Wakefield Council unanimously in favour of action over Royal Mail post delays
It comes after an “unprecedented” number of complaints over postal delays
Last updated 30th Jan 2026
Councillors in Wakefield have unanimously voted in favour of urging Royal Mail to improve its “failing” delivery services across the district.
All political groups on the local authority backed a motion calling for the organisation to urgently address an “unprecedented” number of complaints over postal delays.
Normanton councillor Julie Medford proposed the motion requesting Royal Mail to provide “accurate and realistic information to its service users regarding its delivery time periods.”
On Wednesday, Coun Medford told a full council meeting how she had been contacted by 200 residents within two days of raising the issue at a previous meeting in November.
She said: “I’ve never had that many as a councillor in such a short space of time before.
“I became aware that other wards across the district were experiencing similar problems.
“Royal Mail, for a number of months now, has not been able to provide or guarantee an adequate level of service to so many of our residents and businesses.
“It’s evidenced by the number of contacts many of us are getting as councillors.”
The Labour councillor said residents in her ward had missed hospital and other health appointments due to the delays.
She said: “I had the case of a cancer patient whose appointment had been cancelled.
“But she travelled to Leeds not realising it had been cancelled because she hadn’t got the letter.
“It was heartbreaking to hear her story.
“A lot of my residents have their medication delivered in the post but it is not coming on time on a lot of occasions.
“We have had house purchase delays, where there has been a death in the family, and the papers haven’t arrived to sell the house on time.
“Bank cards are one of the biggest problems. So many people in December contacted me because their bank cards had not arrived.”
“Residents have explained that they have not received mail for weeks at a time.
“An 80-year-old lady told me on Monday that she had 39 items of mail arrive on one day. It’s ridiculous.
“The service offered to customers must improve.”
Council deputy leader Jack Hemingway said he had previously written to Royal Mail to express concerns on behalf of residents.
He told the meeting: “I’ve had many horror stories of people sometimes not getting letters for a month.
“The response has been underwhelming. Christmas pressures were blamed.
“We were told plans were in place to fix it, but without any specifics.
“As local representatives, we need confidence and information that this is going to be put right, and how it’s going to be put right.”
The council now plans to raise the issue with the government and contact postal workers and union representatives “to better understand the challenges facing the service in the local area.”
Coun Hemingway said: “We should all be clear in this chamber that our local posties do a fantastic job.
“This is in no way a criticism of them. They are not to blame. It is about the management and processes.”
Jakob Williamson, leader of the Unity opposition group, said: “We need to acknowledge that the reason why we are in this position is largely due to privatisation of Royal Mail.
“While ever it is privatised we are going to have these problems.”
Charlie Keith, Labour councillor for Wrenthorpe and Outwod West, said: “The price of a first class stamp is horrendous.
“You are buying a first class stamp for a fourth class postal service.”
The Royal Mail spokesperson previously said: “We know how important timely letter deliveries are, particularly when people are waiting for hospital appointments or medication, and we understand how frustrating delays can be.
“Deliveries continue in Wakefield, and the vast majority of letters are arriving as expected, though some customers have experienced delays.
“Christmas is our busiest period, with volumes more than doubling, and poor weather earlier this month in West Yorkshire also affected some deliveries.
“We’re working to ensure all routes receive a regular and reliable service and will continue to monitor performance closely.”