Peter Mandelson causes more embarrassment

After costing more than £1 million to assemble and weeks of anticipation, the 1,000 pages of files relating to Peter Mandelson and his brief time as US ambassador fell short of any killer blow or knock-out punch for the Prime Minister or his integrity.

Instead, the messages fuelled already tense divisions within the Labour Party and provided further embarrassment to the government over the decision to appoint Mandelson in the first place. (Mandelson’s message to David Lammy that the government would “never regret” his appointment, in particular, has aged like milk).

Messages from Mandelson criticising the Prime Minister for “lacking verve” and branding him “beleaguered and bereft” will no doubt have made for uncomfortable reading for Keir Starmer at a time when his leadership hangs on a knife-edge.

Perhaps the most eye-opening element of the latest tranche of documents was the private frustrations of Pat McFadden over welfare. Ahead of a backbench rebellion over welfare reform, the then-Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster confided in Mandelson: “Every meeting I have is ‘who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others’… They’re asking the wrong questions.” This approach suggests there may be less of a coherent strategy to governing and more of a sticking plaster approach to plug gaps in the public finances.

Someone who will breathe a sigh of relief over how little he is mentioned is Wes Streeting. Critics have claimed his previous relationship with Mandelson could be an albatross around his neck when any leadership contest comes to pass.

This is only another fraction of the bigger picture – several messages were heavily redacted and Mandelson refused to hand over information on his personal devices. However, this latest release does cause the government a further headache over an entirely avoidable scandal – and reminds people of the questions around Starmer’s judgement as Burnham, Streeting and potentially others prepare to challenge him for the leadership.

Emma Burnell, editor of LabourList, said: “The latest tranche of Mandelson messages are embarrassing, of course. This story has been the long running sore of Starmer’s government and the issue that has done most damage to the PM’s authority. Every time it comes back it reminds voters – as well as Labour MPs and members – of this very public mistake and raises questions about the culture that allowed it to happen.

“But with all that said, there are not new revelations here that deepen the scandal. There are MPs – including Cabinet Ministers – saying disobliging things about the PM and his Number 10 operation. But these are no stronger (in many cases significantly milder) than has been said publicly by many since the May elections.

“Pat McFadden’s comments on welfare might be difficult. But they too do not cause whiplash as they concur widely with what was seen as the Cabinet Office (where McFadden was serving at the tine) view during the welfare bill stand off. This might be a political argument but it is one McFadden might well be gearing up to have anyway.”

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