The importance Britain’s Prime Minister attaches to retaining good relations with the incoming Trump administration was conveyed on Friday by the announcement that veteran politician Peter Mandelson will become the next ambassador to Washington.
In choosing a Labour political heavyweight, Keir Starmer is clearly eager to embrace the new US president, especially with fears over hefty trade tariffs.
Political insiders have told The National that Lord Mandelson is the ideal person for the job. He is a man very close to the well-connected former prime minister Tony Blair, which will also help in forging stronger links with the Middle East. He is also a close ally of Morgan McSweeney, Mr Starmer's chief of staff.
It is the first political appointment to the Washington ambassadorship in nearly 50 years – Mr Starmer axed the civil service choice shortly after winning July’s election – and was followed by a raft of new appointments to the House of Lords on Friday afternoon.
Sue Gray, the Partygate investigator who went on to become Mr Starmer’s chief of staff, was among 30 new Labour peers, which also included former shadow cabinet minister Thangam Debbonaire. There are also six nominations from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, they include Liz Truss’s deputy prime minister Dame Therese Coffey, as well as former housing minister Rachel Maclean.
Lord Mandelson's new role makes it clear that the Labour government is nervous about the damage Mr Trump might do to the British economy. With the president-elect threatening 25 per cent tariffs on imports virtually from every country, Britain’s fragile economy will be particularly vulnerable.
Mr Starmer said the appointment tapped considerable foreign and economic policy experience. “The United States is one of our most important allies and as we move into a new chapter in our friendship, Peter will bring unrivalled experience to the role and take our partnership from strength to strength,” he said.
The future president has labelled the new UK government “far-left” wing and previously suffered visceral comments from many Labour politicians who now find themselves in government.
Unfortunately for Lord Mandelson, he is among their number. He once called Mr Trump a “danger to the world” and “little short of a white nationalist and racist”, as well as labelling him a “bully and mercantilist”.
But the Labour peer John Woodcock, Lord Walney, called his appointment a “superb choice” as it came at “a moment of huge challenge and potential disruption for the Western alliance”.
“This is a sign that Keir recognises how much is at stake with what is happening in the world, but particularly with the incoming Trump presidency and that he wants to put his very best people in place,” he told The National.
Lord Walney added that Mr Mandelson possessed the key political quality in having “empathy and understanding for the perspectives of other people around the table – he is brilliant at that”.
A senior Labour insider said it was "the right choice". He said: “He is the only Labour person who can penetrate Trump administration and gain his respect, and Starmer fully understands this.”
Trump trade
In Lord Mandelson, the British have the arch political player, who has shown that he is able to mix with the political elite, but will now need to gain the trust of those who have some forthright views on the world.
He was a key player in the New Labour movement and was appointed to Cabinet three times. He also spent four years as an EU trade commissioner, meaning Lord Mandelson will bring expertise to deal with the coming challenges.
Downing Street, which has struggled to find its feet on foreign affairs, was also said to have been impressed with his broad contacts in the US, largely accumulated from his role as chairman of the strategic advisory firm, Global Counsel, which advises major companies.
Lord Mandelson, a former business secretary who joined the House of Lords when he was appointed by Gordon Brown, also has more insight into global commerce than many civil servants, making him “the ideal candidate” to represent Britain’s economic and security interests in the US.
And at 71-years-old he is also likely to retain the respect of fellow septuagenarian Mr Trump who is 78.
But Lord Walney, the government’s adviser on political violence, warned that the Trump presidency will “ask profound questions of the way that we work together”.
“We need our very best people engaged with President Trump and Peter is one of the very best politicians at understanding the people around them and how to build alliances.”
Britain’s former US ambassador, Sir Nigel Sheinwald, agreed that the timing of the appointment was key. “He will need all his strategic nous and networking skills to bring UK interests to bear on President Trump at a moment of real risk for those interests.”
Make friends with Musk
The Labour politician's impact on the American political scene, with many people clamouring for Mr Trump’s attention, will need to be fast and he is likely to reach out to key influencers such as Elon Musk.
Happily, Lord Mandelson has already made the right noises by urging the Prime Minister to use the Trump-confidante and fellow right-winger Nigel Farage as “a bridgehead” into the new administration.
“If I were the government here, I’d be asking the embassy in Washington DC to find out who Mr Musk’s other British friends are,” he told Times Radio. “National interest is served in all sorts of weird and wonderful ways.”
Another quality is that unlike other politicians, Lord Mandelson does not “always want to be seen as the smartest kid in the room” and subsequently quickly annoy people.
“Peter is the opposite of that,” said Lord Walney. “He also has very strong relationships with our European allies, is known and trusted by European leaders. So he has the potential to bring the UK back in into that traditional role as a useful bridge between the UK, the USA and Europe.”
Left wing detractors
But not everyone was receptive to the appointment of the man known as the original “spin doctor”, having served as Labour’s director of communications from 1985-1990, suggesting that his past political miss-steps could reoccur.
Lord Mandelson twice had to resign over controversies as a cabinet minister in Tony Blair’s government and, like any successful politicians, he has his foes.
One of those is left-winger John McDonnell, Labour’s former shadow chancellor, who warned against the appointment.
“For many reasons associated with Peter Mandelson’s history in and out of political office many will feel Keir has lost all sense of political judgment on this decision,” he posted.
