Blitz Bureau
LORD Mandelson,71, who served in multiple ministerial roles under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown before taking up a life peerage in the Lords, is likely to be named as the UK’s next ambassador to the US.
He will replace Dame Karen Pierce, whose term in Washington DC is due to end in early 2025.
An architect of New Labour, Lord Mandelson was seen as a key adviser to Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the run-up to the 2024 election, according to BBC. His appointment comes ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump on January 20. A government source said: “The fact the prime minister has chosen to make a political appointment and sent Lord Mandelson to Washington shows just how importantly we see our relationship with the Trump administration.
“We’re sending someone close to the prime minister with unrivalled political and policy experience, particularly on the crucial issue of trade. He’s the ideal candidate to represent the UK’s economic and security interests in the USA.” Both the White House and Trump campaign were notified of the appointment in advance. In November, Lord Mandelson had told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that nobody had actually spoken to him about the ambassador post.
But he said he was “more in favour of a new relationship rather than a special one” with the US, and “would be very interested indeed in giving advice about trade to whoever is appointed”. Lord Mandelson was the Labour MP for Hartlepool from 1992 to 2004, during which time he served as Northern Ireland secretary and business secretary under Blair. He stood down as an MP in 2004 to become a European Commissioner.
He also resigned twice as a minister – once for failing to declare a home loan from a cabinet colleague, and a second time over accusations of using his position to influence a passport application.
