Mario Dunn, who heads up the Save our Royal Mail campaign, reflects on its successes and looks to the future
Mario Dunn, the campaign director for Save our Royal Mail campaign. Photograph: LORENTZ GULLACHSEN
The government's decision to privatise Royal Mail has provoked strong reactions from both sides of the fence. For Mario Dunn, campaign leader of Save Our Royal Mail, business secretary Vince Cable's argument that it is a "commercial decision" which will safeguard this British institution in the face of competition doesn't add up. "I see this as an ideological privatisation; it's a political one not an economic one", he said.
The campaign began in 2011 when legislation was passed which would eventually enable the sell-off. Although backed by the Communication Workers Union, it has been masterminded by Dunn himself alongside a small team. He says his part in the union's campaign to oppose Michael Heseltine's privatisation of various postal bodies in the 1990s – "the first to successfully stop a privatisation" - inspired him to act once again to protect the organisation, which can trace its roots back as far as 1516.
Although the sell-off has now been formally announced, the campaign is far from over. Dunn said the main aim is to "ensure that people who rely on it continue to get the same level of service". This includes elderly people and those in rural areas who rely on seeing a postman every day: a service which Royal Mail is bound to provide under the Universal Services Obligation but which some believe a private owner may not maintain due to cost.
"It's very expensive to have Postman Pat driving around in the Welsh valleys and the Yorkshire dales and dropping off one, two or three letters", he explained. Safeguarding this agreement is the raison d'etre of Save Our Royal Mail, and one of its successes has been pressuring ministers to publicly state that it will continue.
The blind and partially sighted also benefit from free post, and small businesses depend on Royal Mail for e-commerce; according to Dunn, large price increases "will just wipe them out". Organisations and individuals representing all these groups have put their weight behind the campaign, along with other trade unions and politicians from all the major parties. Public support has also been strong. Polling shows that 67% of people were opposed to the privatisation, and this was reflected in a 160,000-strong petition presented to Downing Street in early September.
The lack of parliamentary discussion around the decision has been a particular disappointment for Save Our Royal Mail. A backbench debate was held earlier this month but, as government gave formal notice that it would float Royal Mail shares on the stock market just ten days later, Dunn feels this was too little too late. Parliamentary under-secretary of state for employment relations, consumer and postal affairs Jo Swinson was keen to assert that the Universal Service Obligation would be protected. Although he is confident of this in the short-term, Dunn believes that any promises made could fall apart as early as 2015 if there is a change in political leadership. "I don't think she can make that long-term commitment," he said.
So what next for the campaign? For Dunn, it hinges on how many Royal Mail shares remain in government control. The government have stated that they will sell a majority stake, but exactly how much this will be remains to be seen. "If Vince Cable sells anything below 75% the government still has a substantial stake in the business, and we would want to see them exercise stewardship over that business in a proper manner", he said. If that is the case, the group will be looking to highlight potential issues such as executive pay alongside their initial campaign aims. "I'm determined to just plough on ahead", he added. "I think the long-term consequences will be good for consumers".
Mario Dunn is campaign director for Save our Royal Mail campaign.
Read more about the Guardian fringe events at this year's party conferences here. This article is sponsored by the Save our Royal Mail Campaign.
Blue left collar and purple right collar makes one question what that jacket's hiding. 