Price of first class stamp rises to £1.80 after Martin Lewis ‘stockpile’ warning
The last time Royal Mail met its annual target for delivering first-class post on time was in 2019-20.
The price of a first-class stamp has risen by 10p to £1.80. The increase came into effect on Tuesday (April 7), despite Royal Mail repeatedly failing to meet delivery targets and amid growing frustration with the service's performance.
A second-class stamp has risen in price by 4p to 91p. Stamps bought before the price increase remain valid and can still be used for postage. Financial expert Martin Lewis had urged Brits to stock up on stamps before the price hikes. He said in March that as old stamps don't have a price on them they remain valid after the rise.
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The cost of a first-class stamp has more than doubled – by 137% – in the past six years.
It has seen eight increases over that period, while the cost of a second-class stamp has been hiked six times.
The latest increase comes after Royal Mail said in February that it had missed delivery targets once again in the most recent quarter.
Announcing its pricing decision last month, Royal Mail said the change reflected the continued rise in the cost of delivery as letter volumes fall and the number of addresses surges.
Richard Travers, managing director of letters at Royal Mail, said: "We always consider price changes very carefully, balancing affordability with the rising cost of delivering mail.
"On average, UK adults now spend just £6.50 each year on stamps and there are 70% fewer letters sent than 20 years ago.
"In the meantime, the number of addresses we deliver to has increased by four million to 32 million addresses across the UK."
The last time Royal Mail met its annual target for delivering first class post on time was in 2019-20.
The firm – whose owner International Distribution Services was bought last June for £3.6 billion by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s EP Group – repeated its call to "urgently move forward" with reforms to the service.
