A motion agreed by the London Assembly today calls on the Mayor to ensure Royal Mail’s land assets are used to deliver housing, as it seeks to divest itself of land in the capital.
The Assembly also recommends that the Mayor should lobby the government to conduct an open and transparent analysis of the costs versus benefits of selling its remaining 15 per cent stake in the Royal Mail.
Murad Qureshi AM, who proposed the motion said:
“It’s now clear that the Chancellor wants to finish the job he started and oversee the complete demise of what was once one of Britain’s most valued assets – the Royal Mail.
It’s time the Mayor stepped up to the mark, started defending what’s left of London’s postal service. That means ensuring that any land Royal Mail disposes of for the development of housing includes adequate provision for affordable homes.”
The full text of the Motion is:
“The London Assembly is concerned that the quality of London’s universal postal service is under threat following the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s recent announcement that the Government is to sell its remaining stake in Royal Mail. Shortly after this announcement the Government sold half of its remaining 30 per cent share.
This Assembly believes that the move to fully privatise the service not only represents a bad deal for tax payers but will also potentially reduce scrutiny and transparency in an organisation that has been serving the public interest since the early 1500s. These concerns are not merely limited to the delivery of the Royal Mail’s core services, but are also relevant in respect of the availability of affordable housing in London, as the Royal Mail seeks to divest itself of land assets capable of delivering thousands of homes in the capital.
The London Assembly calls on the Mayor to defend London’s postal service and ensure Royal Mail’s land assets are used to deliver housing across all tenures in the capital by lobbying the government to conduct an open and transparent cost-benefit analysis of selling the remaining 15 per cent stake in the Royal Mail.”
Notes to editors:
The motion was agreed by 13 votes for and 2 against.
The full webcast is available here.
Murad Qureshi AM who proposed the motion is available for interviews. Please see contact details below.
As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
For media enquiries, please contact Mary Dolan on 020 7983 4603. For out of hours media enquiries, call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the London Assembly duty press officer. Non-media enquiries should be directed to the Public Liaison Unit on 020 7983 4100.