Postal rates
A standard first-class stamp in UK costs £1.80, up 10p from April 7th, 2026.
A second-class stamp is £0.91, just over half the price of a first-class stamp. It increased by 4p in April.
Those who still send letters usually opt for second-class postage. It’s noticeably cheaper, and the letters often arrive at the same time as correspondence with first-class stamps. Remoter areas will often experience significant delays, even with first-class postage.
At present the Post Office site states that second-class letters will arrive within three business days, and a first-class letter will be delivered by the next working day, including Saturdays.
Today, a flyer dropped through our letter box, in bright red Royal Mail livery. It stated, '2nd class mail is changing.’ The changes are intended ‘to deliver a better all-round service.’ Considering how customers send mail, Royal Mail aims ‘to offer a more reliable and sustainable service.’
Letters and cards carrying second-class stamps will be delivered every other day, and if one of the days is a Saturday, the letter or card will be delivered within three weekdays. So, something posted before collection on a Friday may not reach the recipient until the following Tuesday.
First-class mail will continue to be delivered six days a week. Mail is never delivered on a Sunday, though parcels can be delivered ‘up to’ seven days a week.
Is this change intended to encourage more people to buy first-class stamps, so that cards can be expected to arrive for the important date they’ve been sent for? I suggest that fewer people will bother to send anything by surface mail.
The peak of 20 billion letters in 2004-2005 has dropped to 6.6 billion and is forecast to drop to 4 billion in the next few years.
The decline is blamed on the growing dependence on digital communication. This has been reflected worldwide. At the same time, parcel deliveries have increased markedly.
Are we witnessing the demise of the personal letter or card? Will future generations be unable to read letters sent by their forebears? Will anyone be able to read another person’s handwriting?
I know of children already who cannot read cursive script. This is not so surprising, since, unless we have been specially taught, it is difficult for most people to read journals and notes written by people in the 16th century. Queen Victoria’s handwriting from the nineteenth century was difficult to decipher.
It would be disappointing if future historians and biographers in their research had nothing more exciting to sift through than emails and text messages.
I haven't mailed anything in a long time. I pay my bills online. I no longer mail packages either. It's expensive, and the service is terrible.
ReplyDeleteThat is too bad that today's children are not taught cursive - It's the same here. Whatever happened to reading, writing, and arithmetic?
The 'three Rs' long ago had to find their place in a myriad other subjects, so now children are taught a very little about a great many things.
DeleteA book of stamps lasts us a lot longer than it used to.
ReplyDeleteHa ha! Likewise, and special Christmas stamps are used all year round . . .
DeleteI know that to mail a Christmas package the size of a shoebox from here to there is about $100. So much cheaper the other way.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great deterrent.
DeleteI have never heard of first class and second class stamps. Here we have regular stamps, concession stamps for pensioners and you have to apply for that card and show proof, the other type of stamps is overseas mail. We never get weekend deliveries and weekday deliveries are not everyday anymore, some weeks we seem to have three alternate days, some weeks only two days, unless I just don't see or hear the postie sometimes so think he doesn't come around. Things bought online are mostly sent by one or other of a courier type service and can arrive any day, even Sunday.
ReplyDeleteI think our postal service is heading in the same direction as yours.
DeleteHave to smile when reading old books with post deliveries 4 times a day in London.
ReplyDeleteI used to collect stamps when I was younger, now never see any except the Christmas ones each year.
It's rare to see stamps these days and cause for excitement.
ReplyDeleteWe get very little mail, birthday and christmas wishes are often sent online, which is a shame, I always looked forward to cards dropping through the letter box. Our world is becoming very bland, too many straight lines and minimalist designs, modern design has lost so much.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a shame, too - another tradition falling away. I agree about modern design, too; it's often unimaginative.
DeleteAs Poppypatchwork says too many straight lines....... Writing is disappearing as also are maps. The trouble with putting all one's eggs in the same basket?? Must admit though the Royal Mail is excellent with my parcels.
ReplyDeleteMaps and charts are fascinating works of art.
ReplyDeleteI can't see that increasing the use of first class postage. It wouldn't work for me any way. It's sad that some people can't read cursive. I was sending a card to a young girl the other day and started to write a message. Then I thought she might not be able to read it so I printed it instead.
ReplyDeleteI miss cards and letters, too. Very few people of my acquaintance send them now.
DeleteI actually miss getting mail. I'm not talking about the monthly bills, I'm talking about letters from family and friends. Birthday cards and Christmas cards. Everything is done through email or now even worse just a short text. Our postage rates here getting very high and I have to say that the post office does not do a good job of seeing to it that the males delivered at all.
ReplyDeleteOur posties are good, out walking hours every day with heavy bags. The bags these days seem to carry an awful lot of advertising material - brochures and flyers that usually go straight in the bin.
ReplyDeleteThose who still send letters , that must include me. I did stil send snail mail despite there is internet connection like chatroom and email. Sending letter through a snail mail with stamp is remain forever especially for some reasons such as limited access to the internet in remote areas like in Indonesia.
ReplyDeleteThe family app on the phone has replaced letters, it is lovely to see photos. I still send birthday cards, with £5 tucked inside for the great nieces and nephews. I send them 2nd class in plenty of time, usually the start of the month, because I am getting forgetful.
ReplyDelete