Keir Starmer is set to face a challenging session with his Cabinet today following the exposure of the so-called Mandelson files, which have unveiled extensive behind-the-scenes maneuvering and infighting within the Labour Party. This crucial meeting, taking place at Downing Street, comes in the wake of the release of 1,500 pages of documentation related to Peter Mandelson’s controversial appointment as the U.S. ambassador.
While Sir Keir has yet to publicly address the substantial cache of communications between ministers, aides, and Mandelson himself, the timing of the document release was notably strategic, coinciding with the Prime Minister’s attendance at a funeral. These files were made public as a result of parliamentary pressure following a Labour Party uprising.
The documents provide a revealing look into the internal tensions plaguing the government. Particularly telling is an account from Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, who expressed frustration over the demands of his own party members. They reportedly urged him to find new sources of taxation to fund increased benefits, highlighting a significant ideological divide within the party.
Arriving for today’s meeting, McFadden appeared somewhat sheepish, perhaps reflecting on his own candid admission about the state of Labour’s leadership. He had previously remarked that Sir Keir’s authority had been severely undermined by a revolt last summer that successfully blocked proposed welfare reforms.
The papers gave a stark glimpse into tensions at the heart of Government, with Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden at one point complaining that his own MPs just want him to find people to tax so they can hand out more benefits.
Mr McFadden – who grinned sheepishly as he arrived for the meeting this morning – also candidly admitted that Sir Keir’s authority was ‘destroyed’ by a revolt last summer that blocked welfare reforms.
Keir Starmer – pictured welcoming the President of Ghana to No10 this morning – has yet to make any comment about the huge dump of messages exchanged between ministers, aides and Mandelson
The papers gave a stark glimpse into tensions at the heart of Government, with Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden (pictured) at one point complaining that his own MPs just want him to find people to tax so they can hand out more benefits.
Ed Miliband (right) was also at the Cabinet meeting today, after being subject to jibes in the Mandelson messages released yesterday
The PM will gather ministers in Downing Street amid the fallout from 1,500 pages of evidence about Mandelson’s (pictured) disastrous appointment as US ambassador
Mandelson and ministers are exposed as having discussed how things ‘don’t look good’ for Sir Keir. Gordon Brown is said to ‘have it in for’ the premier and be favouring Angela Rayner, while No10 staff are branded ‘sub-optimal’.
Wes Streeting – until recently the health secretary and now a leadership hopeful – is described by Mandelson as sending a ‘wild long hysterical message’ criticising Israel.
Amid a row over the Government recognising Palestine as a state, the ambassador jibed that Mr Streeting was having an ‘early mid life crisis’ and lacked ‘maturity’.
The Labour carnage was foreshadowed by a handwritten note from Mandelson to then-Foreign Secretary David Lammy at the end of 2024, saying Sir Keir would ‘never regret’ appointing him as US ambassador.
It is clear the PM was not alone in wanting Mandelson for the job, as a slew of fawning ministers rushed to congratulate him personally.
Despite the scale of the document dump some key papers are still being withheld at the request of Scotland Yard, which is investigating the former peer over alleged misconduct in public office.
And there have been a swathe of redactions, carried out at a cost of £1million. At least one previously reported message from Sir Keir to Mandelson saying he would be a ‘brilliant’ envoy seems to be missing.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, on a visit to Beijing, gave distinctly lukewarm backing to the PM as she spoke to reporters this morning.
Asked whether she recognised Mandelson’s description of Sir Keir’s approach as ‘advance, buckle, advance, buckle’, Ms Cooper said: ‘What I would say is that Peter Mandelson should never have been appointed as ambassador to the United States and, look, of course there’s been a lot of transparency now about messages being released.’
Pressed whether she would describe Sir Keir as a strong leader, Ms Cooper said: ‘I’m in China pursuing issues around international security, which follows on from the Prime Minister’s visit here to China with President Xi earlier this year.’
There was a similarly non-committal response when Ms Cooper was challenged if the PM had her ‘full support’.
‘I work with the Prime Minister exactly on these international issues where we’ve seen the work that he’s done across the world which is about making us stronger at home, so of course I support the work he’s doing on that,’ she said.
Earlier, Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds joined Secretary of State to the PM Darren Jones in admitting that his messages with Mandelson could not be recovered.
One handwritten note from Mandelson to then-Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Sir Keir would ‘never regret’ appointing him
Like former No10 chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, Mr Thomas-Symonds’ phone is believed to have been stolen last year.
Mr Thomas-Symonds was dispatched to broadcast studios this morning to field questions on the extraordinary revelations in the papers.
He told Times Radio that Mr McFadden is a ‘diligent, committed minister’ and his views on social security and welfare were ‘very well known and consistent’.
Mr Thomas-Symonds said: ‘Pat’s view has always been that it is not about benefits, that is not where the debate should be. The debate should be about opportunity, and indeed that is what he has been working on.’
