Peter Mandelson (Image: Getty)
There is no way back for Peter Mandelson in Government, Sir Keir has signalled. The PM made it clear the door has shut on another dramatic return to the corridors of power. Lord Mandelson is famed for his comebacks – having twice resigned under Tony Blair yet gone on to have new careers at the European Commission and in Government under Gordon Brown.
But the Prime Minister does not see the political maestro of the New Labour era returning.
Not only will he not welcome him back into frontline politics, he does not anticipate him playing an active role in the House of Lords anytime soon.
Lord Mandelson’s career as the UK ambassador in Washington DC came to a crashing end when messages were published detailing the depth of his relationship with sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.
When asked on his trade mission to India whether he could see Lord Mandelson back in politics, the Prime Minister said: “Not in the Government role in terms of future appointments and I think Peter is also on a leave of absence from the Lords in any event so the issue of the whip doesn’t arise.”
A spokesman for Reform UK said Sir Keir had shown poor judgement by making the peer his man in Washington DC.
He said: “His appointment as US ambassador was a serious misjudgement. After all the revelations we don’t see how there is any way back for him.”
Lord Mandelson, 71, resigned as a minister in 1998 having not declared a loan for his London home from cabinet colleague Geoffrey Robinson. He rejoined the Blair team as Northern Ireland Secretary but in 2001 he again quit when he faced intense scrutiny over a passport application, although he was later cleared of interference.
He staged a comeback in 2004 when he became the European Union’s Trade Commissioner, and jaws dropped in 2008 when Gordon Brown – with whom he was thought to have a frosty relationship because of his role in the Blair-Brown power struggles – gave him a peerage and appointed him Business Secretary.
Peter Mandelson has had the ear of successive Labour leaders (Image: Getty)
Lord Mandelson was last year in the running to be elected Chancellor of Oxford University but the coveted position was run by former Foreign Secretary William Hague.
He famously said at the Hartlepool election count in 2001 that he was a “fighter” and not a “quitter”. Few would expect Lord Mandelson to stay out of the headlines for long, but there is no sign Sir Keir wants to facilitate his latest comeback.
