Keir Starmer’s Mandelson crisis enters a dangerous new stage | Politics | News
Sir Keir Starmer’s Peter Mandelson crisis is not going away and the release of each new tranche of documents will cause voters and Labor MPs to question the judgment of a Prime Minister hurtling towards election disaster.
It is both surprising and chilling to read warnings about Lord Mandelson’s relationship with sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein in the official advice given to Sir Keir. The Prime Minister, a man of caution, read these words and decided to give him what is arguably Britain’s most important diplomatic post anyway.
This 269-word statement about Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein and the potential for reputational risk says: “Following Epstein’s first conviction for procuring an underage girl in 2008, their relationship continued from 2009-11, when Lord Mandelson was business secretary, and after the end of the Labor government.”
Why did Ser Keir think he needed the advice of someone with disastrous personal judgment? Was he charmed by the New Labor strategist’s personal charm, impressed by his mastery of realpolitik, or afraid of turning him down?
It is perfectly convenient that the documents were leaked after Prime Minister’s Questions so that he did not have to defend his decisions in front of MPs. It is certainly no coincidence that Sir Keir used the question session to portray himself as a leader making the right calls on the Iran conflict, accusing Kemi Badenoch of making “the mother of all U-turns” in military action.
It’s a bold move for a man whose premiership was defined by U-turns in the face of public backlash over policies ranging from ending universal winter fuel payments for pensioners to increasing inheritance tax on farmland.
The Labor leader knows the upcoming local government and May Welsh and Scottish parliamentary elections will be a referendum on his leadership. He is trying to persuade voters that it would not be better for Ms Badenoch or Nigel Farage to be in No 10, claiming in the House of Commons that Ms Badenoch or Nigel Farage “disqualifies him from being prime minister”.
But as more revelations are released about his dealings with Mandelson, Labor MPs fearful of losing their seats will ask whether he really has what it takes to lead their own party, let alone the country.
A sordid section of the most disclosed documents details Lord Mandelson negotiating a huge payout of around £550,000. The £75,000 he received sparked outrage.
In another email, the ousted ambassador said his “main concern” was “to leave the US and arrive in the UK with maximum dignity and minimal media interference.”
This insight into the priorities of someone who has had such influence over the Labor Party for decades will upset rank-and-file members of his party who want his party to be a force for honesty and fairness. The sense that the foundations are collapsing in the political home of Attlee and Bevan is leading many to look to Reformation England and the Greens.
Lord Mandelson expressed regret for meeting Epstein and denied any wrongdoing. But it is a toxic fiasco for an embattled prime minister, with many in the background eagerly awaiting the opportunity to clean up the situation.
