The price of stamps is going up again

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Royal Mail is increasing the cost of a first-class stamp by 10p to £1.80, the eighth rise since 2020. Second-class stamps will also become more expensive. Royal Mail says the price changes are necessary because letter-sending has declined, with 6.6bn delivered in 2023-2024 compared with 14.3bn in 2011-2012. But the increases have been criticised as unjustifiable by Citizens Advice, which accused Royal Mail of running a “failing service”. Last year, 77% first-class letters were delivered on time, well below the target of 93%. This prompted Ofcom to issue a £21m fine. Royal Mail, which has blamed adverse weather and staff illness for delays, has been accused of prioritising parcels over letters. Ofcom has lowered its first-class delivery target to 90% and reduced second-class deliveries to alternate weekdays.