New poll shows little support for UK privatisation

Six in ten voters believe the Royal Mail should remain a wholly publicly-owned organisation and just 15% support privatising the company, according to a You Gov poll published today (Monday). The poll was commissioned by the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Labour leadership candidate Ed Balls.

The poll comes on the day that Balls and the CWU launched a campaign to ‘Keep the Post Public’, following suggestions from coalition Ministers that the Royal Mail could be privatised or partially sold off.

The poll shows that the majority of Conservative (51%) and Liberal Democrat voters (63%) support a fully publicly-owned Royal Mail, with support for public ownership rising among older age groups who are more likely to be reliant on the postal service (70% of over 60s).

Only 13% of voters back suggestions to sell a minority stake in the Royal Mail to a private investor.

Balls said: “The universal post is a vital and trusted service for millions of people, particularly pensioners and those living in more remote areas. And this poll shows voters reject plans by the coalition government for a full or partial sell off of the Royal Mail.

“Rather than privatising or breaking up the Royal Mail I believe we must keep it universal in the public sector, as Labour promised in our manifesto. The Post Office is also a trusted source of financial products and services so we should transform it into a ‘People’s Bank’.

“There are big challenges ahead, but Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union have made massive strides to agree tough modernisation plans which mean it has a long-term future in the public sector.

“But the case for privatising or selling off parts of the Royal Mail has not been made. With the economy so uncertain it’s unlikely to fetch a fair price and the taxpayer may still be expected to carry the burden of Royal Mail’s pension deficit – a massive public handout to whoever bought the company.

“The right solution is to make a modernised Royal Mail work as a public service. So over the coming weeks, I will be campaigning with CWU members to keep the post public and reject any proposals to sell it off.”

Billy Hayes, general secretary of the CWU, said: “This poll reaffirms what we already knew. The British public does not want their postal services sold off. The union and the company have worked hard to agree a fully funded modernisation plan and that work needs support from the government.

“We agree wholeheartedly with Ed Balls’ comments. We hope that the coalition government will recognise that the British public don’t want the sale and will follow Ed’s lead in defending a hugely popular public institution and drop plans for a bill to privatise it.”