Richard Holden, MP for North West Durham, has today seen his successful access to cash campaign make national news as it was headlined on the BBC.
Last year, Richard successfully campaigned to prevent the ATM at Billy Row Post Office being removed, following the announcement that it would be scrapped from the Post Office in a move that would have seen residents unable to easily access their money. Richard also successfully campaigned to make the cash machine in Moorside free to use, which you can read about here.
The Post Office announced in 2020 that cash points in their branches across the country were to be removed – one in five Post Offices will lose their cash machines and a decision was made to include the cash machine in Billy Row Post Office in the removal scheme. The Post Office in Billy Row contains the only cash point in the village.
Richard lobbied both the Post Office and Link, the service provider for most of the UK’s cash machines, to keep the ATM in the Post Office after residents raised concerns about the impact it would have on them. Richard visited Billy Row to visit the Post Office and meet with residents to discuss their concerns. You can read about Richard’s full campaign here.
BBC Breakfast has now run a feature piece on Richard’s campaign, during which they interviewed Ruth Singleton, Postmistress of the Billy Row Post Office and Shop, and spoke about the importance of access to cash for millions of people across the UK.
Commenting, Richard said:
“I am delighted that my campaign to ensure access to cash made major national news and was featured on BBC Breakfast. It shows the importance of these local campaigns and how the work I am doing affects people across the country.
“I want to thank Ruth for working with me on the campaign and for talking to the BBC about the importance of cash – she rightfully pointed out that access to cash protects both consumers and businesses.
“I will continue to work with local businesses on this issue – I know access to cash is incredibly importance for many of my constituents, especially the elderly, the vulnerable and those on a budget, and I am delighted that this campaign has now got the recognition it deserves.”
To hear more about the work that Richard is doing for North West Durham, you can sign up here or input your details in the form on this page.
