The Thatcher government privatised large parts of British industry in the 1980s (click here for a short history of privatisation in the UK). But privatising Royal Mail would have been a step too far back in the 1980s. However, this is not the case today as the letter market has contracted due to the advent of technology. Royal Mail is essentially a parcel delivery service and a deliverer of official (usually government) letters, and the former is a growth business thanks to internet shopping. See below a video from MoneyWeek which argues that Royal Mail is a good investment.
Michael Aldous and I had our book The CEO: The Rise and Fall of Britain's Captains of Industry published a few weeks ago. You can find out more about it and buy it at Cambridge University Press's website . It is also available at Amazon , Waterstones , and Barnes & Noble . The CEO has already been reviewed in The Sunday Times , The Observer and Financial Times .