No Friends at Court
Even Mandelson’s legendary luck may have run out
They flee from him that sometime did him seek. Poor old Peter Mandelson (still Lord Mandelson at the time of typing, but he should probably hold off ordering any stationery) spent Tuesday discovering that you’re never more alone than when your colleagues discover you were selling them out to a paedophile.
“This is a betrayal on so many levels,” said Health Secretary Wes Streeting. “It is a betrayal of not just one, but two prime ministers.” That’s Mandy: never doing anything by halves. Keir Starmer then declared himself “appalled” and the whole business “gobsmacking”. Having told us on Monday that it would be too difficult to remove Mandelson’s peerage, he said he now had a team working on it. It is the prime minister’s special gift to do the right thing only after having explained that the right thing is quite impossible.
Apologies for the lateness of this one, there was a snarl-up at the pixel factory.
Although Mandelson and the entire political class gave you an open goal here (as they always do these days), the style with which you put the ball away was a thing of beauty (as it always is).
Brilliant observaton on Starmer's leadership style here. That line about doing the right thing only after declaring it impossible really captures how reactive his decision-making process has become. I've noticed this pattern play out in corporate settings too where leaders hedge their bets until public pressure forces their hand. The Mandelson situation just highlights how avoiding early,decisive action creates worse messes down teh line.