of the time. This excuse is pure spin and nothing more.
The simple and unpalatable truth is that Harry Cohen was blackmailed by the Labour whips into voting against a motion that was clearly in the best interests of his constituents by means of threats regarding his disgracefully high expenses. But then I guess Harry doesn't need to worry too much about Waltham Forest's Post Offices when he actually lives in Colchester.
Harry Cohen (and Gary e17 as well) is talking out of his backside when he tries to claim that his vote was because of some rubbish about promising funding. Labour MPs vote for unfunded and often uncosted things all of the time. This excuse is pure spin and nothing more.
The simple and unpalatable truth is that Harry Cohen was blackmailed by the Labour whips into voting against a motion that was clearly in the best interests of his constituents by means of threats regarding his disgracefully high expenses. But then I guess Harry doesn't need to worry too much about Waltham Forest's Post Offices when he actually lives in Colchester.
Posted by: DEXTERDOG, E4 on 11:26am Wed 26 Mar 08
If life was just about making profits then the vast majority of MPs would be surplus to requirements.
Some things are necessary to maintain stability. Delivery of post to non profitable places, maybe that will be next. People will have to travel to centralized points to collect their post. Everybody over a certain age that falls ill will be considered surplus as plenty of baboies on the way so why should we bother with the elderly.
Society will fall apart, so lets maintain some worthwhile institutions.
If life was just about making profits then the vast majority of MPs would be surplus to requirements.
Some things are necessary to maintain stability. Delivery of post to non profitable places, maybe that will be next. People will have to travel to centralized points to collect their post. Everybody over a certain age that falls ill will be considered surplus as plenty of baboies on the way so why should we bother with the elderly.
Society will fall apart, so lets maintain some worthwhile institutions.
Posted by: Walthamster, E17 on 11:34am Thu 27 Mar 08
As Dexterdog and others point out, post offices are a public service. They're not meant to make a profit for anyone, they're meant to meet people's needs.
The Post Office (as a national institution) used to do this very efficiently, covering all its own costs, before Tory governments started asset-stripping it. Shamefully, NuLabour has continued this asset-stripping, allowing private city-centre delivery services to cream off the profits. That's why the services we used to take for granted are now underfunded.
Harry Cohen used to impress me, when he spoke up again invading Iraq. More recently, he's been a disappointment.
As Dexterdog and others point out, post offices are a public service. They're not meant to make a profit for anyone, they're meant to meet people's needs.
The Post Office (as a national institution) used to do this very efficiently, covering all its own costs, before Tory governments started asset-stripping it. Shamefully, NuLabour has continued this asset-stripping, allowing private city-centre delivery services to cream off the profits. That's why the services we used to take for granted are now underfunded.
Harry Cohen used to impress me, when he spoke up again invading Iraq. More recently, he's been a disappointment.
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