Peter Mandelson → Pat McFadden (then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster) WhatsApp, 24 May 2025
Mandelson: I have spoken to Morgan a lot this week and last night I was direct with him – Keir is not leading from the front and Morgan is not organising the centre as it needs to be. Gordon has it in for Keir (and Rachel) big time. He doesn’t seriously believe that Angela is an alternative but she is an instrument of destabilization. I doubt he thinks Ed is fit for purpose but he is doing to Keir what he has always done to successive Scottish leaders.
McFadden: I don’t know what Keir thinks of all this. He has not spoken to me about any of it.
Mandelson: Does he even realise? The PLP I gather is in mutinous state
McFadden: Yes. Every meeting I have is “who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others”. They’re asking the wrong questions
In case you still weren’t convinced…
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”