MP Stephen Hesford threatens to quit Government over RM

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MP Stephen Hesford threatens to quit Government over Royal Mail sell-off plans

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MERSEY MP Stephen Hesford has vowed to quit the government unless Gordon Brown backs down over plans to sell off part of Royal Mail.

The Wirral West MP has threatened to sacrifice his unpaid post as a ministerial aide by voting against the Bill to hive off up to 30% of the business to a foreign postal operator.

Asked if the protest would be mean resigning, Mr Hesford said that would be for others to decide, but added: "If that was the consequence, that would be the consequence."

The threat - and similar protests by up to seven other parliamentary private secretaries (PPS) - came as Mr Brown was warned that pressing ahead with the legislation would be a "kamikaze move".

Nearly 150 Labour MPs, including a further eight from Merseyside and North Cheshire, oppose the part-privatisation, warning that the Royal Mail’s "universal service" is at risk.

The scale of the revolt would force the prime minister to rely on Conservative support to win a crunch Commons vote on the Postal Services Bill, expected in early June.

Some Labour MPs fear Tory leader David Cameron would back Mr Brown at second reading, only to withdraw support at a later stage of the Bill - forcing Labour into an unwanted early election.

Meanwhile, there were suggestions that the ferocity of the opposition is making companies think again about bidding for a stake in running Royal Mail.

Dutch firm TNT, long seen as the front-runner, is also facing growing problems of its own - suffering a sharp fall in profits in its home market and looking to cut thousands of jobs.

Quizzed about the controversy, Mr Hesford - PPS to solicitor general Vera Baird - said he had signed a parliamentary motion opposing the partial sell-off to "engender debate".

And he added: "The government is now aware that there are matters to be debated and, hopefully, we can have that debate

"If - and this is a big if - things stay precisely as they are, and there is no movement and no listening, I would be minded to vote against."

Asked if that would mean resigning his position, Mr Hesford replied: "That would be for others to say, but if that was the consequence, that would be the consequence."

The other local MPs opposing the sell-off are; Joe Benton (Bootle), Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby), Louise Ellman (Riverside), Frank Field (Birkenhead), Peter Kilfoyle (Walton), Andrew Miller (Ellesmere Port and Neston), Eddie O'Hara (Knowsley South) and Bob Wareing (Liverpool West Derby).

Ministers insist a private firm is needed to rescue Royal Mail after years of underinvestment in modern methods that have left it badly trailing postal operators abroad.

But Labour critics are pushing for the "universal service" - which ensures post is delivered everywhere in Britain for the same price - to be protected by creating a not-for-profit trust, similar to Network Rail.