The Comeback Kid
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As we are about to start on the Core Executive and the role of Cabinet Ministers, I thought it would be an opportune moment to look at the latest governmental incarnation of Peter Mandelson.
Now a Lord, with the title Baron Mandelson of Foy, the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform still to me embodies the essence of the New Labour ‘project’. The era of ‘on message’, ‘spin’ and pagers with messages telling interviewees what to say originated under the strict dominance of the Labour hierarchy from 1994 of which Mandelson was an integral part. Indeed, he was the co-author of The Blair Revolution alongside Roger Liddle. This book outlined why and how Labour under Blair would transform traditional party politics and was revisited in 2004 with a new, and updated, edition.
Dogged by controversy and more than a whiff of scandal, Mandelson has always been a politician that the media have loved to try to expose. The first issue he found himself in concerned a loan from the then Paymaster-General, Geoffrey Robinson, of £373,000 for a house in the upmarket London district of Notting Hill. Mandelson resigned his position as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. In October 1999, after being out of government for about ten months, he resumed his Cabinet position in a new role as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
This was not to last too long, however, as he resigned again in January 2001 over an alleged ‘fast-track’ citizenship application for an Indian businessman, Srichand Hinduja, who, at the time, was being investigated by the Indian government for supposed kickbacks in an arms deal.
This brings us to the latest issues dogging Mandelson. The proposed part-privatisation of the Royal Mail has encountered strong opposition from Labour back-benchers including an Early Day Motion signed by over 120 MPs. This could be, at the least, an embarrassing battle for the government and, possibly, an extremely divisive issue for the Labour Party that could herald defeat at the next election. Union anger has not been so strong for a long while and it will be fascinating observing yet another government becoming involved in an industrial relations clash.
Finally, the latest controversy surrounding the Minister for Trade etc. happened last Friday outside the Royal Society in central London. This time the problem was Mandelson’s meeting with pro third Heathrow runway lobbyists. Although this incident did not, and probably will not, lead to a third resignation, the green custard thrown into his face left Baron Mandelson with a “slight irritation”. Ironically enough, politicians on both sides of the House may feel the same way about the recipient of the coffee-cup full of gunk.
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Intro to AS politics: party political divisions [30 Aug 2011]
How Cameron is Shaping the Premiership [3 Apr 2011]
Judicial Independence [9 Feb 2011]
Labour: a summary of old and new Labour policies [2 Oct 2009]
The battle over spending [15 Sep 2009]
It’s the economy, stupid! [1 Jul 2009]
Rawnsley again [15 Mar 2009]
Posher than John Lewis? [3 Feb 2009]
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