Backwoodsman wrote:
Slightly off thread, why would anybody want to bring Royal Mail under government control. What’s so special about a company that delivers mail and parcels. As sub contractors more or less in the construction industry we are virtually paper free. Everything is done online , however we get parcels from various companies including Royal Mail . So Royal Mail aren’t particularly unique.
Royal Mail has the universal service obligation, which means it is required to provide affordable postal services to all UK addresses, at the same price across the UK.
Other providers don't have this legal requirement.
So if you live somewhere out in the sticks, other providers are free to say they don't deliver there or charge you much more for the service.
Now you could remove this universal service obligation and say its tough poop if you live out in the sticks, you should suck it up and pay more as it costs more to deliver it to you. But that would have political costs in those areas.
But while you have an unbalanced regulatory environment - where one firm has an obligation to provide single price/deliver anywhere in the UK terms, and its rivals don't, Royal Mail will always be at a competitive disadvantage to its rivals and less attractive to private investors, hence the argument that if government wants to provide that service it should own it.
