Labour’s gamble with Royal Mail may go horribly wrong | Nils Pratley

Past talk of renationalisation gives way to approval of takeover in which price of first-class stamp could be set from Prague

• Royal Mail takeover by billionaire Daniel Křetínský approved
• Who is Daniel Křetínský, the new boss of Royal Mail?

Two general elections ago, Labour was promising to renationalise Royal Mail. Now, in office, it is happy to see the ancient institution fall to a leveraged takeover bid from a private equity-style company that will have the power to set the price of a first-class stamp from Prague.

The decision is an outright gamble. Many European countries have privatised their postal services but there is a good reason why none have allowed ownership to pass overseas. Even in a digital age, businesses such as Royal Mail provide critical national infrastructure that has a social value on top.

Continue reading...

from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2MQrhO4