COMPASS - FIRST ROYAL MAIL, NEXT THE BANKS
A message from Compass
In Case Not Made Compass showed that the Hooper Report was fundamentally flawed! In April they proved that current market conditions meant the Post Office sell off could lose up to £900M for the Treasury. Even under better financial conditions, part privatisation never represented value for money for the tax payer.
This win would never have happened without the great work of Compass members and supporters but this is only the beginning. They need the government to now work with the CWU to modernise Royal Mail into a not-for-profit dividend company similar to Network Rail. We also call for the creation of a locally based Post Bank; that can support small businesses and work within the community to reinforce the Post Office network.
As Jon Cruddas MP asked today “can’t we be more imaginative than just resorting to privatisation?” - We need to put together the ideas and action for real reform of public services - reform that could bring power back to the people and communities.
Compass have been awarded £20,000 of match funding from the Millfield House Foundation to carry out work on reforming our banking system. The goal is to develop a range of policy ideas on how Northern Rock and other failed former building societies can be reformed to help the financially excluded and positively contribute to the future of our economy and society.
In order to unlock this grant Compass need to raise a further £10,000 from members and supporters - every pound you give will unlock twice as much again for this important work.
They need just 200 people to donate £50 today - less for those on tight incomes, or more if you can afford it. Go to the website now and make a donation: http://www.compassonline.org.uk/about/donate.asp . Or make cheques payable to ‘Compass’ and send to FREEPOST COMPASS.
The fight for a more equal, democratic and sustainable Britain is starting to exert real influence. You have helped stop Royal Mail privatisation – now help us rebuild the banks.
Network Rail is a not for dividend private company run on commercial lines;only one which depends on government money. It is not scoailly owned.
The problem with Royal Mail is that the government has privatised parts of its work as a result of EU liberalisation. What we need to secure the the universal service obligation is to stop and turn back liberalisation of the work.
Comment by Martin Wicks — 2 July, 2009 @ 5:47 pm
Not entirely Martin, the government has allowed private operators into the UK postal sector and it has introduced postal liberalisation ahead of the relevant EU Directive.
Great article and Compass has played a hugely positive role in this campaign, but first and foremost, this was a victory won by the CWU - Britain’s top fighting union.
Similarly, it’s great that Compass supports the Post Bank proposal.
There is a broad alliance of supporters for this proposal - including the CWU, Federation of Small Businesses, National Pensioners Convention and National Federation of Sub-Postmasters - who have come together in the Post Bank Coalition to pursue this aim.
And Jon Cruddas MP has sponsored EDM 1082 in support of the Post Bank plan.
Comment by communist — 2 July, 2009 @ 6:13 pm
The qoute of Cruddas is incomplete. He actually says
“We know every little helps, but can’t we be more imaginative than just resorting to privatisation? Why not, in the case of Royal Mail, try a not-for-profit enterprise that lets in private-sector management and funding but locks out private shareholders who are only interested in the profits they can squeeze out of postal deliveries?”
So in other words he supports a PPI variant. Once a Blairite always a Blairite.
Comment by Anonymous — 3 July, 2009 @ 7:36 pm