Peter Mandelson and Morgan McSweeney, two figures central to Labour's recent history, share a political partnership rooted in Lambeth Council. Mandelson, a councillor in 1979 under 'Red' Ted Knight, grew to despise the local party's left-wing leadership. Decades later, McSweeney helped recapture the council from the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, forging a bond that would later lead to the founding of Labour Together, a group aimed at reclaiming the party from Jeremy Corbyn.
On Tuesday, McSweeney will face the foreign affairs select committee to discuss his role in Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador—a decision that cost McSweeney his position as the prime minister's chief of staff. Allies say McSweeney will seek to 'correct the caricature' of himself as Mandelson's protégé, a label they believe Mandelson promotes to exaggerate his own influence. However, McSweeney must explain why overriding convention to appoint the twice-disgraced former cabinet minister was deemed vital.
Despite political differences—Mandelson's internationalism and social liberalism contrasting with Starmerites' focus on community and security—the pair shared two overriding priorities: destroying the Labour left and an unrelenting drive to win. Mandelson, for instance, despised the Employment Rights Act and briefed against it. Their collaboration intensified after being reintroduced by Labour peer Roger Liddle in 2017, maintaining regular contact through opposition's darkest days until Mandelson's sacking as ambassador.
When Keir Starmer became leader with McSweeney's help, many New Labour figures were dismissive, with some urging MPs to defect to a new centrist party. Yet Mandelson was among the few genuinely interested in the project, despite privately scathing remarks about Starmer—including a public suggestion that Starmer 'needs to shed a few pounds.' His influence worried staffers like Simon Fletcher, who noted Mandelson's growing shadow in 2021, though others downplayed it.
