Royal Mail must stay fully in public hands

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/mar/2 ... n-proposal" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



We are writing to protest at the government's proposal to privatise part of the Royal Mail. The Royal Mail and Post Office are crucial both to the most marginalised of our community and the nation as a whole, providing vital functions above and beyond their obvious role as a commercial distributor of mail.

The government needs to protect our common interests and understand the need to preserve our public institutions and guarantee them a secure future, especially in such volatile times.

When unprecedented sums of public money are being poured into private institutions, we should be investing in the Royal Mail, rather than throwing it open to the vagaries of the market - a market which has so catastrophically failed to provide for our common needs.

In 2008 the Labour party conference itself voted to support the policy that the Royal Mail remains "wholly publicly owned", so we urge the government to rethink the current proposal, and retain it entirely within the public sphere.

Lee Hall, Simon Beaufoy, Stephen Daldry, David Edgar, Antony Gormley, David Hare, Nick Hornby, Beeban Kidron, Peter Kosminsky, Simon McBurney, Patrick Marber, Michael Morpurgo, Oliver Parker, Pawel Pawlikowski, Alan Parker, Alan Plater, Shawn Slovo, Tom Stoppard, Roger Waters, Arnold Wesker, Jeanette Winterson

Now I see why the once profitable Royal Mail is suddenly losing money. HM Revenue & Customs has this year chosen DHL to deliver its self-assessment tax returns guide - a 1.4kg tome. Royal Mail needs loyalty from government departments, not a private sector partner.
Ruth Stephens
Perranporth, Cornwall