Category Archives: Peter Mandelson

Strategic rethink

Posted on July 23, 2009 | 1 Comment

Norwich North has seen neither hide nor hair of Gordon Brown; indeed, the Labour by-election material makes no reference to him at all, which tends to indicate the extent to which he is considered an electoral asset by his own party.

The Prime Minister was, however, in Cardiff today, holding a cabinet meeting.  Afterwards, the press were apparently briefed that Labour intends to base its “fightback” on “highlighting the Conservatives’ lack of policy”.

In one sense, this is a welcome development, in that it would appear to confirm the abandonment of Labour’s failed strategy of “Tory cuts v. Labour investment”, to which the response of most focus groups seems to have been: “Yes, sure; pull the other one.”

On the other hand, it appears also to overlook the fact that, this week alone, David Cameron, George Osborne and William Hague all made major policy speeches.  So perhaps the strategy needs a little finessing. 

By the way, a little journalistic bird tells me that the announcement of the new strategy was made not by Gordon Brown, but by Peter Mandelson. 

No mistaking who’s in charge, then.

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Posted in David Cameron, George Osborne, Gordon Brown, Labour Party, Peter Mandelson, William Hague

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Mandelson’s expanding empire

Posted on July 21, 2009 | 1 Comment

The indispensability of Peter Mandelson to the increasingly isolated and impotent Gordon Brown was made still plainer today when it emerged that he now  has a place on 35 important cabinet committees, namely:

National Economic Council
Better Regulation
Democratic Renewal Council
Domestic Policy Council
Domestic Affairs
Borders and Migration
Communities and Equalities
Food
Families, Children and Young People
Health and Wellbeing
Justice and Crime
Local Government and the Regions
Public Engagement and the Delivery of Services
Life Chances
Talent and Enterprise
Economic Development
Environment and Energy
Housing, Planning and Regeneration
Olympic and Paralympic Games
Productivity, Skills and Employment
Constitution
National Security, International Relations and Development
Europe
Overseas and Defence
Africa
Afghanistan and Pakistan
Trade
Protective Security and Resilience
Public Services and Public Expenditure
Public Sector Pay and Pensions
Pandemic Influenza Planning
Post Office Network
Flood planning
PM’s ad hoc Committee on International Climate Change
PM’s ad hoc International Climate Change Negotiations

For an unelected minister to wield such power within government is quite remarkable.

It is also quite unacceptable.

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Posted in Gordon Brown, Peter Mandelson

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The indispensability of Peter Mandelson

Posted on July 19, 2009 | 3 Comments

MandelsonMartin Ivens, in today’s Sunday Times, indulges in what can best be described as an extended, free-form riff on the theme of the centrality of Peter Mandelson to the futures of Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, Europe and, ultimately, the world.

Mandelson, until his wider objectives are realised, is  central to the Labour party, too;  but, implies Ivens, only in a temporary shoring-up capacity, “the last prop holding up this ramshackle government”:

The former Prince of Darkness, now Gordon’s Good Angel, persuaded the last Blairites not to quit. Now he even pops into No 10 and tells the PM to stop e-mailing and go to bed.

Ivens’s analysis of Mandelson’s indispensability is compelling and probably, in large part, correct.  There is no doubt that, since his recall from Brussels last year, Mandelson’s assumption of power has been progressive, relentless and seemingly unstoppable.  He has now, it appears, even convinced Brown of the suicidal folly of his crude “Labour investment v. Tory cuts” stance, finessing the argument to the subtler and more credible one of prioritisation:

His is a rare voice of sanity. Brown, seduced by the notion he could rerun his favourite campaign of “Beware the Tory cuts”, has been stubbornly denying that a re-elected Labour government would have to make cuts too. In poll after poll the voters say they don’t believe him. Last Wednesday Mandelson finally called a halt to this nonsense. “There will be spending choices and a growing need for greater efficiency across the board, and less spending in some programmes,” he purred.

But, says Ivens, Peter Mandelson’s real ambitions extend well beyond the immediate and perhaps impossible task of saving Gordon from himself.  They reach out beyond these shores, back to Europe and to the campaign, formally declared last week, to install Tony Blair as EU president.  When the recalcitrant, muddle-headed Irish and Poles have finally seen sense and ratified the Lisbon treaty, the way will be clear for Blair to be promoted as the “Big Man” candidate for the presidency, poised to bestride the world stage, look Barack Obama in the eye and call the shots to Vladimir Putin.   Another good reason, by the way, for postponing as long as possible a general election that could see the referendum-pledged Tories returned to power before the treaty is ratified.

And where would that leave Peter Mandelson and Gordon Brown?  Ivens proffers his own hypothesis:

Perhaps it’s all a pipe dream. But if Tony got to Brussels, favours could be returned. Mandelson would make a fine presidential chef de cabinet. And when Gordon lost the election, his chums could fix up a big international job for him, too. We might be stuck with the three of them for another decade or so. This psycho-drama could run and run.

Pray God it doesn’t; but yes, it could.  Ivens’s article is one well worth reading, bookmarking and revisiting in, say, 18 months’ time, to assess how the “pipe dream” has panned out.

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Posted in Gordon Brown, Labour Party, Peter Mandelson, Tony Blair, Treaty of Lisbon

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Praetorian guard falls out

Posted on July 5, 2009 | Leave a comment

woodwardSpeaking of briefings, another Cabinet member on the receiving end of unattributed muttering is the Northern Ireland Secretary, Shaun Woodward.

Woodward is now extremely close to the Prime Minister, having been appointed to a role overseeing strategy at No 10.  He clearly has considerable influence; a couple of PMQs ago, Brown frequently turned to him for urgent whispered advice, ignoring the hapless Alistair Darling, who was sitting between them.

According to this morning’s Times, however, the inevitable “Downing Street source” (who has been even busier than usual of late) says that Woodward is being blamed by Peter Mandelson for the Prime Minister’s reluctance to abandon the line that the choice between the parties is “Labour investment v. Tory cuts”:

“Shaun is causing mayhem. Gordon trusted him to give sensible advice, but he has been a disaster. There are people who are ready to walk out if he doesn’t go.”

According to the Downing Street source, the sensitivity surrounding Labour’s election pitch on public spending reflects the absence of an alternative tactic to portraying the Tories as “cutters”.

“We have to get this right because there is no plan B,” the source said.

Mandelson’s dissatisfaction with Woodward is now such, says the Times, that he refused to participate in a No 10 strategy meeting until Woodward was humiliatingly ejected. 

The incident is also related in this morning’s Mail, which comments:

Lord Mandelson’s view of Mr Woodward’s skills as a political tactician is said to border on contempt.

The Mail also claims that the Schools Secretary, Ed Balls, shares Mandelson’s low opinion of Woodward and is “equally determined to downgrade his influence”.

All this is more bad news for the increasingly feeble-looking Prime Minister.  Mandelson, Balls and Woodward are three of the four members of Brown’s so-called “praetorian guard”, the fourth being Tessa Jowell, who sat next to him at PMQs this week, looking completely bemused as he outlined his plans for a “zero per cent rise” in public expenditure.

Jowell, however, may have already decided on her own strategy.  The Mail reports that she intends to stand down from the Commons at the next general election.

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Posted in Ed Balls, Gordon Brown, Peter Mandelson, Shaun Woodward, Tessa Jowell

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Darling bites back

Posted on July 3, 2009 | 1 Comment

DarlingIt would seem that Alistair Darling, sick of being kicked around by Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson, has decided to make his presence felt.

Only a month ago, it was confidently predicted that Darling would be given the chop, or at least demoted, after the Euro election, to make way for Brown’s Mini-me, Ed Balls; indeed, the Prime Minister was already referring to him in the past tense.   However, after the resignations of Hazel Blears and James Purnell, together with a gaggle of junior ministers, cabinet mathematics made it impossible for Darling to be moved.

Then, only three short days ago, Lord Mandelson loftily announced on the Today programme that Darling had “made the judgment” that there would be no comprehensive spending review until after the general election, which prompted Tory criticism that the Prime Minister was engaging in a “relaunch without a price tag”.

Now Darling has given an interview to the Independent in which he makes it clear that he has made no such judgment at all:

Mr Darling insists the uncertain economic position means he cannot decide now whether to go ahead with the scheduled comprehensive spending review (CSR). He will announce his decision in his pre-Budget report, due in November. “To do detailed allocations running up to 2013-14 at the moment, with all the uncertainty, just does not make any sense,” he says.

He promises that, one way or the other, Labour will make its spending priorities clear before the election, in an attempt to flush out the Tories. One option might be a mini-CSR. Another is to announce before the election which budgets would be ring-fenced, challenging the Tories to do the same.

Darling is becoming increasingly assertive in cabinet.  He pointedly refused to rule out spending cuts at a time when the Prime Minister was identifying “Tory cuts v. Labour investment” as the dividing line between the principal parties.  Now the PM has apparently decided to follow Darling’s line and has admitted that there will have to be cuts in public spending, even if Labour wins the next general election, which leaves him in the unfortunate position of having to find a new dividing line.  Game to Darling.

In taking on Mandelson,  Darling is playing a much more dangerous game.  Over the past few weeks, Mandelson has made it reasonably plain that he is effectively in charge; Brown has acknowledged his former adversary’s importance by massively increasing his departmental responsibilities, as well as conferring on him a panoply of ludicrously grandiose titles.

In his Indy interview, however, Darling has as good as told Mandelson to take a hike.  He knows that his position is secure, at least for the time being, so he can afford to do so.

The prospect of an escalating feud between Darling and the Lord High Panjandrum must be causing a significant degree of discomfort to Gordon Brown, but, given his present weakened position, there would appear to be little he can do about it, at least in the short term.

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Posted in Alistair Darling, Gordon Brown, Labour Party, Peter Mandelson

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Brown uses the c-word

Posted on July 2, 2009 | Leave a comment

The Government has performed more U-turns over the last 48 hours than a learner driver in a supermarket car park on a Sunday afternoon.

First, it was Alan Johnson’s scrapping of ID cards.  Then, yesterday, the First Secretary of State and Lord President of the Council announced that the partial privatisation of Royal Mail would not, after all, be proceeding.

Now, at last, the Prime Minister has admitted that there will have to be cuts under a Labour Government.  Given his prodigious gyrations when confronted by David Cameron over the issue at PMQs over the last few weeks, this is a remarkable development. 

One might be tempted to conclude that the Government is trying to clear the decks of embarrassing baggage in contemplation of  an earlier general election than generally anticipated, but that, I suspect, would be to credit this administration with more strategic coherence than it actually possesses.

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Posted in Alan Johnson, Gordon Brown, Labour Party, Peter Mandelson

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Who runs the country?

Posted on June 29, 2009 | 1 Comment

mandelsonPeter Mandelson has today  made clear beyond doubt who runs the country.  The answer, as if you didn’t already know, is: Peter Mandelson, of course. 

Ahead of Gordon Brown’s umpteenth relaunch this afternoon (more relaunches than the Rhosneigr lifeboat, as one wag put it), Mandelson has unequivocally decreed that:

  • No spending plans will be set out before the general election (got that, Alistair?); and
  • “We have to live within our means as a Government” (taken that on board, Gordon?).

And finally, as if to underline the fact that the Blairites are back in charge, the deployment of the killer phrase: 

“Being fiscally responsible is an important principle of New Labour.”

Hear that?  Not “Labour”.  New Labour. 

And if you don’t like that, Gordon, just think:  who else is there you can trust, or who even has the inclination, to try to save your bacon?

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Posted in Alistair Darling, Gordon Brown, Labour Party, Peter Mandelson

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Mandelson, bringer of jollity

Posted on June 13, 2009 | Leave a comment

mandelsonPeter Mandelson has given an interview to the Telegraph that will doubtless come as a huge morale boost to his titular boss, the Prime Minister.

In it, the First Secretary and Lord President  opines that Mr Brown will face further difficulties over his leadership in the autumn, around the time of the Labour party conference.  For what it’s worth, I think he’s probably right.

Mandelson also offers the PM some helpful advice on personal development, urging him to show more leadership, listen to advice and  try to adopt a sunnier outlook:

“I believe in leadership and in being decisive.

“Secondly, in listening to people and respecting official advice you receive.

“And thirdly, introducing a bit of humour and jollity to your work.

”You don’t have to be too grey or serious the whole time. You can do your work and enjoy it at the same time and include people along the way.”

Jollity?   Maybe that is the real Mandelson, but I can’t say that I’ve ever considered him a particularly jovial character.  I can’t recall too many instances when I’ve turned on Newsnight to find him facing Jeremy Paxman and thought to myself: “Ah, there’s good old Mandelson, God bless him; now we’re in for a bit of light relief.”

No, I can’t really say Lord Mandelson has done much over the years to contribute to the gaiety of our national life. 

Except for one recent occasion, but, out of due consideration for his feelings,  the less said about that the better.

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Posted in Gordon Brown, Peter Mandelson

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Too crunchy for Carter

Posted on June 12, 2009 | 1 Comment

According to today’s Times, Lord Carter of Barnes will soon be leaving the Government, which he joined only last October, to make a “lucrative return to the private sector”.   The Times speculates that he may be appointed chief executive of ITV, in succession to Michael Grade.

Readers will recall that Carter was a recent witness before the Welsh select committee, when he impressed me with his articulacy and his mastery of management-speak, most particularly the memorable line: “This is where the question starts to get crunchy.”

Carter is the PR wizard who was drafted into Downing Street in January, 2008, to try to revive Gordon Brown’s flagging Prime Ministerial career, already in a serious tailspin only six months after its commencement.  Seemingly, the enormity of the task (or possibly opposition from within the Downing Street spin machine) defeated even Carter’s formidable communications skills; he was soon transferred to Lord Mandelson’s DBERR, where he was charged with producing the Digital Britain report, the final version of which is due to be published next Tuesday.

Carter was appointed a minister in Mandelson’s new mega-department, DBIS, only last week, so, if his departure from government is confirmed, it will come as something of a surprise.

On the other hand, perhaps it won’t.  Carter struck me as a bright, personable sort of chap, with a huge enthusiasm for his work.  Ten months in the No.10 bunker followed by another eight with Mandelson must have been almost terminally dispiriting.

Indeed, given how deeply traumatic and depressing the last eighteen months must have been, even the £1 million salary that the Times says he can expect at ITV seems pretty meagre compensation.

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Posted in Gordon Brown, Lord Carter of Barnes, Peter Mandelson

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Gordon’s X Factor

Posted on June 7, 2009 | 1 Comment

alan sugarThe contents of  leaked e-mails from Lord Mandelson to Derek Draper (an interesting question being: who leaked them?) should really surprise no one.  They merely serve to illustrate that, whatever his faults, Mandelson is a shrewd judge of character.

Discussing Brown’s concerns about his own image, Mandelson observes:

“The point you make about GB ‘being himself’ (whatever that is) is right.  But this is no substitute for policy formulation and taking well prepared, well ordered decisions. This is more the problem than telling people you watch X Factor…

“He is a self-conscious person, physically and emotionally. He is not as comfortable with his own skin as Tony [Blair] was. A new public persona cannot be glued on to him”.

Mandelson is correct that Brown has an almost obsessive anxiety to appear normal and in touch with popular culture.  Last week, there was the strange episode when the Prime Minister confided on GMTV that he had watched the Britain’s Got Talent final and had subsequently telephoned Simon Cowell to enquire about the wellbeing of Susan Boyle. 

Subsequently, there was the equally strange announcement of the reality TV star Alan Sugar as “enterprise champion”.  That, I had thought, was Lord Mandelson’s role as Secretary of State for Bizz.

Sir Alan’s role is set out in a press release on the No 10 website:

He is expected to give advice on how to ensure small firms and entrepreneurs make the most of the real help available from Government and other organisations. He will champion the causes of viable small companies with banks and help to ensure the voices of small firms and entrepreneurs are heard by Government, suppliers and other entities.

I am particularly pleased that Sir Alan will “champion the causes of viable small companies with banks”.  I spend a lot of time writing to both Lord Mandelson and Alistair Darling complaining about the lack of credit available to viable small companies in Clwyd West, particularly from banks that have been bailed out by the taxpayers’ billions.

Bank managers beware: in future I will be asking Sir Alan Sugar to pick up the phone and shout at you.

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Posted in Alistair Darling, Derek Draper, Gordon Brown, Peter Mandelson

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Mandy’s Da Bizz

Posted on June 6, 2009 | 2 Comments

aligThe lack of a sufficient pool of potential cabinet ministers has obliged the Prime Minister  to wind up one Department of State –  Universities, Innovation and Skills – altogether, less than two years after it was formed. 

DIUS has now been subsumed into the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, headed by Peter Mandelson, whose new additional title – First Secretary of State and Lord President of the Council – underlines his important role as the principal supporting  buttress of the crumbling Prime Ministerial edifice.  The vaguely Ruritanian ring to the office somehow suits Mandelson far more than it did its previous occupant, John Prescott.  They should create a special uniform to go with it, preferably with ostrich feathers, epaulettes and lots of gold braid.

The new Department is to be called Business, Innovation and Skills, whose acronym, DBIS, is apparently pronounced “Da Bizz”.

This, I feel, is a retrograde step.  DBERR was pronounced “De Burgh”, which was touched with a certain elegance, reminiscent of Mr Collins’s patroness in Pride and Prejudice.

“Da Bizz”, on the other hand, sounds like a ministerial vehicle created especially  for Ali G.

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Posted in Gordon Brown, John Prescott, Labour Party, Peter Mandelson

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Brown’s comfort blanket

Posted on May 10, 2009 | Leave a comment

Brown Mandelson

Speculation continues that Gordon Brown is planning a major cabinet reshuffle after the Euro elections.  Commentators seem confident that Jacqui Smith and Hazel Blears will be sacked or demoted and that Ed Balls will replace Alistair Darling as Chancellor.  Time will tell.

The Telegraph, however, delivers an interesting insight into the Prime Minister’s strange and recently-developed reliance on the Business Secretary, Peter Mandelson:

Some reports have suggested that Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, could be made Foreign Secretary.

However, Government sources say that is “very unlikely” because of the extensive international travel the job involves.

Mr Brown relies on Lord Mandelson as a close political adviser, and would not want such trusted ally to be out of the country frequently in the months before a general election.

Given that we live in an age of ubiquitous telecommunications and internet coverage, this is surprising; there, after all, is scarcely any part of the world where Mandelson couldn’t be contacted in a matter of minutes.

The relationship between Brown and Mandelson was once so toxic that, by all accounts, they barely spoke for several years.

However, it would appear that Brown now feels so vulnerable that he has taken to using Mandelson as a comfort blanket that must be kept within arm’s reach at all times.

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Posted in Gordon Brown, Peter Mandelson

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Scrap value

Posted on April 24, 2009 | Leave a comment

Peter Mandelson has urged voters to give the Government time to show that its Budget measures were the right decision for the country:

“Judge us by results, judge us on delivery, judge us by where we are in a year’s time and when you can look back and say ‘They took the right decisions, they were tough, they were responsible and they were fair’ and then see where we stand in a year’s time.”

The Institute for Fiscal Studies however, has already delivered its judgment on Mandelson’s flagship car scrappage scheme. It was politely but comprehensively shredded by Thomas Crossley, IFS programme director:

“This is not a strong environmental measure. While new cars have lower emissions per mile, they may be driven more and there are environmental costs associated with their production. As fiscal stimulus, this measure benefits one industry. Many new cars are not produced in Britain, though some foreign made vehicles will contain British components. A significant fraction of cars of this age are scrapped each year, so there is scope for a large part of the subsidy to go to replacements that would have occurred anyway. The measure should cause some households to bring forward a vehicle replacement. This will mean fewer sales later. The government hopes that this will occur after the economy has picked up.”

Which, if the IFS is correct, is likely to be some considerable way ahead.

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Posted in economy, Peter Mandelson

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Professional courtesy

Posted on February 28, 2009 | Leave a comment

mandelsonInevitably, Lord Mandelson has entered the fray over Fred Goodwin’s wedge.

Quoted in the Telegraph, Mandelson says:

“For his own self-respect, he [Sir Fred] should do the right thing. This pension begins and ends with Sir Fred Goodwin, not Lord Myners.

“I admire his professional guile trying to shift the focus of this but I’m afraid the spotlight remains very firmly with Sir Fred Goodwin.”

Such admiration from the spinmeister supreme is high praise indeed.

For my own part, I admire Mandelson’s professional guile trying to shift the focus of this, but I’m afraid the spotlight remains very firmly with the Government.

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Posted in Peter Mandelson

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The Mandy Line

Posted on November 27, 2008 | 2 Comments
Lord Mandelson, the man who is now clearly working the Prime Minister by remote control (he was in the Peers’ Gallery at PMQs yesterday, urging his man on), has been swift to rebut David Cameron’s assertion that “New Labour is dead”.

In a speech to the Institute of Directors yesterday, Mandelson said:

“We also still stand for rewarding hard work and entrepreneurial risk. I reportedly once said that New Labour has no problem with people becoming very rich, as long as they pay their taxes.

“The New Labour principle still stands: we will only tax out of need, not out of envy or spite.”

If that is indeed the message the newly-ennobled former Young Communist (“I only joined for social reasons”) wants to put out, then he really ought to have a chat with the chief whip, Nick Brown, because it clearly hasn’t filtered through to the back benches.

Yesterday, at PMQs, Ian Davidson (Glasgow South West), revealed that he had yet to catch up with the Mandy Line:

“Does the Prime Minister agree that the spoiled rich kids just do not get it? Does he agree that it is easy for those who have been born with a silver spoon in their mouth not to want to do anything, but that real people want some action taken, and will he tell us what he is doing internationally with other countries to get us out of this crisis?”

A little later, in the emergency debate on the PBR, Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd), who fancies himself as a bit of a Jack-the-Lad and finds his own heckles terrifically funny, protested plaintively to George Osborne, who had refused to take his intervention:

“What about me? Just ’cos I’m not rich!”

Throughout the rest of the debate, Ruane would bizarrely shout “He’s rich!” at every Tory speaker who rose, and then collapse in seemingly uncontrollable mirth, much to the bemusement of Members on both sides of the House.

He clearly hasn’t been given the Mandy Line, either. Nick Brown must have words.

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Posted in Nick Brown, Peter Mandelson