The cowardice of Labour

It is too much to hope that by the time all our subscribers have received this week’s magazine there will have been a change of government. Nevertheless, world events may have moved on substantially. The Royal Mail has admitted that it will take three weeks to clear the backlog of post created by last week’s illegal strikes by postal workers. The cost to business has been immense. Bills, contracts and order forms still sit helplessly in the wire bins of the Royal Mail’s Dickensian sorting offices as postal workers return grudgingly to work. As we go to press, many subscribers are only just waking up to last week’s issue.

It is beyond our power to do much about late-arriving magazines. Until deregulation on 1 April 2007 the Royal Mail will continue to enjoy its effective monopoly of postal services. At present it remains illegal for any private company to set up a rival postal service unless it agrees to carry only items weighing more than 100 grammes, or to charge more than £1 for each item.