The Standard View: Three-day week deliveries would kill off Royal Mail

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If one wants to conjure up images of economic decay and political failure, one only has to utter the words “three-day week”. Yet that’s the direction Royal Mail appears to be going. Under shock proposals, the postal service would be allowed to halve the number of days it delivers from six to just three. This is part of the “options for reform” outlined in a consultation document from Ofcom today. The Government has rejected the idea, but without offering an alternative solution.

The problems for Royal Mail are stark. Letter volumes have halved since 2011 and are set to fall further. In response, the price of a first class stamp has risen sharply, now an eye-watering £1.25. This appears to be a classic negative spiral, in which lower demand drives prices up leading, of course, to fewer letters being sent in the post.

Ofcom estimates that Royal Mail could achieve a net cost saving of £400 million to £650 million if services were reduced to three days. Yet such a move would represent a fundamental change to a service that can trace its roots back to 1516. Moreover, going from six knocks on the door a week to three would leave millions of vulnerable people without a vital community service. The nature of how we communicate will continue to change and businesses will have to adapt. But far from saving Royal Mail, these proposals would sound the Last Post.

Tories’ soul-searching

Even by the haphazard standards of British political coups, it was never likely to succeed. Indeed, former cabinet minister Sir Simon Clarke failed even to convince fellow Right-wingers such as Dame Priti Patel and Sir Liam Fox to join him.

Sir Simon, one of just 11 Tory MPs to vote against the Government’s flagship Rwanda Bill, called for the Prime Minister to be replaced to avoid an election “massacre”. In pure psephological terms, he may not be far off — the Conservatives consistently trail Labour by 15 to 20 points in the polls. Yet this attempted regicide must also be seen in the prism of the Tories’ future. From tax cuts to small boats, there is a battle going on for the soul of the Conservative Party, one that may only be resolved following a period of opposition.

Interventions such as these only make that eventuality more likely.

Cultural sugar rush

In any other context, “oppressively stimulating” may not be the tagline a new exhibition would be hoping for. But for Cute at Somerset House, it is perfect.

From the first cat memes in the 1870s to Hello Kitty contact lenses, this is the place for a sugar rush of contemporary culture. Though far from coffee and cake in the cafe, you may instead need to lie down in a dark room when it’s all over.

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