OVER a thousand small post offices in the North West face closure if privatisation plans go ahead, according to Labour.

Election candidate Ruth Kelly has joined Bolton postmen in launching a petition against any sale.

She said: "Tory plans to break up and sell off our Post Office would have a dramatic effect on community life in Bolton.

"Our local Post Offices are more than just shops, they are a vital service for some of the most vulnerable and isolated people in our society, especially the elderly. Privatisation will lead to prices going up, deliveries being cut and small Post Offices facing closure."

But Conservative rival Tom Sackville, who refused to sign the petition, accused Labour of hypocrisy and being in the pockets of the unions.

He added: "We have always made it clear that we are the party of privatisation and if parts of the public sector can give the public a better deal in the private sector we will take that action.

"Post Offices which are viable will stay open.

"They are more likely to prosper under the flexibility offered by the private sector than the bureaucracy of the public sector."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.