Speech to Keep the Post Public Coalition Meeting-Billy Hayes

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Thursday 7th October 2010
Brighthelm Centre, North Road, Brighton, 7.30 PM

Firstly I want to congratulate the organisers on setting up tonight’s meeting. –

The debate about the future of Royal Mail is too important to be left solely to the professional politicians.

We need to draw in the public – who will be the chief losers – should Royal Mail be privatised.

Tonight’s meeting is the first step to winning the battle for public opinion. And it is completely appropriate for Brighton to host such a meeting. After all, Brighton is about to become a key battle ground in the whole of the south east of England. To explain this – there are 71 parliamentary seats held by the coalition government where the majority is 10% or less. In our view – these should be target seats for the Keep the Post Public Coalition. We want the Government to feel the heat where it is most vulnerable – the seats which could cut its parliamentary majority.

In the south east of England there are three such marginals. One of these is along the coast – Hastings and Rye. But two of them are right in this patch – Mike Weatherley’s seat in Hove and Simon Kirby’s seat in Kemptown. Mike Weatherley won his seat for the Tories in Hove with a 3% majority – only 1868 votes ahead of Celia Barlow for Labour. Simon Kirby won his seat from the Tories in Kemptown with a 3.8% majority – just 1328 votes ahead of Simon Burgess for Labour. – He is with us on the platform tonight. These are very narrow margins – and our task is clear. Both of these MPs must be made to see that supporting privatisation would cost them their seats at the next election.

As supporters of the campaign in the Brighton and Hove area – you have a decisive battle in front of you. There is no reason why the Government should privatise Royal Mail. Royal Mail has weathered the recession better than its privatised rivals. In the past two years, Royal Mail has increased its rate of profit, whilst Deutsche Post and TNT have seen theirs fall. And Royal Mail delivers letters at around half the price of these two firms.

The National Union and Management have just struck an innovative three year deal on the modernisation of Royal Mail – after a serious conflict or two. This agreement allows for the introduction of a new generation of machinery - maintains the living standard of postal workers - and brings the mail network up to best practice with European postal providers.

Yet rather than support this agreement, the Government wants to introduce another period of instability into the industry. Their reasons for this vary like the weather. Vince Cable suggested that privatisation was necessary because Royal Mail could not compete. This is ignoring how successful Royal Mail has competed since liberalisation was introduced. At present Royal Mail delivers 99% of the mail which was previously reserved, and is now open to competition. Which competitor in their right mind is going to try and take on Royal Mail in delivering to 28 million houses, 6 days a week? Of course, Royal Mail has lost a great deal of the so called access work. This is when bulk postings are part sorted and trunked to Royal Mail sorting offices for delivery by Royal Mail. This work has been lost because the regulator rigged the market so badly that Royal Mail has not won a contested contract.

On this work, Royal Mail is unable to compete – a fact recognised by all – including the Lib Dems before they became intoxicated by power. This is so bad, that the regulator now accepts that change has to be made. So the fact is that it is not competition that is the problem.

Ed Davey and others have said the privatisation is the only way that Royal Mail can get access to capital. The Minister says this knowing full well that the entire modernisation programme of Royal Mail for the next three years is fully funded. It is hardly reassuring that the Minister responsible hides from such obvious retorts to his arguments. But if it is an issue of investment in three years time, then there are plenty of answers.

Royal Mail is profitable – that’s why they want to privatise it. If Royal Mail is allowed to retain its profit in the public sector, then that’s one way it has of raising capital for investment. If Royal Mail is allowed to compete properly for access work – and the subsidy to the competition ended – then that’s around 100 million pounds a year for further investment in Royal Mail.

Now the Minister says also that the pension deficit is a reason for privatisation. Yet all the three main parties accept that the Government has an obligation to make good the deficit. After all, postal workers have paid their share, and the Government is their employer. If this obligation is honoured, then Royal Mail has in fact an extra 280 millions pounds a year for capital investment.

So there is no shortage of avenues to investment capital. But there is a shortage of good will towards a successful public service.

The truth is that it’s all old Tory dogma to part privatise anything that moves – and the Lib Dems have given in to this. It will be the public that suffers the consequences of selling Royal Mail.

Firstly, it is clear that there will be a reduction in the universal service offered. Immediately, the coalition Government has indicated that the guaranteed 6 day delivery will go. This is not protected in the EU law.

Also under threat, will be the “one price goes anywhere” service. This is not protected in EU law either. Doubtless when the gamblers, spivs and asset strippers get hold of Royal Mail they would want to end the support for rural and remote communities.

Privatisation would see a reduction and worsening of the service provided for domestic customers, and small and medium enterprises. The coalition Government say they will protect the local Post Office branches by keeping them in the public sector. These offices are loss making, and require a large subvention from Government – around 150 million pounds a year. But a privatised Royal Mail will not want to be associated with an unprofitable public network. Instead a privatised Royal Mail will want to use any retail network as an outlet.

This will mean that there will be a massive closure programme of Post Office branches. So – this is a fight for a valued service which privatisation will not maintain.

How can we stop them?

The most important thing is to build a broad coalition of organisation, communities and individuals capable of representing the majority opinion against privatisation.

Tonight you have made a good start here.

But – as you are in a key battle ground – you must plan many more activities.

You need large numbers signing a petition in Hove and Kemptown. You need many constituents filling in and sending postcards and letters to Mike Weatherley and Simon Kirby.

You need regular street stalls and events in these constituencies to haunt these MPs.

You need to widen the number of organisations involved – The Womens Institute have signed up to the national campaign. Make sure the local branches are involved. Make sure the charities for the blind and disabled are involved. Make sure that the student organisations are involved. And in Brighton, it is very important to make sure that the Lesbian and Gay organisations are involved.

Tonight is the start - this is a key battle ground. The campaign is in your hands – we will win this fight.

Thanks for listening.

[dvbuk55]

The Womens Institute hey! Here comes the anti privatisation nude calendar, strategically placed currant buns and a sponsored pole dance

[stokes11eg]

Tell the truth Billy---you signed up the Womens institute to cater for this event, pork pies and all. God, I can just see the almost empty hall now! The public, as well as the postal workers felt betrayed by your let down of last year, so don't expect them to rally now.