Lord Mandelson: I want to privatise Royal Mail

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 20 Oct 2008, 14:28

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... -Mail.html

Lord Mandelson has set the ground for a battle with Labour colleagues by disclosing that he is in favour of partially privatising Royal Mail.

By Jon Swaine
Last Updated: 1:54PM BST 20 Oct 2008

The Business Secretary said that he had wanted to allow Royal Mail "to be progressively private, even if if initially part of the company stayed in the Government's hands" since his first spell in government under Tony Blair.

The plan would have been implemented if he had not been forced to resign as Trade and Industry Secretary, Lord Mandelson saind in an interview, adding: "Frankly, 10 years on, I was surprised this was still an unresolved issue."

The Government's review of the postal service is due to report back in the next few weeks and could provide the Business Secretary with the opportunity to revive his plan.

The report, by Richard Hooper, a former deputy chairman of Ofcom, is expected to propose controversial reforms to the service. Mr Hooper has warned that "maintaining the status quo is not an option" and has hinted that further liberalisation to the network may be needed if its legal obligation to deliver mail six days a week at uniform prices is to be maintained.

Lord Mandelson is expected to come under pressure over the issue when he appears before the Business and Enterprise Select Committee on Tuesday. The Committee's Labour members were already preparing to press him on the Government's plan to close thousands of post offices, and many are likely to oppose private solutions.

Lindsay Hoyle, one of the Labour members, said "everyone on the committee" wanted to press Lord Mandelson on the topic of post offices, adding: "Intervention is the name of the game now, after the banking crisis.

"We don't want post offices to wither on the vine. We want to see them revived with government intervention."

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 20 Oct 2008, 14:29

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/p ... 975571.ece

The partial privatisation of Royal Mail has moved a step closer after Lord Mandelson signalled his support in principle for the measure.

The Business Secretary said that his proposal in 1998 to allow investment by the private sector would have been implemented if he had not left the Government. In comments likely to anger Labour MPs he told the Financial Times: “If I had not been forced to resign it would have happened.”

Royal Mail made a loss for the first time in the last financial year and is ceding more of its bulk mail services to private companies. It is understood that Lord Mandelson has told colleagues he still favours the privatisation move but is prepared to await a government-commissioned review of Royal Mail.

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 20 Oct 2008, 14:30

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b4504a64-9e2e ... 07658.html

Lord Mandelson has signalled his support in principle for the partial privatisation of Royal Mail, setting the stage for a confrontation between the arch-Blairite business secretary and Labour MPs.

The future of the state-owned postal operator could soon provoke fresh ructions within Labour ranks. Public ownership of Royal Mail is a totemic Labour manifesto commitment for unions and many backbenchers, but the operator’s dire financial position is producing increasing pressure for part-privatisation.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Lord Mandelson said his 1998 proposal to allow private sector stakes in the state-owned postal operator would have become law if he had kept his post as trade and industry secretary. “If I had not been forced to resign, it would have happened,” he stated.

Lord Mandelson has told colleagues he remains inclined towards a greater role for the private sector in Royal Mail, although he would await the recommendations of a review into the postal operator by Richard Hooper, a former communications regulator.

The former EU commissioner said he would take developments since 1998 “into consideration” before finalising the government’s policy. “Frankly, 10 years on, I was surprised this was still an unresolved issue,” he stated.

He stated that he “obviously” hoped a decade ago to implement his plan to allow Royal Mail “to be progressively private, even if initially part [of the company] stayed in the government’s hands”.

Although Lord Mandelson insists he would have carried out his bold plan if he had not been forced to resign in 1998 over an undeclared home loan, the part-privatisation of the postal service was vehemently opposed at the time by Gordon Brown, then chancellor.

A government-commissioned review of the postal services sector, due to report within weeks, could provide a springboard for Lord Mandelson to revive this progressive privatisation plan and a chance to find out whether Mr Brown has changed his mind in the intervening years.

The Hooper review is expected to highlight doubts about Royal Mail’s ability to continue offering a “universal” one-price-goes-anywhere postal service to every address in the UK, without further multi-billion pound injections of capital.

Royal Mail, which is struggling to service a £3.4bn ($5.9bn) pensions deficit, made a loss on the universal service for the first time in its history in the year to March 30. The company is also losing an increasing share of its profitable bulk mail services to private sector competitors.

The Hooper review is likely to present the government with a political dilemma. Ministers were adamant earlier this year that there was no scope for further taxpayer bail-outs of the operator. Postcomm, the regulator, warned in its submission to the Hooper review that Royal Mail’s business model was “unsustainable.”

But Postcomm’s call to allow part-privatisation of the operator provoked a furious backlash from within the Labour movement. The Communications Workers’ Union this summer threatened to cut off funding to Labour if Royal Mail did not remain in public ownership. It has previously lambasted proposals for minority stakes in the company to be moved out of state control as being akin to privatisation by the back door.

The union, a valued source of finance for the cash-strapped party, can count on significant support from Westminster.

About half the Parliamentary Labour party signed an early day motion in 2005 demanding the government continue to own all shares in the operator.

Labour’s 2005 manifesto declared “we have given the Royal Mail greater commercial freedom and have no plans to privatise it”.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 20 Oct 2008, 14:45

Big Battle ahead -----

Big Daz · Post by **Big Daz** » 20 Oct 2008, 14:51

:cfo :lfo

Can we have some of the above for the regulator?

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 20 Oct 2008, 15:09

http://www.cwu.org.uk/news.asp?step=3&NID=2144

Following comments in the Financial Times today (Monday) regarding Peter Mandelson’s support for part-privatisation of Royal Mail, the CWU responded by saying Royal Mail needs a modern solution.

Billy Hayes, general secretary, said: “Peter Mandelson has only just come back into government, but he should be aware that there is a clear commitment from the Labour government to keep Royal Mail in the public sector, restated earlier this year at the national policy forum in Warwick.

“At a time of economic instability the last thing the British public wants to hear is that privatisation is the solution to Royal Mail's problems. We want to engage positively with the government to improve and enhance the public service and ensure the government delivers on their moral and legal obligation to resolve the pension crisis in the company.

“A lot has changed in the last ten years. The postal industry needs solutions which address today’s issues, not the issues of a decade ago.”

brothermagrew · Post by **brothermagrew** » 20 Oct 2008, 15:32

I remember all my life
Rainin' down as cold as ice
Shadows of a man
A face through a window
Cryin' in the night
The night goes into

Mornin', just another day
Happy people pass my way
Lookin' in their eyes
I see a memory
I never realized
How unhappy you made me, oh Mandy...........

Post by **POSTMAN** » 20 Oct 2008, 16:31

Big Daz wrote::cfo :lfo

Can we have some of the above for the regulator?

Of course,gis a day or so,and this one wont be censored either.

Post by **dvbuk55** » 20 Oct 2008, 16:58

Anyone remember what Harold Wilson said - well Warwick was a lot further away than that and there is the billions of pounds to be found from somewhere. I just hope they wait until we can get a reasonable price for it and not flog it off quick and cheap. It's always been my opinion that we are the chicken waiting to be plucked - your future colleagues on the very next frame may well be wearing a different coloured uniform.

johno47 · Post by **johno47** » 20 Oct 2008, 17:27

Ive been saying this for ages, so its no surprise to me, what better way for the Goverment to get much needed revenue than to take an easy option like to privatise RM, these idiots never learn any lessons, theres not one industry thats been privatised that is any better..

:cfo :lfo

Post by **dvbuk55** » 20 Oct 2008, 18:41

johno47 wrote:Ive been saying this for ages, so its no surprise to me, what better way for the Goverment to get much needed revenue than to take an easy option like to privatise RM, these idiots never learn any lessons, theres not one industry thats been privatised that is any better.. :cfo :lfo

Or cheaper

lifesentence · Post by **lifesentence** » 20 Oct 2008, 19:15

brothermagrew wrote:
I remember all my life
Rainin' down as cold as ice
Shadows of a man
A face through a window
Cryin' in the night
The night goes into

Mornin', just another day
Happy people pass my way
Lookin' in their eyes
I see a memory
I never realized
How unhappy you made me, oh Mandy...........

My thoughts exactly. Lets hope he gets booted out before he can set the demolition charges.

k979aaa · Post by **k979aaa** » 20 Oct 2008, 19:36

Looks like mandy has his eyes on getting his grubby finger's in royalmails pie!. Let us all hope billy hayes can stop him before it's too late!. Mandys had more bungs than some famous north london football managers!.

axeman · Post by **axeman** » 20 Oct 2008, 20:14

funny i though his fingers were in someone else's pie

k979aaa · Post by **k979aaa** » 20 Oct 2008, 20:21

axeman wrote:funny i though his fingers were in someone else's pie

It is rumoured he is a MAGPIE.

ROYALMAILCHAT