The privatisation of Royal Mail in 2013 was a bad deal for the public.  

A 2014 report by the UK’s independent public spending watchdog, the National Audit Office, concluded that Royal Mail’s shares were priced too cheaply, losing the public £750 million on the first day of trading. Since then, the damage and the cost to the public has only grown.

The universal service obligation — to deliver letters to all UK addresses six days a week at a uniform price — has been progressively abandoned. At the same time, the contracts of ordinary posties have become less secure, according to the postal union, the CWU.

But not everybody is losing out.

Since privatisation, the bosses of Royal Mail have collected millions in pay, and the company has paid out nearly £2 billion in dividends, including to the Czech billionaire, Daniel Křetínský, who is the largest owner of Royal Mail through his company, EP Group.  

Privatisation has failed. It's time to return to sender — and bring Royal Mail back into public hands to deliver a reliable universal service once again.