The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has called on politicians to take steps to retain the post office network, especially in rural areas. In recent research carried out by the FSB, it has been revealed that 82 per cent of small businesses think the closure of their local post office would have a significant impact on their business and in some cases, leading to business closure. The FSB's survey also revealed that 97 per cent of small businesses think that the post office has a significant role to play in the local community and that the closure of post offices is intrinsically linked to the death of small local shops, which already have to contend with poor planning decisions and anti-competitive practices of supermarkets. In response, the FSB had launched a national campaign and petition on the Downing Street website to Keep Trade Local which can be found at http:petitions.pm.gov.uk/keeptradelocal/ Stephen Cole, FSB South Wales director and local county chairman, said: "Politicians of all parties have put themselves into a real pickle over post office closures. The policies of this Government have reduced the viability of local post offices, taking away of the many core business functions expected of a vibrant small shop and post office service. We are now facing the loss of a mature holistic network, which if it did not already exist, would need to be invented, this is madness. "This is about more than just the loss of a few rural post offices providing a necessary and vital service. Each post office through its many functions provides a base from which other local shops and businesses survive. We are already facing the loss of up to 50,000 small shops by 2015 from our town centres and villages. The prospect of additional post office closures is yet another nail in the coffin of our local high streets. "We will be supporting the many protests that have been organised to save our local Pembrokeshire Post Offices. We are also concerned that if we are successful in saving some of these post offices, the national post office says that it intends to include others that have not been included on this list. Therefore, no small post office is safe."
