MAY I place on record my personal support, and the support of Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour Party, for the postal workers who are in dispute with the Royal Mail. At the time of writing, the CWU and the Royal Mail were back round the table at the TUC and I hope a deal has been reached by the time this letter is printed!

This dispute is about so much more than pay and conditions. It is about the future of our postal service. Everyone agrees that the Royal Mail needs to modernise. However, modernisation does not mean attacking workers or attacking their pay, conditions and pensions. In recent years we have seen the service offered by Royal Mail deteriorate, in what I believe is a deliberate plan by Royal Mail management to force the Government to accept privatisation.

Many of us in the Labour Party totally oppose any sell-off of the Royal Mail. The outcome of the next election will decide the fate of the Royal Mail. Both the Tories and the LibDems support even greater privatisation, At least with Labour we have a chance, with our trade union and worker friends, to fight privatisation.

I urge all postal workers in Harrogate and Knaresborough to support their colleagues in this action. I hope residents and businesses who are suffering will put pressure on the Royal Mail management to reach a settlement. Please also write to our MP, Phil Willis, and ask him to support a fully publicly owned Royal Mail. I do and the local Labour Party does.