Government and Ofcom will need to put their stamp on Royal Mail | Business

One of Sir Vince Cable’s most difficult moments as business secretary came in the aftermath of the Royal Mail privatisation. The sale of the postal service had been controversial enough; not even that arch-privatiser Margaret Thatcher wanted to “sell the Queen’s head”. Other administrations since her had planned a sale but dropped it as too difficult. The Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition in which Cable served actually did it but then had to watch in horror as the shares soared. Royal Mail floated in October 2013 at 330p a share. By Christmas that year the shares were 580p. Cue torrid select committee grillings for Sir Vince, where he insisted that the family silver had not been sold on the cheap.

Shares in Royal Mail (the parent company