PETER Mandelson channelled the Godfather as he revealed the last piece of election advice he gave Sir Keir Starmer was: “Make them an offer they can’t refuse.”
New Labour’s so-called Prince of Darkness spent years in the political wilderness during Jeremy Corbyn’s reign.
Dan CharityPeter Mandelson channelled the Godfather as he revealed his last piece of election advice to Sir Keir Starmer[/caption]
Westminster’s Machiavelli is back in the Labour fold after years in political wildernessDan Charity
He has declared Sir Keir the heir to Blair on the eve of a crunch party conferencePA
But Westminster’s very own Machiavelli is back in the Labour fold and giving the Starmer regime tips on how to woo voters.
Speaking on the eve of a crunch party conference for the Labour leader, he declared Sir Keir the heir to Blair.
He told The Sun on Sunday: “I think Starmer is the closest thing to Blair of any leader since Blair.
“But Starmer isn’t the same as Blair. He is the nearest thing to Blair.”
His words are the ultimate seal of approval from the New Labour supremo – but will be seen as the kiss of death by others who think Sir Tony is still toxic.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun on Sunday, Lord Mandelson:
Played down – but did not rule out – a shock return to government if Labour wins the electionTook a potshot at Ed Miliband, branding him wobbly on defence
Risked reigniting the Brexit wars by bashing our departure from the EU and calling for closer ties Tore into trade union Unite accusing them of wasting members money on hard left attacks on Sir KeirRevealed he nearly went on Strictly Come Dancing and is a fan of samba
As Sir Keir gathers his party faithful in Liverpool this week, Labour tails are up.
Fresh from thrashing the SNP in the Rutherglen by-election, they are basking in predictions a “seismic” change is sweeping through Britain and will land them in No10.
But Rishi Sunak is fighting back.
Declaring himself the change candidate, Rishi is tearing up years of Tory consensus to scrap HS2 and using the cash saved to splurge £36 billion on roads, trains and buses.
Meanwhile, Sir Keir is still seen as boring and uninspiring by many voters.
Behind the scenes, he is leaning heavily on the old New Labour regime for help.
Dan CharityPeter Mandelson with Sun on Sunday Political Editor Kate Ferguson[/caption]
Many of the advisers from the Blair and Brown era are back.
And Lord Mandelson has been giving him occasional advice.
So is the ‘Dark Lord’ the power behind the throne of Sir Keir’s regime?
Is he back whispering advice and calling the shots – as he did for Neil Kinnock and Sir Tony back in the 1980s and 1990s.
The Labour veteran, 69, smiles.
“I don’t do for Starmer what I did for Kinnock and then Blair and then Brown. I’m not as close as that”, he insists.
“But I do talk to him and I’m a strong supporter of what he’s doing.”
So what was the last piece of advice he gave to Sir Keir?
“Make the party conference about the future,” Lord Mandelson says.
“Spell out a compelling offer to working people. Reconnect with Sun readers.
“Align yourself with those voters who left Labour in 2019 in despair at Jeremy Corbyn and what he was doing to the Labour Party.
“And make them an offer they can’t refuse.
MagnumGordon Brown, Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson in 1996[/caption]
“But focus on key priorities – the chief one being the need to turn around the economy.”
Lord Mandelson spent years at the heart of political power and the Labour establishment.
In the 1980s he was a force for change in the party – quite literally when he tore down Labour’s red flag and replaced it with the red rose logo.
Later, he helped mastermind three election victories. He was New Labour’s “third man” – right in the heart of power next to Blair and Brown.
Nearly 20 years later the question is – can Labour win another election?
All eyes will be on Sir Keir on Tuesday when he makes his big conference speech.
While he is ahead in the polls, lots of Brits have still not made their mind up who to vote for.
Lord Mandelson insists he has not helped Sir Keir pen his address.
But he says the Labour leader must do two things – convince voters he has practical policies, but also the credibility to deliver them.
And he says Tory attacks branding the Labour boss as a “flip flopper” who cannot make his mind up are actually a compliment in disguise.
“Here is a man who is prepared to look at the facts and when he they change he amends his policies”, he says.
But Lord Mandelson took a shot at Labour’s climate change chief Ed MIliband as he heaped praise on Sir Keir.
Hailing Sir Keir as “not a wobbler on defence” – pointing to his support for Ukraine and the Army – he added: “You couldn’t have said that about Jeremy Corbyn.
“Nor, you might say, when Ed Miliband withdrew Labour’s support for tough action in Syria, could you really have said that about Ed either.”
At the last election in 2019, Labour’s once impenetrable ‘Red Wall’ fell, swept aside thanks to three words – Boris, Corbyn and Brexit.
Two years later, Lord Mandelson’s old seat of Hartlepool also fell in a by-election.
The constituency had voted by two to one to leave the EU.
But asked if he got it wrong on Brexit, Remainer Lord Mandelson is unrepentant.
“All the subsequent evidence would suggest we didn’t get it wrong”, he says.
“We have taken a step down…in our trade and levels of investment in Britain, as a direct result of Brexit.”
He backed Sir Keir’s call for closer ties with Europe – although ruled out a return to the single market.
Lord Mandelson also took aim at Unite union leader Sharon Graham.
The leftwing rabble rouser has been running attack ads on Sir Keir in towns and cities across the north.
“This is their hard left activists speaking”, he said.
“They are not speaking on behalf of Unite’s membership. They are using their membership’s money to peddle hard left attacks on Keir Starmer.”
Going after the Tories, he accused them of “blowing up” the economy of fighting like rats in a sack.
GettyTony Blair and former PM Gordon Brown[/caption]
“The Conservative Party is becoming a Corbynite party”, he declares with a mischievous smile.
“We know about this in Labour. We know what happens when a party divides into factions and starts fighting amongst themselves.
“They’re not fighting to win the next election, they’re fighting to take over from Sunak.”
Lord Mandelson spent 25 years at the top of Labour.
Without him the party has spent nearly 15 years in the wilderness. Losing elections. Seeing their heartlands crumble.
Now they have a sniff of power again, surely he fancies a return? Could he make a stunning FOURTH comeback to Cabinet in a Labour government?
Lord Mandelson bats away the suggestion.
“I want there to be a Labour government, I want to support and work for a Labour government. I don’t want to be a member of it.”
But he felt the same back in 2008 when Gordon asked him to return.
He only agreed after the then PM told him his country and government needed him to help steer them through the global economic meltdown.
Then it had been Sir Tony who helped convince him to return.
With Britain in the grip of another economic storm, what would he say if Sir Keir appealed to his patriotic spirit to serve?
“I will always serve the country. It’s what gets me out of bed in the morning”, Lord Mandelson said.
“But that doesn’t mean to say I have to become a member of his government.”
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