Your questions answered - Week Four - Royal Mail

02.07.10 - Helen Symons

If elected as the Labour leader, would you support a three-line whip for the PLP against the Coalition government's Bill to privatise, and break up, Royal Mail?

Diane Abbott:

Yes I would. I have long made it clear that I do not support privatising the Royal Mail. In my opinion if a service is important, it is too important to be privatised.

We need to be wary about privatising and breaking up an institution that is one of Britain's greatest public services.

Coalition ministers have this idea that Royal Mail can be the new John Lewis, where employees are 'partners', owning shares and receiving annual dividends based on its profits. But they forget that the history behind the two companies is very different.

During last year's post strike, Royal Mail recruited 30,000 temporary workers to counter the effect of the strike.

Also, if the employees are to ‘own’ the business and receive profits, surely they would also be forced to bear the burden should profits fall? Would employees want to take on this risk?

An injection of private cash is urgently needed the coalition says. But would a private company also be prepared to address the black hole in the pension scheme or would they force employees to pay up themselves? What would be the government’s position should we have a revolt on our hands?

I know the Hooper report said change was needed. But we need to be wary of handing over institutions to private companies without proper consideration.

Ed Balls:

Yes. Postal workers delivering letters for the same stamp price, from John O’Groats to Land’s End, 6 days a week, makes Britain proud.

The CWU has attracted huge support for its campaigns to retain the Post Office as a public service. It keeps friends and families in touch, and keeps the economy connected. So I fully back the manifesto pledge to invest in Royal Mail in the public sector.

Yes there is pressure on letters from emails, but the internet is also boosting delivery of packages. So the future need not be gloomy.

The big challenges facing Royal Mail are:

Modernisation. Royal Mail and the CWU have made massive strides to agree tough modernisation plans, backed overwhelmingly by CWU members. This requires investment and we should explore innovative ways to achieve this.
Transforming the Post Office into a ‘People’s Bank’, as we propose.
Pensions. Like millions of public sector workers, postal staff are threatened by a Tory-Lib Dem government attack on their pensions. The Post Office is not going to do a moonlight flit, so a long-term sustainable solution to the deficit is the answer.
The wider economy. Did you know that the Con-Dem government's unfair VAT rise will apply to postage stamps too? We have to get the economy right and prevent the double-dip recession the Tories are recklessly flirting with.
Con-Dem plans to privatise Royal Mail. It is a good idea for postal staff to be more involved in Royal Mail. But a small stake held in trust for staff would not give employees any significant control, is certainly not a John Lewis model and would not disguise the overall sale to private owners which the Government plan.

I will fight against the Con-Dem plans, which endanger this vital and popular public service.

Andy Burnham:

We've not yet received Andy's answer, but we'll publish it as soon as we have.

David Miliband:

I support our manifesto commitment to maintaining Royal Mail in the public sector, while bringing in both new investment and reform. This is the best way to protect the vital principles of a single price and universal provision that underpin a postal service operated in the public interest. Competition from other forms of communication – not least e-mail – is only going to continue, so we must encourage innovation and creativity from all quarters to safeguard the future of Royal Mail.

I am very concerned by suggestions that the Tory-Lib Dem government is considering privatisation. As Labour leader, I would oppose any Bill that gave the private sector a majority stake in Royal Mail, which would mean the controlling interest of the company was not democratically governed in the public interest.

I also think we should be finding ways to sustain and capitalise on the Post Office network, which is part of the fabric of our communities. We should be exploring ways to use the Post Office network to provide banking and other financial services to people – as well as to provide credit to families that keeps them out of the hands of exploitative loan sharks and enables them to borrow at a reasonable cost.

Ed Miliband:

Yes I would have a clear position against the Coalition's plans for privatisation. They are the wrong answer for the workforce and citizens.

CWU have worked hard with the Royal Mail to agree comprehensive modernisation plans and these are supported by CWU members. I believe that we need to show as a party, including in the case of Royal Mail, that we can modernise and improve public services without resorting to privatisation. So we need to back up the modernisation plans by finding innovative ways to enable the Royal Mail to work in the public interest as a publicly owned service with the investment it needs and the improved management at the top of the organisation. And we also need to examine the competition regime to ensure that we don't have a situation which unfairly disadvantages the Royal Mail.

Britain needs a strong modern Post Office, which provides a world-class postal service and also diversifies into new areas, like the Post Office Bank. As we made clear in the Manifesto, we need to invest and develop the Post Office as a public service, vital to our economy and vital to millions of people across the country who want to stay connected with their friends and family.