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PO march full report
Protesters wielding umbrellas and posters met at the top of the High Street and toured the town centre to oppose the closure of five branches in the district.
Shoppers applauded the chanting crowd as they marched down King Street and cars came to a halt in Russell Street.
The demonstrators finally gathered in the Sub Rooms forecourt to listen to speakers, including Stroud mayor John Marjoram, MP David Drew and organiser Chris Moore.
John Marjoram told the crowd: "These closures are all to do with privatisation.
"It's an obscenity - we're looking at service, not profit.
"Post offices are failing because they've been opened to the market.
"Services have been stripped away."
He said councils should follow the lead of Essex County Council and keep branches open with subsidies.
He urged protesters to write to county councillors for subsidies.
David Drew said also supported as community solution.
"These are important community facilities," he said.
"So it's even more important that the community gets involved in this.
"Privatisation is not the answer. We need to work with the community to keep the post offices open.
"If a community wants to really get behind its post offices, then it can save them all."
Neil Carmichael, Conservative parliamentary candidate, said the government should take responsibility for the closures.
"Our community depends on these post offices because they allow us to meet people," he said.
"We need to make sure post offices have more services - not less."
Organiser Chris Moore said politicians were feeling pressured by the march.
"If the post offices go, then part of our community goes," he said.
"Now we have to really push the government for them to stay open."
4:51pm Saturday 15th March 2008
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