Responsible political engagement

We engage with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure they understand our business, the industry we operate in and the value Royal Mail brings to the UK and beyond.

Public policy decisions can affect key aspects of our operations at Royal Mail. In the UK, we meet with government ministers in Westminster, Holyrood, Cardiff Bay and Stormont, as well as Special Advisors, Members of Parliament and Scottish Parliament, Members of the Welsh Assembly, Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly, and Members of the London Assembly. We also meet with Councillors and other stakeholders, including the CBI, FSB and IoD, on a regular basis. 

In addition, we manage day-to-day relationships with EU stakeholders. We work with the other European posts, not least as a member of PostEurop (the association of European postal operators), and have close contact with the UK government, European Commission and European Parliament in London and Brussels.

Royal Mail ensures responsible political engagement in the following ways:

• Royal Mail has a policy of political impartiality, as committed to in our code of Business Standards;
• Royal Mail adheres to the regulations set out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendum Act 2000 (PPERA) and does not make political donations;
• Royal Mail adheres to the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) Professional Charter and Codes of Conduct;
• Royal Mail has signed up to the EU’s Transparency Register; and
• Shane O’Riordain, MD Corporate Affairs, Customer Experience and Regulation, is a member of the Chief Executive’s Committee (CEC) and briefs the senior leadership and Board on political activity.

Transparency and the European Union

The European Transparency Register informs European citizens about how businesses like ours engage with European Union (EU) decision-makers. Royal Mail’s entry on the Register shows the resources we allocate to EU affairs. It also indicates our core areas of interest in policy development.