Not delivering

THERE are so many areas of public service under attack, or seriously neglected, that, when another one comes along, many people may well just shrug their shoulders and turn away.

The recent announcement, however, that the Royal Mail is planning to do away with all Saturday collections, and reduce second class deliveries across the week, should, in my view, be strongly challenged and rejected. Yes, of course, the numbers of letters we all send and receive has gone down a lot; and, yes, the world of post and parcel delivery has changed beyond all recognition.

So, why the concern? As a private company, it is clear that Royal Mail is putting profit before service, with their biggest shareholder a billionaire. When the move towards greater private provision in our public services was accelerated by the Blair, Labour governments, at the time I had no objection in principle, as long as the state controlled the commissioning, the regulation and the price.

Now, it seems, Royal Mail thinks it can simply tear up its legally bound service level agreement, and keep their shareholders happy. This cannot be right. Please write to your MP to insist that Royal Mail’s public service role should be protected from the domination of shareholder profit. 

Published today in Knutsford Guardian