06 May 2009

In a hole and still digging

Me, I blame that Lord Mandelson. He's the one who's pushing it. The Times reports:
Downing Street and ministers gave short shrift to a proposal from the Compass think-tank to turn Royal Mail into a not-for-profit company, under a similar model to Network Rail, rather than selling off at least a third to an overseas competitor, arguing that there were better ways to modernise the organisation.
Pat McFadden, the Postal Affairs Minister, immediately turned down the idea, saying that Downing Street had dismissed the suggestion as “unworkable and not under consideration”. The minister said that the Royal Mail needed “transforming”, partly because of its huge pensions deficit, not a “political fix”.

And how exactly is selling off one-third of Royal Mail to a Dutch competitor likely to contribute to the necessary transforming?

And, if your party offers what at least appears to be a compromise, would it not be sensible to treat it seriously rather than dismissing it out of hand? OK, it might not work, but give it an even break.

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