SIMPLY A BAD IDEA...

Even the news that the Post Office profit rose from £ 152 million pounds to £ 403 million pounds (in the 12 months up until the end of March) made little difference; the Lib Dems (notorious locally for campaign to keep open local Post Offices that were not under threat of closure) have with their Conservative collation partners decided to privatise the Post Office. Labour in Westminster has been busy crying crocodile tears, as they tried and failed (under Peter Mandelson) to privatise the Post Office themselves during their largely wasted 13 years in government.

Privatisation of the Post Office - simply a bad idea...

Don't get me wrong, I have absolutely no problem with the Post Office being given the maximum amount of commercial freedom to go out and diversify and to make money (as happens in the Netherlands) but firmly believe that this is an ideologically driven and unnecessary privatisation  A major concern should be about the longevity of the unprofitable rural postal operations – how long will it be before they are dropped because they don’t make enough profit?

The Post Office, rather than be simply sold off to a private company will be floated on the stock market, with shares being sold off. The business has been valued at something between £ 2 billion and £ 3 billion pounds with up to 10% of shares being set aside for postal workers. Not surprisingly, probably along with most people, the members of the Communication Workers Union are understandably firmly opposed to the privatisation of the Post Office.

Plaid Cymru spokesperson on Royal Mail, Jonathan Edwards MP, said:

“Plaid Cymru is wholly opposed to the privatisation of Royal Mail. 

"When the last Labour Government thought that part-privatisation was a good idea, Plaid Cymru fought to defend Royal Mail in the House of Commons, and will do so again against this Tory – Lib Dem decision.

“Plaid Cymru is very concerned about the Government’s decision to press ahead with privatisation of the postal service that threatens to put jobs and services at risk.

“The reasons for keeping Royal Mail in public ownership are numerous, and the Government has not been able to give sufficient reasons for privatising it.

“In May this year, it was announced that Royal Mail had posted a profit of over £400 million in the preceding year and lays to waste the Coalition Government’s claim that it must be sold off to survive.”