Royal Mail delays

Over the past few months, many residents have contacted me about serious with their post. Birthday cards are arriving late, important letters are turning up after appointments have passed, and some households get nothing for days before a bundle suddenly appears. These aren’t one-off glitches — they are signs of a system under strain.

Royal Mail says that the Universal Service Obligation (USO) remains unchanged. That’s the rule that promises letter deliveries six days a week, to every home, for the same price. But several changes in the way letters are handled tell a different story.

In 2021, Royal Mail introduced a cheaper “economy service” for businesses. More companies now use it, but these letters can sit in machines at the Dorset Mail Centre for days. Many aren’t sent to local sorting offices until First or Second Class mail arrives for the same address. Second Class post has also been scaled back. Royal Mail now delivers it on alternate weekdays — Monday-Wednesday-Friday one week, then Tuesday-Thursday the next. There are no Saturday deliveries for Second Class. Combined with fewer people sending letters, it’s clear why some households go a week or more without post.

At the same time, parcel volumes have exploded. Parcels are heavier, bulkier, and take priority in vans. I have heard reports that some managers instruct postal workers to focus on parcels first. This leaves letters waiting.

I am also really worried about the impact on our hard-working posties. Many residents have described exhausted postal workers apologising at the door. Some posties say they can’t finish rounds within their hours and are refused overtime, leaving letters in the office for another day. Royal Mail told me no round should be left more than two days, but that doesn’t match what we’re hearing.

I raised this in Parliament, and Ministers have now met OFCOM to challenge their regulation of Royal Mail. The company has missed its service targets year after year and has been repeatedly fined.

I’m also concerned about the upcoming “improvement plan.” Working conditions for some postal staff have already worsened, with new recruits treated differently from long-serving colleagues. My fear is that frontline posties will be blamed for problems caused by management decisions.

That would be a huge mistake. Our posties are the heart of this service. They know their routes, they know our communities, and for many residents — especially older or isolated people — they may be the only friendly face they see that day. We lose something important when deliveries become unreliable.

Royal Mail has been part of British life for 500 years. If people can’t rely on the post, they will stop using it — and that, in turn, threatens the service further.

I will continue to challenge Royal Mail and the Government to protect a service that households, businesses, and communities depend on every single day. You deserve a postal system that works — and I won’t stop pushing until we see it.