In a report out today the former Business Minister Lord Myners has suggested that there was a £180 million shortfall in the sale of Royal Mail last year as the shares could have been sold for 30p more per share – but were not as the coalition did not take all Royal Mail’s assets into account and ministers were alarmed about all the ‘considerable‘ risks in the sell off.
Commenting, Banff & Buchan MP Eilidh Whiteford said:
"This is yet more evidence that the privatisation of Royal Mail has been a complete botch up from day one. This report shows that the UK Government could have made millions more for the taxpayer from this rushed, ill thought through sell off - but didn’t. This privatisation has been a fiasco from the start with Royal Mail itself now saying it fears for the future of the Universal Service Obligation (USO) – which is so important for businesses and consumers in Scotland .
"Each new disaster has been utterly predictable. In fact the SNP has been warning about this since the whole sorry sell off started - and the people who will pay for this incompetence are the individuals and businesses in rural parts of Scotland who need and should have the same postal services as the rest of us.
"Royal Mail should never have been privatised and it is painfully clear that the UK government should never have sold off a valuable public asset at well below its true value and despite all the warning about the end of the USO. We know the majority of Scots were totally opposed to the privatisation of Royal Mail - more than any other part of the UK. We need a postal service that meets the needs of our communities and one which is brought back into public ownership."
"Each new disaster has been utterly predictable. In fact the SNP has been warning about this since the whole sorry sell off started - and the people who will pay for this incompetence are the individuals and businesses in rural parts of Scotland who need and should have the same postal services as the rest of us.
"Royal Mail should never have been privatised and it is painfully clear that the UK government should never have sold off a valuable public asset at well below its true value and despite all the warning about the end of the USO. We know the majority of Scots were totally opposed to the privatisation of Royal Mail - more than any other part of the UK. We need a postal service that meets the needs of our communities and one which is brought back into public ownership."