Madsen Pirie

Rather inaccurately describing the Bow Group as a “leading right-wing think tank (it is none of those three), the Telegraph reports its dire warnings about the impending privsatization of Royal Mail.  In a letter to every Tory MP, the Bow Group chairman, Ben Harris-Quinney, said:

“The privatisation of Royal Mail is likely to swiftly form a poisonous legacy for the Government now, and a poisonous legacy for the Conservative Party going forward.”

Mr Harris-Quinney added privatisation could endanger “the financial stability of Post Offices” in rural areas by separating Royal Mail further from the 11,500-network.

Oh yes, and he also warned that the price of stamps is likely to rise when people can least afford it.  Ah, Memory Lane, and the scents and sounds it brings back.  Of course, people said this of Post Office telephones when that was privatized in 1984, and they have said it about every privatization since.  In most cases prices fell in real terms as competition clicked in.  Look at our phone services now.  In some cases prices rose to provide the recapitalization required after decades of under-funding and poor maintenance under state management.  The result has been a modernization of services that have helped British businesses to compete internationally.  The odds are overwhelming that a privatized Royal Mail will introduce modern technology faster, giving us a more streamlined, more effective service.

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