Old but interesting.

[plodsie]

Sorry if this has been posted before. It is quite long but well worth the read...
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id ... -12c.303.4

It is from a debate at the House of Lords....

[Stormproof]

This guy is definately on our side, Lord Clarke of Hampstead

Lord Clarke of Hampstead (Labour) Link to this | Hansard source 17 May 2007

My Lords, once again a Minister has come to this Chamber to announce the further mutilation of a once great public service. It is a sad occasion, as the noble Baroness, Lady Wilcox, said; it is always sad. On these occasions, I have to declare an interest as a former postman and an official of the union. In fact, there are three noble Lords in the Chamber to whom I used to deliver post. I claim no credit for asking the same questions that I asked six years ago; I am very sorry that my forecast has proved correct. Having stripped the Post Office of many of its counter services, the Government took away work and are now seeing their scorched-earth policy working against the public interest. That is not an inflammatory comment; it is happening. I shall finish my questions with a forecast about the universal service obligation of our once great Post Office.

Does my noble friend remember when we had an integrated Post Office that provided a world-renowned service? I used to travel the world for the Labour Party and for my union, and I was proud of a Post Office that delivered a good public service. People copied it; even behind the Iron Curtain, the British Post Office was looked to.

Does my noble friend remember what I said about the regulator? This is about financing the Post Office. The regulator put in place by the Government has destroyed the financial base of the Post Office. I would like my noble friend to go away and look at what is happening, which will be a threat to the universal service. Will he look at what Postcomm does? It is supposed to regulate the Post Office but is giving away its work to competitors at a cheap rate. They then dump their work into the Post Office, and every item from our competitors delivered by the Post Office costs it money. Whose fault is that? I do not want to make too much of a political attack on my own party, because the National Girobank under the previous Government would have met half of these things.

My mind boggles when I think of pensioners, the most vulnerable people in this issue, scrambling up to the counter to get a broadband connection. They will be thrilled when somebody says, "You can have broadband from the post office". Will my noble friend look at how an integrated Post Office could finance itself and save putting the public purse at risk all the time? It could be done; all it needs is the political will.

[baldrick]

he was a postie, and former Deputy General Secretary of the UCW from 1981-1993.
He writes a lot of articles in the local papers defending postal workers, and always stands up for us in the House of Lords, unlike that turncoat w****r Alan Johnson. I have met him at a lobby of Parliament during a previous dispute and he seems a genuine good bloke.
See: http://www.answers.com/topic/anythony-c ... -hampstead

[Stormproof]

I have just read a couple of his speeches, he saw all this s**t coming years ago. Perhaps the other 'lords/mps' will stand up and listen to what hes got to say now (i doubt it tho)

[pipecockskank]

How depressing, an intelligent, thoughtful plea ignored by a succession of oily shysters :cfo and chancers :lfo .