Inflation-busting rise in price of first-class stamp

A FIRST-CLASS stamp is to cost more than £1 after an inflation-busting increase, Royal Mail has announced.

The cost of sending letters overnight will rise from 95p to £1.10 in April.

It comes just months after it warned of significant price rises unless it was allowed to scrap Saturday deliveries.

The 16pc uplift is well ahead of inflation, running at 10.1pc, and follows an 11pc increase last March.

The price of a second-class stamp will also rise by 7p to 75p from April 3.

Matthew Upton, director of policy at Citizens Advice, said: “These recordbreaking prices couldn’t be coming at a worse time for consumers, who’ll now be paying 64pc more for a first-class stamp than five years ago.”

Royal Mail said it was necessary to keep its Universal Service agreement sustainable – pledging to deliver anywhere in the country for the same price.

Nick Landon, chief commercial officer at Royal Mail, said: “We need to make these price changes to ensure we can continue to maintain and invest in the one-price-goes-anywhere Universal Service for years to come.”

Keith Williams, Royal Mail’s chairman, said in December that a “considerable” increase in the cost of a first-class stamp would be needed to balance the books with a six-day delivery service.