Defending London's Postal Service

The London Assembly is concerned that the quality of London’s universal postal service is under threat following the Chancellor Exchequer’s recent announcement that the Government is to sell its remaining stake in Royal Mail^[12].  Shortly after this announcement the Government sold half of its remaining 30 per cent share^[13].

This Assembly believes that the move to fully privatise the service not only represents a bad deal for tax payers but will also potentially reduce scrutiny and transparency in an organisation that has been serving the public interest since the early 1500s[14]. These concerns are not merely limited to the delivery of the Royal Mail’s core services, but are also relevant in respect of the availability of affordable housing in London, as the Royal Mail seeks to divest itself of land assets capable of delivering thousands of homes in the capital[15].

The London Assembly calls on the Mayor to defend London’s postal service and ensure Royal Mail’s land assets are used to deliver housing across all tenures in the capital by lobbying the government to conduct an open and transparent cost-benefit analysis of selling the remaining 15% stake in the Royal Mail.

[12] http://www.ftadviser.com/2015/06/04/investments/economic-indicators/royal-mail-privatisation-top-of-chancellor-s-debt-reduction-sUX0WX8FU59TrIh4OYhmPL/article.html

[13] http://news.sky.com/story/1499747/govt-sells-its-15-percent-stake-in-royal-mail

[14] http://www.royalmailgroup.com/Timeline

[15] Julia Kollewe, Royal Mail may reap £662m from planned sale of London sorting office, The Guardian, 11.11.14