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Mandelson to speed Royal Mail sell-off
Nicholas Cecil, Chief Political Correspondent26.02.09
LORD Mandelson plans to rush through the sell-off of Royal Mail within months in the face of Cabinet opposition, it emerged today.
The taxpayer will also pick up a bill for at least £6billion for postal workers' pensions under the deal. In the document accompanying the Postal Services Bill published today, the Business Secretary said public funds would not be used to bail out the pension scheme if the part-privatisation plan is blocked.
He said today: "All the reform proposals, acted on now, are what is needed if we are to ensure the future of the universal service." Royal Mail's pension scheme has a deficit believed to be between £6billion and £8billion. Ministers are seeking a partner to buy a 30 per cent stake by this summer.
In a bid to defuse an MP revolt at the shake-up, Lord Mandelson unveiled a series of concessions. Royal Mail will remain mainly publicly owned, the universal six-day-a-week postal obligation will be written into law, and Post Office Ltd, which includes the branch network, will be entirely government-owned.
Reader views (4)
Gordon Brown has made many, many mistakes during his term as chancellor - and now as our unelected prime minister - but his gravest mistake was to appoint the odious Mandelson as business secretary.
- R.F., Yorks, UK
Am I going completely dotty, or is this the same Lord Mandelson who said in the New Year that he was absolutely NOT going to privatise the Royal Mail . . . ?!
I think there should be an investigation: clearly one of these Lord Mandelsons is an imposter!
- Roz, Chamonix, France
Can Some One Tell Has This Mandelson Character Been elected if Not why does he have so much Power If We Live In a Democracy ????
- David Ashton, Denmark
The Government tells us the only way to save the big banks is to nationalise them. The Government tells us the only way to save the Post Office to privatise it.
I remember the privatisations of gas, electicity and water which were going to bring competition and benefits for customers. I remember Government guarantees that they would stay as free, competing companies delivering low-priced services. Now our utilities are part of giant foreign-owned conglomerates who are allowed to charge us huge prices to augment their massive profits.
- Wat Tyler, Derbyshire, England
