Fiona O’Donnell MP Welcomes Save Our Royal Mail campaign

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Following a Westminster Hall debate on the privatisation of Royal Mail this week, county MP Fiona O’Donnell said the risks to the Universal Service Obligation (USO) are too high and the UK Government should halt its sell-off plans.

Ms O’Donnell has also welcomed a new grass roots campaign against the Government’s headlong rush to sell one of the country’s most cherished assets.

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The Save Our Royal Mail campaign, launched earlier this year with support from groups and individuals representing the countryside, the elderly, small business, the blind, and trade unions, has identified six very real threats to the public if the Government’s privatisation plans go ahead.

Fiona O’Donnell MP said:

“Communities in East Lothian want to know that the UK Government’s planned sell-off of Royal Mail will not result in higher prices and fewer services. Ministers have so far failed to make the case as to why its plans will bring best value for the taxpayer or safeguard the long-term future of Royal Mail.

“This failure to guarantee future services is inevitably a real cause for concern. The UK’s cherished postal service has taken steps to modernise and management, staff and trade unions should be congratulated for that. Instead, Ministers have got the “fire sale” signs out and are playing politics with the postage stamp.”

“As the recent preliminary financial results have shown, this is the wrong time for privatisation and the case for the status quo of our Royal Mail remaining in public hands is compelling. Despite the evidence, the Government seems set on its privatisation plans regardless of the costs to the taxpayer and consumers.

“With the future of the Royal Mail under threat in this way, I welcome the Save Our Royal Mail campaign and the work it is doing to highlight the genuine concerns of local communities about the future of the Royal Mail and local postal services.”

The concerns about privatisation being highlighted by the Save Our Royal Mail campaign include:

Prices shooting up – stamp prices are no longer regulated and VAT may eventually apply. The £1 First Class stamp might not be far off.
Small businesses suffering – For many small businesses, especially those in rural areas there is often no alternative to the Royal Mail. Suffering from high energy bills, businesses can ill afford to see the cost of using the postal service rocket.

The countryside being left isolated – Everyone understands that it costs more than the price of a stamp to deliver a letter to a rural address. Despite assurances to the contrary, the postal services regulator OFCOM is working to determine the real cost for deliveries to rural areas. It has also been looking recently at future options for the daily delivery service to addresses in the countryside.

Free postal services to the blind under threat? – The “Articles for the blind” service is essential but expensive to operate. No privately owned business will want to bear this cost and despite previous assurances we now find that OFCOM has been reviewing the future of “universal” services.

HM Forces postal lifeline scrapped? – Royal Mail provides a freepost service for British forces. These letters and parcels from loved ones provide a vital boost to our troops in conflict. But a privately owned Royal Mail will not want to maintain this non-profit making service – and neither can it be compelled to.

Royal Mail’s heritage lost –Ruthless cost cutting may well see red pillar boxes go the same way as the iconic GPO telephone boxes. And this time it won’t be possible to stop Royal Mail renaming itself Consignia.