Brighton MP given first class insight into posties’ world

Brighton Kemptown MP Simon Kirby joined postman Donald Ross on his round less than a month after speaking out about late deliveries.

Mr Kirby raised the issue with Royal Mail on behalf of frustrated constituents.

Last Friday (15 June) he took to the streets around the Royal Sussex County Hospital and along St George’s Road with long-serving Mr Ross.

The Conservative politician was the first of several MPs to have taken up an invitation to accompany a local postie and learn about how the post is delivered.

Simon Kirby and Donald Ross

Irene Scott, Royal Mail’s delivery sector manager in Brighton, said: “We’re delighted that Simon Kirby took the time to experience the everyday challenges faced by our postmen and women.

“The visit gave us the opportunity to show Mr Kirby how we are modernising the organisation.

“This includes our Brighton office, where we introduced new ways of working earlier this year.

“We’ve also invested in new sorting and delivery equipment as we respond to the changing nature of the modern postbag.

“We are delivering more parcels and fewer letters than ever before and the tools for the job need to reflect that.”

Mr Kirby said: “Postmen and women perform an incredibly important function in our communities, not just delivering communication, but being one of the institutions in society that binds us together for the common good.

“I wanted to get a real understanding of the work that goes into delivering the mail on a daily basis.

“There can be no better way of getting that insight than actually going out and doing the job alongside a postman.

“I joined local postman Donald Ross who’s been delivering the mail to customers in Brighton for one year although he’s been at Royal Mail for 27 years. I was just glad I could keep up!”

Royal Mail said that it was currently reviewing and modernising its operation.

Every part of the process from collecting, transporting, sorting and delivering the mail was being improved in an attempt to increase efficiency.

It said that the purpose of inviting along Mr Kirby and fellow MPs was to give them a unique insight.

It wanted to show them the challenges of delivering mail to every house and business in their constituency six days a week.

Last month Mr Kirby wrote to the Royal Mail chief executive to express his concerns at the continued delays being reported at the delivery office serving Kemp Town.

He said: “The continued delays being reported are unacceptable. Residents of Kemp Town have a right to their post being delivered in a prompt manner.

“It is especially frustrating to hear of people who have been waiting for important documents which have arrived very late.

“I have therefore written again to the chief executive of Royal Mail, calling for the situation at the Brighton delivery office to be resolved once and for all.”