Queen's head to disappear from stamps?

[Bob Singleton]

Actually, the Post Office would be well within its rights to issue stamps without the monarch's head now! It has nothing to do with potential foreign ownership at all, but then it helps sell copies of reactionary rags like The Daily Mail, and allows idiots like max_tranmere the opportunity to yet again post on topics he knows absolutely nothing about, bar a few words heard on Sky News or seen in the headlines of his favourite right wing, bigoted racist, small minded newspaper.

The bigger question, surly, is do we want a postal service that may no longer offer a fully national service? The likelihood is that any new owner will curtail deliveries and pick ups from rural areas. In these areas, the Post Office doesn't just deliver mail, but offers local transport, and a quasi-unofficial "support service" for the vulnerable (the infirm and aged for example)

If the selling off of the Post Office (based purely on the potential loss of the Queen's head on the stamps) is "a step too far", why wasn't the selling of the gas and electricity markets (which are just as much part of the back-bone of this country) a step too far... or does max still think the sun shines out of Maggie's arse, even after all these years?

Someone shoot him, please!

[spider]

Those things are very important, obviously. Equally as important as "Liz's head remaining on the stamps".

So why aren't we getting as concerned about the loss of service and the increased costs that are going to come as part of the privatisation plan as we are about some old bag having her head on the stamps?

My view is if they privatise the company the new owner should be allowed to stick whatever he wants on the stamps. I vote for a picture of Jim Slip in action.

If I was to make a list of 5,000 reasons not to privatise the postal service, Mrs Windsor's head being on the stamp would be about 6,251.

[spider]

I remember when BT used to be PO Telephones - all their vans and phone boxes had the Crown on them.

That disappeared at privatisation.

I think what will happen here is that a deal will be done that allows Mrs W's head stays on when the new German or Dutch owner takes over. BUT it will only be Mrs W. Once she departs to that Palace in the sky the custom will end and Charlie / Bill won't get their head on the stamp.

Be quite funny if the Germans buy the Royal Mail, they can have Frau Saxe-Coburg-Gotha's head on the stamps.

Not that it will matter, there will be so few stamps sold then that no-one will notice. The new owners aren't going to go round collecting stamped mail from all those tens of thousands of post boxes. They'll not be interested in providing a public service collecting and delivering Birthday Cards from Granny. They want the bulk mailings, door to door leaflets etc, etc.

As I say if I had to list 5,000 reasons...................

[RoddersUK]

I read that an MP looking at the wording of this sale spotted this error.
Apparently Royal Mail didn't want to have to many must do can't do in their advert so not to deter potential buyers. Twatts.
So, shouldn't the government tell the useless bastards to add a rider that the Sovereigns head will stay on the stamps.
As for a foreign company buying them no foreign cuntry should bid, but hey, the fucking government can't stop it as we are in fucking Europe.
Vote for Nigel at the next election to stand any chance of withdrawal from fucking Europe.

[spider]

"Apparently Royal Mail didn't want to have to many must do can't do in their advert so not to deter potential buyers. Twatts."


Hang on.....

It's not Royal Mail who are drawing up the legislation, it's the Government.

Royal Mail are just the piece of meat being sold, they are not having a say in the sale.

The Government are the ones don't want deter buyers and that's why the GOVERNMENT have left the bit off the contract about the Queen's head.

The Government just want the higest price.

As for the Government not being able to stop a sale to a foreign buyer because we are in Europe..............

Can you see the French selling off La Poste anytime soon?

[andy at handiwork]

Nothing to do with being 'in Europe'. Our national assets are up for sale to anyone, be they European, American, Chinese.

[beutelwolf]

max_tranmere wrote:

> I hear today that the Royal Mail could be sold to a foreign
> firm, and they are under no obligation to keep the Queen's head
> on British stamps. This is a step too far I think. Foreign
> people shouldn't be able to buy Royal Mail at all, let alone
> remove the Queen's head from stamps. Apparently the Government,
> who have no way of forcing the new owner to retain the Queen's
> head on the stamps, are 'confident' any buyer will. What do
> people think about this? I think losing the Queen's head from
> our stamps would be as big as losing it from our coins, but
> that will probably be the next thing. It should remain British
> owned, and the Queen's head should stay.

My view: it should remain a public service; if it's sold I don't really care whether the buyer is foreign or domestic.

As far as the monarch's image on the stamps is concerned (won't be Liz forever) I cannot say I care much either way.

However, I would throw in two sticks against the stream:

1) As a former stamp collector (a very long time ago) I have to say that (modern) British stamps with their monarch's head are deeply boring, and not worth collecting at all. OK, sometimes there are these special issue stamps in which the monarch's head only appears in stylised form. So I would not be surprised if at least these special-issue stamps became the norm rather than the exception after privatisation. This can easily create a few million income of people buying the stamps who are not buying the service associated with it.

2) If Royal Mail becomes privately owned it ceases to be an institution of the state. In that case I prefer some honesty in the symbolism: drop the 'Royal' from the name and replace it by the owner's name, e.g. Tesco Mail. They can then put the head of Tesco's CEO on the stamps if they want to.

[spider]

I prefer some honesty in the symbolism: drop the 'Royal' from the name and replace it by the owner's name, e.g. Tesco Mail.

It will be known as "Deutsche Post" or "TNT" in future then.

[Bob Singleton]

RoddersUK wrote:


... but hey, the fucking government can't stop it as we are in fucking Europe.
Vote for Nigel at the next election to stand any chance of withdrawal from fucking Europe.





More ill-informed bollocks from one of the far right little-englander morons on this forum. Being in the EU has NOTHING to do with who the Government may or may not be selling the family silver to.

[one eyed jack]

Given how anti royal some of the posters have been on here I couldnt imagine anyone caring.

I'm not anti royal. In fact its one of the things I love about this country and its history but if the post office is privatised then its up to the company that buys it what it chooses to put on its stamps

Nowadays when i go to the post office they dont even put stamps on envelopes much anyway.