Royal Mail and the Post Office

Before my hon. Friend moves off that point, all that opening-up of the market has not come without a significant amount of pain and a significant number of job losses, as I am sure he well recognises. The problems cannot be rectified quickly, especially in rural areas such as Argyll and Bute and my own area. Some 30,000 jobs have been lost—and, I hate to add, there may be more losses to come.