Opinion: Godmanchester card retailer urges MPs to stop devastating changes to Royal Mail service

Grace is backing a petition from the UK’s Greeting Card Association to force greater parliamentary scrutiny of changes to the postal service - after Ofcom confirmed it’s planning to allow Royal Mail to slash the second-class post.

The petition, which can be found at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/701850, is being promoted by the businesses that make up the UK’s diverse £1.5bn card industry including retailers, publishers, printers and designers.

Ofcom confirmed[1] it had begun a consultation that would lead to cut backs in the second-class service, giving the green light to Royal Mail’s premature trials to end Saturday second class delivery in over 30 locations from February.

Even though Ofcom has not irrevocably agreed to any permanent changes to Royal Mail’s legal obligations under the USO, those pilots will begin reducing second class delivery to every other weekday, Monday to Friday, meaning deliveries two or three days each alternate week.

The pilots will impact over a million households and small businesses, reducing their second class post service ahead of any formal change to the USO.

In October last year, Royal Mail raised the price of a first class stamp from £1.35 to £1.65 – an inflation-busting 22 per cent increase that was the fifth hike in less than three years.

A first class stamp is now almost twice the price of a second class stamp, which remains affordable at 85p because it has the protection of being pegged to inflation by regulator Ofcom.

What’s more, Royal Mail and Ofcom have made no secret of the fact their proposals need no intervention from government before implementation, bypassing parliamentary scrutiny[2].

Grace said:

"These proposals will impact small businesses like mine and millions of customers who demand a Royal Mail service that’s national, reliable and affordable.

"It’s time for MPs to get involved and stop this spiral of decline which could ultimately result in Royal Mail calling time on an affordable second-class stamp and increase costs for businesses and consumers alike.

"If they don’t, we’ll be left with a premium, uncapped, unregulated first-class stamp beyond financial reach."

[1] https://www.ofcom.org.uk/post/royal-mail/consultation-review-of-the-universal-postal-service-and-other-postal-regulation/[2] https://www.ofcom.org.uk/post/royal-mail/securing-the-future-of-the-universal-postal-service/: “The changes we are assessing could be made through Ofcom’s regulations, and would not require Parliament to make any changes to legislation.”