'Time for serious debate on the postal service'

[Geezer]

http://www.surreyherald.co.uk/surrey-ne ... -25071670/

Nov 2 2009 By Ian Taylor, MP for Esher & Walton
Esher and Walton MP Ian Taylor

Ian Taylor MP

The local postman is an important part of the community. So I shall be sad to see the disappearance of the door to door postal deliveries by hand.

And even sadder that this has been hastened by the actions of the trade union supposedly looking after our 'posties'. Whether it is suicide or just a self-inflicted wound, I am not sure. But death of the letter-post is near.

My own 'post-bag' at the House of Commons is no longer accurately named. Before the strikes, the avalanche of emails and phone calls was growing as constituents increasingly worried about the erratic postal service and resorted to faster methods. The trend has increased since the strikes began and will not revert to 'snail mail'.

The strike action by Royal Mail workers is causing havoc to hundreds of thousands of people and businesses – the actual cost of the strikes is yet to be calculated. Yet most of the country outside London had with union agreement entered into modernisation since the 2007 agreement. But the militants in London have started a hijack of the union with dire consequences.

The situation of Royal Mail has also prompted new political debate about introducing laws to set new minimum turnout thresholds for strike ballots on the basis that they can only be lawful disputes if a majority of those being called out on strike have voted for it in a ballot. In the case of the Royal Mail dispute there was a clear majority for the strike among those voting, but not among the total workforce.

It is time for a serious debate on what sort of postal delivery service meets our demands in the digital age. Perhaps two or three times a week for letters with special delivery for packages and parcels. The only future for Royal Mail is real modernisation in the private sector and removing the union stranglehold by opening up postal deliveries to competition. I did not favour this solution - but for a service that is already losing 10 per cent (and rising) of its business a year to be held to ransom by militant union activists is no longer acceptable.

On a lighter note, a big thank you to all in the Cobham Brass Band for a wonderful Autumn Concert – it really was a fabulous evening at the Yehudi Menuhin School. I thought that serving 23 years as the MP was a good track record - but some of the band members have clocked up a remarkable 60 years.

And finally, please do buy a Poppy. Your contribution truly does make a difference. I shall be attending the Remembrance Service in Molesey to pay my respects and mark the sacrifice that so many gave for us.

Ian Taylor, MP for Esher & Walton

[POSTMAN]

What a prat!

[Geezer]

With you on that one Postman, What party is he in Tory.

[POSTMAN]

With you on that one Postman, What party is he in Tory.

Yep,i've emailed him as well.

http://www.iantaylormp.com/text.aspx?id=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ade@cambs]

http://www.iantaylormp.com/text.aspx?id=4.

Says it all he used to be (or still is) a merchant banker

Experience outside Parliament:

In 1969 Ian became a merchant banker and then a stockbroker. From 1975-78 he was the corporate finance director of a bank in Paris. On his return to London, he started a venture to provide corporate finance and management advice to developing companies in the UK and USA. This was sold on his entry into Parliament.

After 1987, until becoming a Minister in 1994, Ian was an advisor to Commercial Union plc. and Barclays de Zoete Wedd Investment Management. He is an Associate of the UK Society of Investment Professionals and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists.

Since the 1997 General Election, Ian has been involved advising technology, security and investment companies. His current portfolio of business interests includes non-executive directorships of Next Fifteen Communications Group plc where he chairs the audit committee (http://www.nextfifteen.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;); Avanti Communications plc (http://www.avantiplc.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;); and Speed-Trap Limited (http://www.speed-trap.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). He has joined the advisory board of Northrop Grumman Information Technology.

Ian's hobbies and interests are wide-ranging including travel (especially in France), the opera, shooting and cigars.

[chunk]

Ian Taylor MP

The local postman is an important part of the community. So I shall be sad to see the disappearance of the door to door postal deliveries by hand.

I award this fool the title "most out of touch 2009"
EVERY DAY I DELIVER A TREE IN WOOD PULP!
75KG of mail not unusual.thats only 5 "just legal" pouches.

[barbario]

Well if thats the end of the letter post,as he put it,then it also means the end of TNT letter post as well.

[jockstrapp]

If that's the end of the letter post then what is that I'm breaking my b@lls over for 4.5hrs every day???????????????

Oh! and I'm on strike because of the sh!t condition s I'm enduring every day not because of the London posties.

Hopefully Mr Taylor MP will be looking for another job come May 2010

[mucker]

It is time for a serious debate on what sort of postal delivery service meets our demands in the digital age. Perhaps two or three times a week for letters with special delivery for packages and parcels. The only future for Royal Mail is real modernisation in the private sector and removing the union stranglehold by opening up postal deliveries to competition. I did not favour this solution - but for a service that is already losing 10 per cent (and rising) of its business a year to be held to ransom by militant union activists is no longer acceptable.tory prat