Will The Mandelson Scandal Finish Off Starmer’s Premiership?

Peter Mandelson has become a recurring nightmare for Keir Starmer.

Once described as a “brilliant” choice to take on the most senior diplomatic role the UK government has to offer, ambassador to the US, the ex-Labour peer’s political career has spectacularly exploded over the last seven months – and threatens to take the prime minister with him.

This week’s Commons People podcast from HuffPost UK looks at how we got here – and whether it is the final nail in Starmer’s coffin.

Mandelson was sacked in September when the depth of his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein came to light in a series of emails released by Bloomberg.

He then quit Labour and stepped down from the House of Lords in February when the US Department of Justice’s Epstein files suggested Mandelson allegedly passed market-sensitive information to the late financier when he was a minister.

Then last week it emerged that Mandelson that UK Security Vetting – officials within the Cabinet Office – recommended he not be given clearance after they conducted a mandatory deep-dive into his personal life.

But the Foreign Office, in the guise of its then top civil servant Sir Olly Robbins, cleared him to take up the plum job anyway. To make matters worse, no one thought to tell Keir Starmer until last week.

The prime minister responded by sacking Robbins, triggering a fresh crisis at the heart of government and raised major questions about Starmer’s judgment and alarming lack of curiosity.

Mandelson’s chequered past was well-known when he was appointed.

Sacked twice from Tony Blair’s government, he earned the nickname the “Prince of Darkness” for his expertise in the political dark arts.

But the former MP for Hartlepool was also part of the team which worked behind the scenes to get Starmer elected as Labour leader.

Starmer, who insisted he is “furious” about being unaware of Mandelson’s true vetting status, faced MPs on Monday in a bid to set the record straight.

But opposition MPs literally laughed in his face – and his own support drained away as Labour MPs left the chamber.

On Tuesday, Robbins gave his own version of events to MPs on the Foreign Affairs Committee.

He claimed No.10 had a “dismissive” attitude to the security clearance process altogether and that he was under “pressure” to give Mandelson a clean bill of health no matter what.

Now Starmer’s former chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney – a close ally of Mandelson and the driving force behind his appointment as US ambassador – is set to give evidence in front of the Foreign Affairs Committee next week.

McSweeney was forced out over his links to Mandelson in February.

A camera-shy individual who has often taken the blame for Starmer’s mistakes, this could prove to be another box office appearance which upends the government.

Labour MPs are in despair and some have already called for Starmer to go.

Meanwhile some cabinet ministers, including Ed Miliband, have started to publicly distance themselves from their boss and his decisions over Mandelson.

Elections to English local authorities, the Welsh Senedd and Scottish Parliament on May 7 are expected to erode any remaining faith in the PM, as Labour is set for major losses across the UK.

To make matters even worse, the government will also release the next batch of its internal documents linked to Mandelson’s appointment after the King’s Speech on May 13, meaning more drama is around the corner.

Listen to this week’s Commons People podcast as we unpick this complex saga.

We hear from a cabinet minister on the prime minister’s future, and reveal how speculation is mounting in Westminster that Starmer could be gone in months, and how that could lead to a general election as early as next year.

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