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From The Socialist newspaper, 10 June 2015
Royal Mail sell-off: Public service, not private profit
Rob McArdle, postal worker
Tory Chancellor George Osborne's sale of the remaining 30% government stake in privatised Royal Mail, is a desperate act to meet his commitment of clearing the budget deficit by 2018-19.
Working people are still being forced to pay for the banking crisis with unprecedented cuts to services, while the only cut the rich are experiencing are tax cuts to inflate their already bursting bank balances.
The government is hoping that this sell-off isn't botched like the 2013 privatisation which undervalued Royal Mail by a staggering £750 million - effectively lining the pockets of the Tories' rich City friends.
Ironically, during his recent sell-off announcement Osborne said: "It is not our money or the government's money, it's the money that people work for and pay in taxes and entrust to us to spend wisely."
Although he had no mandate to privatise Royal Mail, Osborne ignored the public and with Lib Dem help - bulldozed his plans through the last parliament.
Even Tory voters would sooner see a publicly run postal service, with just 8% "strongly supporting" the original sale in a YouGov poll. Osborne knows his decision is unpopular with voters as well as Royal Mail workers.
Royal Mail workers, with newly elected Dave Ward at the helm of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), need to send a strong message of opposition to the government's latest sell-off plans. Moreover, the CWU should continue to fight for its demand to take the industry back into public ownership.
Selling off the final 30% public share of Royal Mail is estimated to raise £1.5 billion, although shares fell by 2.5% immediately upon the announcement, a £50 million drop in the company's value.
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The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.
The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.
The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.
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- When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.
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In The Socialist 10 June 2015:
Socialist Party news and analysis
£7K rise for MPs... Peanuts for us!
Strikes and bold campaigning can beat academy plans
Coulson case collapses amid stench of hypocrisy
Fifa scandals - a rottenness based on corporate greed
Fight devastating spending cuts
Royal Mail sell-off: Public service, not private profit
Can Corbyn's left challenge succeed?
International socialist news and analysis
Greece: Crunch time for Syriza?
900 attend rally to re-elect Kshama Sawant!
Socialist Party feature
No to a capitalist EU, Yes to a socialist Europe!
Socialist Party workplace news
Fight austerity! Fight anti-union laws!
Council cancels facility time to pave way for cuts
Gains for left in Unison elections
'Clear fighting strategy' needed for council workers
RMT strikes for unfairly sacked train guard
Bakers' union debates political representation
Striking porters 'a hundred times stronger'
Socialist Party reports and campaigns
'Promising futures' wasted by cuts
Join TUSC on the march against austerity
Newcastle demo sets a striking tone
Leeds TUSC calls for not-for-profit letting agency
Protesters tell Labour councils to fight Tory cuts
Readers' comments and reviews
1945 - when Britain said no to Churchill
'Socialism is the only way to stop austerity and poverty'
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