Andrew Baxter MSP has joined the growing campaign to protect Post Office services in Fort William as more than 500 people back the community fight against their loss.
The Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP joined local residents at a demonstration in Fort William on Saturday 22 August and added his name to the community petition.
Baxter brings an unusual perspective to the campaign having spent 17 years running the Post Office in Kinlochleven before entering the Scottish Parliament.
The demonstration follows the closure of the Post Office operating from TGJones on Fort William High Street, with campaigners concerned about the loss of the full range of services previously available in the town.
Fort William, Inverlochy and Torlundy Community Council has been leading the campaign and wants accessible Post Office services maintained in the town.
The petition has now attracted more than 500 signatures.
For communities across Lochaber, the argument extends beyond somewhere to buy stamps or send parcels.
Post Offices provide access to banking and cash services, bill payments and other services that can be particularly important for older people, businesses and those unable or unwilling to manage everything online.
Baxter said:
“It was important to be in Fort William today and stand alongside my friends.
“We are making it very clear how much we value our Post Office.
“I was very pleased to add my name to the community petition, which has already gathered more than 500 signatures.
“That level of support sends a very clear message about how strongly people feel about protecting this service.
“Having run the post office in Kinlochleven for 17 years, I know post offices are not simply somewhere to send a parcel.
“For many people and local businesses they provide access to cash, banking and other essential services, as well as that increasingly rare opportunity to speak to someone face-to-face.
“That is particularly important in rural communities like ours.
“We have already watched banks close branches and more and more services move online or further away from the communities they are supposed to serve.
“Every time another service disappears, people are expected to travel further or simply manage without.
“For someone without a car, an elderly person, or somebody who is not comfortable accessing services online, that can have a very real impact.
“Fort William is the main town serving a huge rural area.
“We should be strengthening the services available here, not watching them disappear!
“More than 500 people have already put their names to this campaign, and today’s demonstration showed that the community is not prepared to simply accept the loss of another vital local service.
“I will continue to stand with local residents and support the campaign to maintain accessible Post Office services in Fort William.”
Baxter has now taken the campaign to Holyrood by submitting a Scottish Parliament motion highlighting the petition and the wider importance of maintaining face to face services in rural communities.
For Fort William, the demonstration marks another stage in a campaign that began before the High Street branch closed.
The question now is whether more than 500 signatures, a public demonstration and growing political pressure can help secure the Post Office services the community says the town still needs.
