Shadow Trade & Industry Secretary Willetts says UK Royal Mail sell-off will not deliver
The Conservatives have signalled their opposition to the partial privatisation of the Royal Mail, increasing the political difficulty for the government of accepting the plan favoured by the group’s management.
Speaking to the Financial Times, David Willetts, the new shadow trade and industry secretary, said he was “sceptical” about the proposal to transfer a majority stake in the state-owned postal operator to its staff.
He warned that the Royal Mail could end up being neither politically nor commercially accountable, in a “sort of limbo, where there’s nobody putting them under pressure to perform”.
Ministers are still considering whether to cede to pressure for the scheme from the postal operator. Any such change would require approval by MPs – Tory opposition, allied to a likely Labour rebellion, could make such a vote hard for the government to win.
The Tories would attack Labour for breaking its commitment to a “publicly-owned” Royal Mail, Mr Willetts said. “Call me old fashioned, but what happened to the idea that you fought the election on a manifesto and then stuck to it?”
The Royal Mail’s future is just one item in Mr Willetts’ crowded in-tray. He said he was pleased to have lost his “absurd” title created by the government’s botched reshuffle, when the brief renaming of his shadow department made him temporarily the shadow productivity, energy and industry secretary. “I wouldn’t want to repeat that (penis) acronym but suffice to say it was an almighty cock-up.”
Mr Willetts clearly relished the intellectual challenge of his pre-election shadow cabinet job covering pensions; an issue he helped push up the political agenda. But he insisted there was no shortage of “economic meaty issues” in his new role, such as long-term questions on energy policy, productivity and the financing of infrastructure.
The complexity of the shadow trade and industry brief has been exacerbated by the policy vacuum created by the Tory leadership contest. Until a successor to Michael Howard is elected, Mr Willetts will have to oppose the government without being able to put forward an agreed Conservative alternative.
He also has to accommodate a shadow cabinet colleague, John Redwood, with specific responsibility for deregulation: an issue that would usually have formed part of the DTI brief.
Asked if the Tories’ existing policies had been a big factor in their failure to woo business, Mr Willetts was characteristically diplomatic. “Well, I’ve been brought in to take a fresh approach and we’ve suffered another election defeat and it must be the opportunity for a rethink.”
This rethink could be radical, judging by Mr Willett’s implicit criticism of the Conservatives’ business manifesto. “My starting point is that bringing down the burden of tax and cutting red tape do not of themselves add up to a complete economic policy for the Conservatives,” he said.
Mr Willetts hopes to increase his party’s appeal to business by addressing issues beyond tax and regulation, such as skills, energy policy and investment in infrastructure. Business leaders are being invited to a Tory “competitiveness conference” on these themes.
“I want the Conservative party to be thinking in an imaginative, constructive and long-term way,” he said. “If we take these problems seriously, then business will take us seriously.”
Mr Willetts said many business leaders had welcomed him in his new role, reflecting a desire for the Tories to become a more effective opposition. “In general, they can feel that the next election is open. And it’s bad for everyone if the government gets an easy ride. In this job, there’s a large number of businesspeople who want to beat a path to your door. Business leaders are keen to have a dialogue. They want to feel that we will listen.”
He refused to speculate on the leadership race, however, declining to comment on whether he would throw his own hat into the ring. There was a golden opportunity for a debate
