Labour and Tories reveal RM takeover stance ahead of Thursday’s election
As the general election looms on Thursday, 4 July, both Labour and Conservatives have revealed their stances on Royal Mail and Daniel Křetínský’s £3.5billion takeover bid of the 508-year-old British institution.
However, commentators have also slammed the publication of the complex 137-page offer document, which has been endorsed by the board of RM parent company International Distribution Services, during the period when all government business has stopped because of the election.
GCA ceo Amanda Fergusson said: “This is what the main two parties are saying, and we are getting ready to hold them to their promises.”
Conservatives: “We will ensure Royal Mail continues to deliver the universal postal service in a way which is affordable for customers as well as being efficient and financially sustainable. Saturday deliveries are important, particularly to businesses, which is why we are clear they will not be scrapped.”
Labour: “Royal Mail remains a key part of the UK’s infrastructure. Labour will ensure that any proposed takeover is robustly scrutinised and that appropriate guarantees are forthcoming that protect the interests of the workforce, customers and the United Kingdom, including the need to maintain a comprehensive universal service obligation. Labour will also explore new business and governance models for Royal Mail so that workers and customers who rely on Royal Mail services can have a stronger voice in the governance and strategic direction of the company.”
Meanwhile, RM shareholders are understood to have received a letter on Thursday, 27 June, asking if they would sell their shares to the EP Group owned by the Czech billionaire – he has to get around a 75% agreement then can go for compulsory purchase, although the deal would still need to be rubberstamped by the government.
But commentator Alex Brummer, writing in the Daily Mail, pointed out that the current governmental lockdown means the takeover risks becoming a fait accompli before the intense scrutiny promised by a possible new Labour majority can be undertaken.
On the wider political front affecting the greeting card industry, Labour’s manifesto says it will transform High Streets to tackle the retail crisis through reforming business tax, investing in town centres and supporting small, independent retail businesses.
The Conservatives have vowed to invest in local High Streets, and the Lib Dems want to expand banking hubs and bring in a “national financial inclusion strategy” to protect cash access in remote areas.
Labour wants to replace the business rates system in England, cap Corporation Tax at 25% for its entire parliament, and allow retail permanent full expensing for capital investment and the annual investment allowance for small businesses.
Lib Dems have also promised to replace business rates with a commercial landowner levy, while the Tories offer £4.3bn worth of business rates support over the next five years, and will increase the multiplier on distribution warehouses that support online shopping.
There’s no mention of retail crime from the Lib Dems, while the Tory promise is for tougher sentences on retail staff and to give the police the power to track down stolen property while hiring 8,000 more full-time officers.
And Labour wants to introduce a new “Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee” with the recruitment of thousands of new officers, and to introduce a specific offence for assaults against shopworkers.
