The last post?

IN many respects, increases in the price of postage have not been commensurate with improvements in the Royal Mail’s service. As prices have risen, deliveries have become later – and second post, taken for granted a generation ago, is now a fading memory.

Yet, while the postal industry needs to reform, to take account of its pensions black hole and electronic communications, it needs to be realistic about its charges – and the prospect of increasing the cost of second class postage by 50 per cent is a foreboding one.

As well as making people think twice about whether to post a letter or email a missive, it will disadvantage those – like the elderly – who rely upon a mail service that is affordable to all.

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It either needs the Government to recognise that the Royal Mail is an essential service that will require further subsidy – or post bosses to look at more imaginative ways of safeguarding their business, such as abolishing the first and second class stamps and having a standard charge. That has to be more advantageous than the current plans which could end up with the Last Post being sounded.

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