Parliamentary Column April 08

Published on Tue 8th Apr 2008

What is it that makes a community? How often do you stop and think about the difference between a housing estate, a beautiful village and a thriving community? Here in South East Cambridgeshire, we have many beautiful villages, but it is a sense of community that really makes a place special.

A community is a complex mix of people, place and purpose. It is the church, the village pub, the clubs and societies. It is neighbours looking out for each other and people stopping to chat or just say 'Good Morning' as they pass by. It is the corner shop, the newsagent, the post office.

Seen in this light, the current threat to post offices becomes a threat to our communities as well. Without playing too much party politics, it is worth noting that 3,500 post offices closed under the last Conservative Government (1979 - 1997) and 4,000 have closed so far under the Labour Government (1997 - 2008). This is not surprising as both red and blue parties have failed to see the real importance of the post office. Instead, they have chipped away at the facilities and services offered through the local post office - the renewal of your TV licence being an obvious example.

But it is not only post offices, have you ever felt that Britain is becoming more impersonal by the year? The internet and telephone both have their uses, but sometimes you just need a real person to meet face-to-face or speak to on the telephone. Instead, we "Press 1 for …. and press 2 for…" interspersed with never ending music and "your call is important to us".

'Faceless Britain' is how it has been phrased and I don't think we much like it.

So let's start a campaign to bring back real people. Let's spend some of our money in local shops where the staff know our name. And let's take every opportunity to value, cherish and build up our local communities.