A radical reform of the postal service is required if Royal Mail is to be anything other than a second rate postal system and another drain on the public purse.
I’m sure we will ask where it all went wrong. When the idea of breaking the monopoly was touted in 1997 the headlines suggested lower prices and improved customer service.
Now there are far fewer deliveries, 2,500 Post Offices face closure and the inflation adjusted price of posting a letter has increased.
Yesterday the company announced it had made its first loss across its universal service. The news came as an independent review voiced concerns that the financial challenge facing the company threatened the existence of this bulwark of the Royal Mail service.
Certainly, the company has been hit by the decline of the traditional letter - total volumes fell by 3m last year. But the current constraints are such that it constricts any realistic chance it has of competing on an even keel with its increasingly strong competition.
Total privatisation is needed to keep the Royal Mail competitive. The service lost £200m across its price controlled business. Alarm bells should be ringing loud at Postcomm.
Its pension deficit needs to be addressed and the workers need to appreciate the size of the deficit and the challenges that poses, and indeed the threat to their future employment.
It is difficult for anyone to accept a reduction in what they have worked hard for or agree to work for a few more years but annual payments of £800m a year suggests that this is necessary. Royal Mail has one of the largest pension deficits in the country and if the camel's back is to be broken, this is a hay bail resting on it.
Preservation of the universal service is essential. Competition is growing in the urban areas but the rural regions remain totally reliant on Royal Mail’s service. Post Office closures are disastrous for these regions in terms of postal but also economic and social impact.
There is currently a review into the postal service. It needs to act fast an impose radical changes.