Royal Mail bill missing from Queen's speech
It would appear that the majority of the Queen's speech was leaked to the press over the weekend and many noticed that a bill for the part privatisation of Royal Mail was missing. While unofficially the government is refusing to confirm or deny plans to privatise the Royal Mail unofficial sources suggest that while the bill is missing from this year's Queen's speech the government does plan to push ahead with a part privatisation by the summer of 2011.
While there is much speculation in Parliament regarding the Royal Mail, many believe this could be the first of a number of potential disagreements between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservative party. There would appear to be some dispute as to the potential percentage of the company which will be sold off although one thing appears to be certain, the post office network will not be part of the deal.
As we mentioned last week, there is also a multibillion pound pension fund deficit which the government will need to address before even considering a potential part sale of the business. This is likely to cost UK taxpayers although bringing in an independent third-party should offer significant benefits to the operational efficiency of the company in the medium to longer term.
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