The Scottish National Party has put the cat among the pigeons by saying it would reverse the privatisation of Royal Mail if it secures victory in the 2014 independence election.
First Minister Alex Salmond confirmed the plan during first minister’s questions today. Responding to Tory MSP Gavin Brown, Salmond said: “An independent Scottish government that I lead – because it will be the decision of the Scottish people – will bring the Royal Mail, our postal service, back into public ownership.”
Salmond has already asked UK ministers to hold off on privatising the Royal Mail until after the Scottish independence referendum, on September 18 2014, claiming the move could have a serious impact on the Scottish economy and rural communities.
However, critics have question how this would ultimately be achieved, as it would mean a separate postal operator just for north of the border. This would be hugely expensive to run, especially given the rural nature of the country.
One industry insider claimed Salmond was simply trying to exploit public fears about how a privately owned postal operator would affect their services.
He said: “It all sounds good in theory; in practice it will be virtually impossible. By its very nature Royal Mail is a nationwide company; how could you possibly renationalise just a part of it? Delivering to the outlying areas of Scotland is very expensive. At the moment this is paid for mainly by business customers operating out of the rest of the UK. If they choke that revenue off, Royal Mail Scotland would be bankrupt within weeks.”
And Labour’s Shadow Minister for Postal Affairs, Edinburgh South MP Ian Murray, described it as another “off the cuff” promise.
He added: “Businesses and the public will want to know how much it will cost to post a letter within and out of Scotland and how much it will cost taxpayers to buy it back and maintain the Universal Service.”
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Alex Salmond pledges to re-nationalise Royal Mail if SNP wins ‘yes’ vote in 2014 http://t.co/AlsrmFDJru #directmail #directmarketing