The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a towering figure from the New Labour era, can be seen as an act of political loyalty or an attempt by Keir Starmer to bridge factions within the party. Whatever the motive, it has backfired spectacularly, demonstrating the high price of loyalty when it clouds judgment.
Mandelson is a Labour grandee, and his appointment to a top diplomatic post would have been seen as a significant olive branch to the Blairite wing of the party. It was a bold move by Starmer to bring a seasoned, albeit controversial, operator back into the fold.
However, in doing so, Starmer appears to have overlooked the immense baggage Mandelson carried. The loyalty to a party figure, or the desire for his strategic counsel, seems to have outweighed the clear and present danger posed by his connection to Jeffrey Epstein. This suggests that internal party considerations may have played an outsized role in a decision that had major national and international implications.
The result is a crisis that has not united the party but caused “fury” within it. The Prime Minister is now paying the price for a decision that looks less like a strategic masterstroke and more like a misguided favour to a political ally, a favour that has cost his government dearly.