Labour fundamentally opposes Mail sale

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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Shadow Postal Minister Ian Murray reaffirmed the Labour Party's "fundamental" opposition to Royal Mail privatisation at a packed conference fringe meeting in Brighton last night.

Over 100 delegates crammed into the seafront meeting venue to hear Mr Murray comprehensively take apart the Government's case for the sell-off, citing the significant improvements in all of the areas highlighted by the 2008 Richard Hooper Report as reasons for privatisation.

The Royal Mail pensions legacy deficit had been resolved, there was an agreed modernisation process, and company finances have turned from loss to profit.

Referring back to the 2008 Richard Hooper Report recommendations - on which the Government's case is built - Mr Murray said: "The Hooper recommendations have now been dealt with and there's no need for privatisation."

The priority now, the Edinburgh South MP continued, was to keep fighting to stop the sale - "The Labour Party is fundamentally against privatising Royal Mail full stop," he insisted, and added: "We might be able to get one last (Parliamentary) vote on that."

In his contribution, CWU general secretary Billy Hayes reminded the audience that this was not the first time that the privatisation of Royal Mail been proposed - "We've been fighting this for 21 years," he pointed out.

Billy went on to list the broad cross-section of organisations and individuals who have given their support to the Save Our Royal Mail campaign and told the meeting that the union was urging the Labour Party to commit a future Labour administration to renationalise Royal Mail if the company is sold by the current government.

A motion to that effect is set to be debated at Labour's conference this week.

"There is opposition across political parties and across society," Billy explained, "the Bow Group, the Countryside Alliance, small businesses and 70 per cent of the population are all opposed.

"We want the Labour Party to commit to renationalisation. A One Nation society is having a postal worker delivering to every address in the UK."

Deputy general secretary Dave Ward warned: "Private investors will take far more out than they'll ever put in - privatisation is not right and we expect the Labour Party to stand with us shoulder-to-shoulder.

"You can't say you're opposed to privatisation and then not follow that up with a commitment to renationalise.

In conclusion, Dave vowed: "We will fight this tooth and nail and we warn the government that (if you privatise Royal Mail) you will never have a peaceful moment."

The meeting also heard speeches from an assistant general secretary from the Unite union Tony Burke, North Ayrshire and Arran MP Katy Clark and National Federation of Sub-Postmasters general secretary George Thompson.

The motion on re-nationalisation is due to be heard at Conference tomorrow (Wednesday). Details to follow.

[Godric]

Report this postReply with quote Labour fundamentally opposes Mail sale ??

so they never tried to privatise Royal Mail when they were in power ..... I must have imagined Peter Mandelson and Billy Hayes sucking up his ersehole as well

[Lance Jack]

Any party in opposition will say and do whatever they can to get your vote. Once in power they forget what they said and promised and get on with their own agenda.

[wandle]

The Hooper Report, commissioned by the Labour Party, which was designed to 'justify' why Royal Mail should be privatised.
A bit like the 'intelligence' report on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, that was a vehicle for doing to that country what the ConDem's now want to do to us !!

[Shambles]

Politicians are a breed unto themselves, they aren't born, they are hatched!

Sh#t shifting termites...

[vmaxv4]

"You can't say you're opposed to privatisation and then not follow that up with a commitment to renationalise.

No Commitment
No Backbone
No Levy