I agree with The Argus Comment that the Government should use taxpayers' money to subsidise our post offices (The Argus, March 20).

That's why I voted in Parliament on March 19 to back the Government's investment of £1.7 billion up to 2011, including an annual subsidy of £150 million to support a network of 11,500 post offices.

Every Tory MP voted against.

When challenged in the debate to commit any future Tory government to match this subsidy their spokesman refused. Without the subsidy any post office not making a profit would have to close whatever the social need in its area.

Stephen Young of Living Streets claimed party political impartiality (The Argus, March 21). But in his article he chose neither to mention the Government's financial subsidy nor to explain that the Tory proposal to "suspend" closures - not to end them - did not mean the reopening of any branches already closed in Brighton and Hove or elsewhere in Sussex.

All the Tory stunt in Parliament on March 19 could have achieved was prolonged uncertainty about the future for sub-postmasters and their customers.

Reducing the number of post offices has been accepted by the general secretary of the National Federation of Sub-postmasters, who said: "Although regrettable we believe closures are necessary to ensure the remaining post offices are able to thrive."

There's no incompatibility between that strategy and campaigning with local residents and postmasters, as I and other MPs have done, to keep individual branches where we believe there's a general need for them.

  • David Lepper, Labour and Co-operative Party MP Brighton Pavilion