Scottish News @ ScottishTimes SNP Press Release: ROYAL MAIL CHALLENGE TO MILIBAND “MATCH PUBLIC OWNERSHIP PLEDGE” – SALMOND Please find below the text of a letter from First Minister Alex Salmond to Labour leader Ed Miliband this weekend calling on him to match the Scottish Government’s pledge to keep Royal Mail in public ownership. A spokesperson for the First Minister said: “We have called for a moratorium on the sell-off of the Royal Mail until after next year’s independence referendum – and have also pledged that if it is sold off we will return it to public ownership in an independent Scotland following a Yes vote next year. “That pledge has already been backed by some of the leading trade union voices in Scotland, and this is Ed Miliband’s chance to match our commitment – something which, as the First Minister’s letter makes clear, could render the sell-off unviable across the whole of the UK.” Dear Ed I have this week written to the Prime Minister making clear that Royal Mail is a shared asset belonging to all parts of the UK. Scotland should be able to make its own decisions about the future of the publicly owned Royal Mail. I have called on the UK Government to therefore place a moratorium on the sale of the Royal Mail to allow the people of Scotland, when they vote next year, to come to a decision on whether this national asset should stay in public hands. As you approach your conference this weekend, I believe there is common ground between the Scottish Government, your delegates, the trade unions and the vast majority of the public in opposing this sale across the UK. Moreover, I believe that together there is an opportunity to stop this misguided sale in its tracks, should the Conservative Government be foolish enough to proceed with privatisation. I invite you to now make it clear that, if elected, you will bring the Royal Mail back into public ownership. By doing so, a clear message will be sent to potential buyers that this sale will not stand, thereby placing caveats on the prospectus, with the likely effect of rendering the floatation unviable. This would give people in Scotland, and in the rest of the UK, the democratic opportunity in the referendum and elections to reject this privatisation. Your conference this weekend marks your third anniversary as leader of the Labour Party. I would urge you to take this opportunity to make a real difference in the fight against the sale of Royal Mail. Match our pledge to reverse any privatisation by returning the Royal Mail to public ownership. ALEX SALMOND
Posted on: Sat, 21 Sep 2013 17:26:48 +0000