South Norfolk MP Among 100 Calling for Ofcom Action on Royal Mail Delays
Postal service criticisms rise as MPs urge change in delivery performance
South Norfolk's MP, Ben Goldborough, has joined over 100 politicians urging action from Ofcom to address persistent postal delays affecting communities across the UK.
In a letter dated 11th September 2026, the MPs expressed their frustration with Royal Mail's continued failure to meet its obligations under the Universal Service Obligation.
Despite revised targets aiming for improvement, Royal Mail's performance remains inadequate, with only 76% of First Class mail meeting delivery standards last year.
Ben highlighted the severe impact of postal delays in rural areas like South Norfolk. He said:
"For many people, a letter arriving late is more than an inconvenience. It can mean missing an important appointment, waiting for a vital document or worrying about a bill that never arrived."
In the letter MPs urged Royal Mail to admit its service failures to improve its operations.
They emphasized that postal workers are aware of the problems and have solutions to help the service run smoothly:
"Postal workers in our areas tell us about the problems at local delivery offices. They know what is going wrong, and what practical solutions would help hard-working staff get the job done," they wrote.
Ben Goldborough says he is committed to ensuring rural communities receive the reliable postal services they deserve and continues advocating for their needs.
He added, "People deserve a Royal Mail service they can rely on. I’ll keep standing up for South Norfolk and making sure rural communities aren’t treated as an afterthought."
The MPs have urged Ofcom to take more decisive action, pointing out that previous fines and investigations have been insufficient to provoke significant change.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Our quality-of-service results are encouraging and show that the changes we are making are delivering real improvements for customers. First Class performance has risen significantly, with 85% of letters now delivered on time, compared to 76% a year ago.
“We acknowledge there is more to do and published our Improvement Plan in April which included a commitment to invest £500 million over five years. We are well over halfway through the rollout of our new delivery model across our 1,200 delivery offices which is continuing to see positive results - delivering to 98% of addresses every day, up from 91% before rollout. We expect our service levels to improve further as deployment continues.”