Criticism of No 10 and Keir Starmer
On 2 May 2025, Lord Mandelson wrote to Pat McFadden, then a Cabinet Office minister and now the work and pensions secretary, expressing his views on the Labour leadership:
"Keir lacks verve as does the Cabinet as a whole."
In July 2025, messages exchanged between Lord Mandelson and McFadden further revealed criticism of advisers within No 10. Lord Mandelson remarked that while the advisers were competent, they lacked cohesion and leadership, stating:
"They don't work as a team, they are not led and none of them really know what Keir thinks or wants. In fact most of them don't think Keir knows what he wants."
Later that month, Lord Mandelson communicated additional concerns to McFadden regarding the direction of Keir Starmer's policies:
"I have a feeling that Keir is now consistently going for direction B. His recanting on his immigration speech, on welfare, now Gaza. There is definitely a 'let Keir be Keir' trend. This is what Morgan [McSweeney] senses and so it is particularly acute for him. His view from when Keir first stood is that the cycle has been the same, advance/buckle/advance/buckle."
He also described the state of No 10 after a visit:
"I went in to No 10 after I saw you. It is beleaguered and bereft. It requires complete revamp and infusion of purpose and confidence to get anywhere."
MPs' Concerns
In the correspondence, Pat McFadden shared candid reflections on discussions with other Labour politicians about welfare and public spending:
"Every meeting I have is 'who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others', They're asking the wrong questions."
Allies of McFadden noted that this message was sent prior to his leadership of the UK's benefits regime, as he was then heading the Cabinet Office.
A spokesperson for the work and pensions secretary stated:
"Pat has fully complied with the Humble Address and handed over all messages. His only contact with Peter Mandelson since he left government has been to urge him to think about the victims in all this and apologise to them."
Red Box for Trump?
Discussions took place between Lord Mandelson and senior officials regarding the commissioning of an official government "red box" to be presented as a gift to US President Donald Trump.
During the process, the former US ambassador described to No 10 chief of staff Morgan McSweeney that he had "gone tonto" and characterized the situation as a "saga" reminiscent of the TV comedy show The Thick of It.
Sir Olly Robbins, then the senior official at the Foreign Office, commented:
"One of the gifts that would mean the most to the President would be a red dispatch box with the gold crest and lettering mimicking a UK Government Ministerial box but with 'President of the United States' inscribed upon it."
Speech Advice on AI
Business Secretary Peter Kyle acknowledged advice from Lord Mandelson to incorporate more positive language about artificial intelligence at the beginning of a speech at a major international security conference.
On 8 February 2025, Lord Mandelson advised Kyle, then the government's technology secretary:
"Your speech would benefit from more positive language about AI up front before you get into the security stuff."
Kyle responded:
"That's all v good advice which I'll action. Thank you."
Six days later, Kyle delivered a speech at the Munich Security Conference stating:
"In the UK, we reject the doomsayers and the pessimists" about artificial intelligence.
Lobbying for Chancellorship
In 2024, prior to his ambassadorial appointment, Lord Mandelson campaigned among Oxford alumni within the Labour Party to support his candidacy for the chancellorship of the University of Oxford. His outreach included figures such as Emma Reynolds, Ed Miliband, Torsten Bell, Georgia Gould, Ellie Reeves, Kirsty McNeill, and James Murray.
Ultimately, Lord Mandelson was not elected to the largely ceremonial position, which was awarded to William Hague, the former leader of the Conservative Party.
