Comments on: Speed up Post Office management, Lord Mandelson

By: Will Rees

Will Rees — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:38:15 +0000

Have been thinking about the proposed part privatisation of Royal Mail. Can I ask if the State abdicating its responsibilites would have any implication for postal votes?

By: cuffleyburgers

cuffleyburgers — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:04:37 +0000

This is the story of nationalised industries. Since the war, over vast swathes of the British economy, management has been characterised by incompetence, hubris and overcentralisation.

When the right are in we have had insane rounds of cuts, WHen the left is in we have ballooning expenditure, and all the time services worsen and the quality of life suffers.

The only solution is to decentralise and for government to get out of running businesses.

Now someone plse tell that to Brown.

By: Lola

Lola — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 22:53:41 +0000

Careful with the £7Bn ’shortfall. It depends on how you measure it. I agree that it does have a shortfall but what it exactly is will never be known with what would be considered by the layman as certainty. The quantum of the shortfall is very sensitve to small changes in the factors used in calculating the ’shortfall’. And the PO is being required to make eye watering contributions to the scheme to fund this ’shortfall’ which adds hugely to its problems. The whole private company defined benefit pension scheme universe in the UK is in a mess because of these calculations are taken as Gospel. The history of such forecasting by the GAD and the various regulatory ’systems’ since 1986 is nothing short of a scandal. It has seemed to me to be largely ‘think of a number’ based on how the wind is blowing today.

By: Lola

Lola — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 22:46:25 +0000

Yep. Exactly. I’m one of them.

By: HJ

HJ — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:23:00 +0000

I live in Wokingham. About 3 yrs ago the PO lunched a ‘consultation process’ on my local post office. We all sent in our inputs and heard nothing other than that they were closing it. They said “Don’t worry, because there is another one only a mile away and you can go to that instead”. A year or so later, with no consultation, they closed the one they had told us to go to once our local post office closed. We now have no local Post Office anywhere near.

Today I had to post some packages for my business (I’m self employed). So I went in to Wokingham at 11.30am in order to avoid the lunchtime queues at the Post Office. When I got there, the queue (which folds back on itself twice) was already to the entrance. I looked inside to see only two counters open. I went away and did some other errands. I returned 30 minutes later – the queue was even longer, so I gave up.

Can someone please tell me how you can post a package in Wokingham without spending half the day in a queue. Please?

By: Rare Breed

Rare Breed — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:07:22 +0000

Totally agree with Lola.

Has there ever been an efficient public service delivered by a monopoly?

Emails are free, as technology advances the postal service will be limited to parcels and sensitive documents, much more suited to competition. Let them charge thier own rates. Royal mail should be forced to accept competition and all post offices should offer a choice of mail service providers, with varying services and prices.

There is no incentive to reform without competition.

By: Brian Tomkinson

Brian Tomkinson — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 09:34:33 +0000

JR: “What it reflects is the poor management of the company in recent years”

More failure but no doubt Leighton and Crozier will collect a big pay out to go!

By: Ian Jones

Ian Jones — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 01:57:30 +0000

Whilst it has a £7bn pensions deficit it is nothing but a dead man walking. As for the whole public sector, the pensions issue is just growing whilst being ignored by the Government. What number does it have to reach before they realise it is killing off the productive side of the country (in this case the post business).

No doubt the paymasters of Labour will hold out as long as possible, unfortunately they are only damaging their own long term prospects as the rest of the public sector follows the post office. Controlled via targets and investment in all the wrong places.

It is only after 10 years that prior investment decisions come home to roost.

By: Rob Atkins

Rob Atkins — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 23:49:16 +0000

John – I think you misundrestand Mandelson’s motivations. (words left out)There is no point at all in rationally explaining better ways of doing things – you have to focus on how good (words left out)Mandelson would look as a result of a particular course of action. Then he might take an interest. (Oh and if it can involve him meeting some real celebrities, especially anyone with serious money, then you stand a real chance of movement).

Mandelson – the best argument yet for an elected House of Lords …

By: Bazman

Bazman — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 21:43:40 +0000

Lola. Businesses send tonnes of mail, not just cards to their mums.

By: wonderfulforhisage

wonderfulforhisage — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 21:16:16 +0000

Redwood, have you been at the sause?

By: Adrian Peirson

Adrian Peirson — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:12:49 +0000

The Royal Mail is British, Westminster has promised the Globalists free reign, so the Royal Mail is to be destroyed so that Global companies like FedEx and can take over.

By: Susan

Susan — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:02:50 +0000

Competition from what, Lola? Countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain et al) which don’t adhere to the rules of the EU; countries (France; Denmark; Ireland) which vote against it will be ignored. There will be no competition because everything will be regulated and conform to an arbitrary norm.

The whole lot is stuff and nonsense. The Trades Unions have been in favour of a united Europe since the end of WWII. All it is is International Socialism under another name.

Food for thought: why is our Parliament taking the longest Christmas break? Answer: because they’re not needed; they oversee only 20% of UK legislation.

Mr Redwood, perhaps you should take a tip from the Fabian Society. I’d vote for you if you were my MEP.

By: Lola

Lola — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:17:33 +0000

Competition is the answer. Open the delivery of all mail to competition and abandon the Royal Mail t it. That would sort it in double quick time.

By: mikestallard

mikestallard — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 16:52:53 +0000

Let me see – have I got this right? Wasn’t there quite a lot of EU interference too? I seem to remember that some sort of competitive element was introduced along with the current method (which I met in Spain) for costing letters on their size.
The maddening thing is that actual postmen and women are some of the nicest, most trustworthy people I meet.
And how much was their pension fund standing at? I forget how many billions of pounds. They are certainly members of the lucky New Class.

By: Susan

Susan — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 16:27:53 +0000

The demise of the Post Office began in 1981 when the Royal Mail and the GPO were split up. Yes, it had its problems but nevertheless it was the envy of Europe and with goodwill and timely intervention the problems could have been fixed. Our post offices have been decimated, simply to fall in line with Europe’s ‘rules’. Successive governments have made ‘a dog’s dinner’ out of our Post Offices and nothing can save them now except a sovereign government independent of the EC. We Brits have become quite used to the depredations of the EU; everything that was once a source of pride and envied by the world has gone – including our parliamentary democracy.

For this government to take on the pension losses of the Post Office; to bail out car manufacturers; to recapitalise banks whilst at the same time lying to the public that this will lead to ‘more lending’; when our troops die in an unfunded and unwinnable war; when our elderly die in deplorable circumstances; when the attributes which made our four united countries ‘great’ in the first place are subverted, eroded and re-written – well, one has to wonder at the outcome.

Some people say that the Brits, and particularly the English, are stupid, dumbed down by soma tv, the BBC, by fast food & cheap fashion. Not so. Just like ‘Tommy’; we see.

I wish you well Mr Redwood. You say, “The Wokingham example is just a small one, indicative of problems across the network.” I agree.