Letter to FT from Stuart Bell MP

Sir, By creating independent regulatory bodies, the government nevertheless finds it cannot walk away from its responsibilities towards the national economy. Postcomm may be independent but the government would not escape electoral responsibility for an over-hasty opening of the postal markets (“Postcomm’s independence in ‘extremely good health'”, May 30).

“What about the workers?” may be a cry from a bygone age, but the difficulties encountered by Consignia – losses of Pounds 1.5m a day with a spin-off in threatened redundancies – meant that it was wise for Patricia Hewitt, the trade and industry secretary, to let Postcomm know of her anxieties about an over-hasty rush to the free market. The lesson is that the so-called independence of regulators will never be a substitute for democratic accountability.