Recent ITV series Mr Bates vs the Post Office is an emotive reminder of the ongoing scandal that has rocked the lives of hundreds of subpostmasters (SPM). There can be no real justice for these victims under capitalism.
The series begins by introducing the lives of some of those impacted by this gross miscarriage of justice: members of small communities; parents to young children; workers close to retirement.
In each case, errors in the Horizon IT system used by the Post Office led to incorrect balances. As a result, these SPMs were accused of theft, or expected to pay out-of-pocket for any missing monies.
Calls to the Horizon helpline were met with the standard response that no other SPM had reported issues – a blatant lie. Even worse, SPMs who were offered plea bargains were mandated to not lay any blame at the feet of the faulty software system.
These innocent workers were relentlessly pursued as criminals, resulting in divorce, bankruptcy, imprisonment, and homelessness, alongside the tragic suicide of Martin Griffiths.
Blood is on the hands of the Post Office bureaucracy.
Guilty until proven innocent
This scandal exposed the hypocrisy of the bourgeois ‘justice’ system. The auditors of the Post Office acted as “thugs in suits”, as the series describes them.
In the Royal Court of Justice, cash-strapped SPMs were forced to represent themselves, while paying eye-watering legal costs.
Some SPMs have since been exonerated. Some have received compensation. But the vast majority have seen no degree of justice. Those responsible for this scandal got off scot-free.
As always, it’s one rule for the workers and another for the bosses.
Political fallout
Notably, the series has triggered an intense public debate, uncovering a groundswell of anger towards the establishment.
Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells has handed back her CBE after a petition calling for her to be stripped of it garnered over a million signatures.
The Tories, keen to keep things contained, are now pushing to overturn the convictions as quickly as possible, and are considering removing powers of prosecution from private entities like the Post Office.
Workers’ control
Horizon and the Post Office have attempted to isolate workers. But our power comes in our numbers. In the words of Malcolm X: “We’re not outnumbered, we’re out-organised!”
The solution to the incompetence and cruelty of the Post Office scandal – and to the capitalist system as a whole – is democratic workers’ control.
Not a stamp is sold, nor a parcel weighed, nor a transaction logged without the kind permission of subpostmasters.
Only through common ownership of the means of production, managed democratically by workers themselves, can we prevent further injustices for the working class.
