Royal Mail stake to be sold to private foreign firm in £3bn deal

Extracts from BBC NEWS Friday, 18 February, 2005, 00:01 GMT

also see (SEE 16 December 2008)

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Royal Mail loses postal monopoly

The Royal Mail’s 350-year monopoly is to end at the start of 2006, 15 months earlier than previously planned.

The UK’s postal service market will be fully liberalised from 1 January 2006, regulator Postcomm announced, following three months of consultation.

From that date, any licensed operator will be able to deliver mail to business and residential customers.
Royal Mail, which controls 99% of the market, welcomed the news but the main postal union said it was “ill-advised”.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) warned the decision will place “the country’s cherished universal service in jeopardy”.

The CWU also criticised what it said was a “competition at all costs” ethos which it says will put the Post Office at a serious competitive disadvantage to its European rivals.

Challenge over EU referendum given go-ahead by High Court

LISBON TREATY LITIGATION

UPDATE  25th June 2008  I am sorry to say that I lost and that Lord Justice Dyson did not appear to have taken on board that the government had, in effect, guaranteed to me that they would not ratify the treaty before the hearing, and had breached this undertaking.

Although I was the person who brought the action, it was, in effect, on behalf of all those of us – well over half the population – who wanted our say in a referendum.

Waging war against plastic bags

EVEN the Prime Minister has a view on a tax or ban on plastic shopping bags. And even more stores begin charging for them.

My simple answer is make the manufacturers build in a shelf life of 12 Months after which the bag starts to disintegrate – or is this TO SIMPLE.