How Rayner played key role in Mandelson files release – and Labour’s humiliation
Former deputy cabinet secretary Helen MacNamara has argued that former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner played a key role in releasing the Mandelson files and may have unwittingly harmed her party by doing so.
Second version of the files, deeply insulting to the governmentIt arrived on Monday and included harsh messages between former US ambassador Peter Mandelson and MPs, describing Keir Starmer’s government as “pathetic”, “disappointing” and “beleaguered”.
The 1,500-page tranche was the second batch of dossiers released in response to a low-key address from the Conservative Party in February demanding the release of all files relating to Peter Mandelson’s appointment.
However, the address was only voted on by Labor MPs after the intervention of Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.
“Rayner was very strong about the attack on Keir Starmer in February,” said Ms MacNamara, a former deputy cabinet secretary and co-host of the programme. in the roomemphasized in the last section.
“A humble speech alone cannot convey opposition votes,” he explained. “He needed Labor votes and it was Rayner’s involvement that achieved that.
“He brokered with the Conservatives to change the address requirements and [Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament] involved. This softened the situation and made it more palatable to Labor MPs.
“It was Labor that voted for this. Labor backbenchers did this to themselves, to their own government.”
Read more about Helen and Cleo’s political analysis in the full Mandelson files episode:
The publication of the Mandelson files dealt Starmer another blow. On 14 May, former health minister Wes Streeting resigned and a few days later announced his bid for the Labor leadership if a contest was triggered by 20% of Labor MPs backing a candidate.
On 15 May, Makerfield MP Josh Simons resigned, triggering a by-election and paving the way for party favorite Andy Burnham’s return to Westminster.
Cleo Watson, former special adviser to Theresa May and Boris Johnson and co-host of In The Room, added: “Modest addresses are very dangerous. If the government had the courage to withstand the 24-hour news cycle it could have avoided all of this.”
“They managed to convince Labor that it wasn’t a good idea to send Starmer to the Privileges Committee. Why shouldn’t the same happen for humble speech?”
While the government must comply with a modest address, terms of release can be negotiated. MacNamara argues that the ‘abundance of transparency’ seen in the release of the document was as harmful as it was preventable. “Once it has calmed down a bit, the government should have gone back to the House of Commons and said: This humble address is a barn door, going to waste millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money on something indecent and inappropriate. “They could have complied with that while narrowly defining the scope and done it within a month.
“It’s heartbreaking to think about the time and effort that went into this. It seriously damages the reputation of the government. You don’t get the sense that we have a competent, well-functioning government here, and you have all kinds of extremely boring but extremely important constitutional norms that have just been violated, and frankly I find that problematic.”
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