A familiar face was spotted on the train from Liverpool today. A co-conspirator snapped Labour’s very own Lord Mandelson, comfortably perched in a first-class seat, rolling into Euston at 1 p.m. He clearly wasn’t interested in sticking around for Starmer’s 2 p.m. speech with the rest of the party faithful…
The co-conspirator shared another rather amusing tale from a taxi driver who picked up other conference attendees last night:
“I had four of them and it was an eight pound fare. They asked for a a receipt for £2 each so they could claim it on expenses. I wrote out one receipt, tore it into four pieces and gave them one each.”
Who can blame the dark lord for shooting off early…
The City was stunned when last week the Bank of London Group, which is only the second new British clearing bank in two centuries, was served with a winding-up petition from HMRC. A legal process that can force a company into liquidation to pay off its debts. It’s a highly unusual move, typically seen as a “last resort” for the tax authority. Tax lawyer Dan Neidle described it as the “nuclear option” for HMRC, adding that he has never seen it used against a major financial institution before…
The order came two days after the firm’s founder, Anthony Watson, stepped down as CEO. Watson has an impressive résumé: he was awarded a CBE last year for services to the LGBT community and was once described as “one of the most influential gay men in the world.” Watson studied theology and has a lot of experience working in IT rather than finance…
Watson also chaired Labour’s business and enterprise advisory council for two years. Labour’s Peter Mandelson was brought onto the Bank of London’s board as deputy chairman in 2022. It’s odd that the bank appears to have not paid its bills, despite raising £30 million from investors in only February. The bank has had to hastily raise another £42 million from surprised shareholders. As Neidle puts it, the winding-up order “suggests major governance and administrative failings”…
Candidates are coming out of the woodwork in the running for Oxford University’s Chancellorship. Peter Mandelson has been confirmed today to be gunning for the role, after shadow campaigning for some time. Someone’s preparing for alternatives to those ambassadorial dreams…
Chris Patten has served in the prized role since 2003. Were Mandelson to win he would be the first card-carrying Labour member in the role. He’s up against Tory big hitter William Hague, who announced last week. This time the Chancellor’s Election Committee has said it will remove candidates from the election process whom it does not consider “suitable” and it will give “due regard to the principles of equality and diversity“. Oxford undergrads will no doubt look past Willy’s un-diverse characteristics in hope of an official Hagueathon were he to win…
Rory Stewart and Theresa May have ruled themselves out. Guido provides the definitive runners and riders below:
- Peter Mandelson. Labour MPs are contacting alumni in WhatsApp groups to rustle up support for Mandelson…
- William Hague.
- Elish Angiolini: Current Pro Vice Chancellor of the University, KC who chaired the inquiry into the murder of Sarah Everard. A dark horse candidate…
- Imran Khan: The former Pakistani PM is applying from prison and is supported by Peter Oborne, who says Khan must be supported despite a surely incoming “attempt by the British establishment” to block him. Uh-huh…
- Reverend Matthew Firth: Whistleblower of this year’s “fake baptisms” controversy, Firth is presenting himself as the “anti-woke, anti-establishment” candidate. Likely to take some votes off Hague…
- Professor Nigel Biggar: Famed for his more-balanced-than-most overview of the ethics of the British Empire, Biggar has supporters who’d like to witness the tears of the woke mob. Stranger things have happened…
- Maxim Parr-Reid: A recent undergraduate and tutor who’s put his hat in the ring. His Twitter campaign has 165 followers. A bit of work to do there…
- Onyeka Nwelue: a Nigerian writer who had his Academic Visitor status removed last year after he was found to be impersonating a professor for two years. He could always impersonate the Chancellor post-election…
- Ankur Shiv Bhandari: The former Mayor of Bracknell Forest. No stranger to self-promotion…
- Margaret Casely-Hayford: The outgoing Chancellor of the University of Coventry. Formerly Chairman of Shakespeare’s Globe who describes herself as “passionate about establishing diversity on boards.” Inspired…
- Harry Stratton: The socialist pick. A “union and student activist” who is “dedicated to fighting for fair working conditions and against fee increases,” Stratton says he is endorsed by John McDonnell. A famed winner…
- Jan Royall: Former Kinnock adviser set to take votes off Mandelson. As Principal of Somerville College made all students take an “unconscious bias test.” What would Mrs Thatcher say…
Oxford won’t release a full list of candidates until early October. 250,000 alumni worldwide are entitled to vote online on the 28th in the first internet-based election. It’s a wide field…
Sue Gray’s policy of introducing citizens’ assemblies was backtracked on a mere 30 hours after it was first briefed to the press. Gray must have forgotten that we already have a citizens’ assembly known as Parliament. Guido hears Labour campaign manager Morgan McSweeney wasn’t happy at all…
Peter Mandelson weighed in this afternoon on the How To Win An Election podcast with Matt Chorley. Mandelson said: “I mean, I’m sure there’s a lot to be said for citizens’ assemblies, but is that really the voters’ priority in this election year?” Chorley said – “Well according to Sue Gray it is.” Mandelson went in on Gray, adding:
“Or the Labour announcement that we’re suddenly going to reopen the issue of foxhunting, not to scrap the ban, but to tighten it up and to relitigate the whole issue? I mean, these are third or fourth order issues for the public. They’ve got to remain focussed on their strategy and on the key issues which are important to voters.”
That’s a revealing slap down – there will be more tension to come as Labour focuses in on its manifesto and policy lines for the election. When Mandelson is coming out with robust statements like these it is clear Labour HQ is seeing clans jostle for influence and a weakness of communication. Trouble in paradise…
Peter Mandelson tells Christopher Hope on GB News:
“Oh I want GB News to keep going! They’re stirring the pot, they’re creating divisions within the Conservative Party, they’re undoing the Conservative Party, and very very timely it is too!”
On the day that the damning JP Morgan Report has dropped, a spokesperson for Keir Starmer has said that Peter Mandelson still advises the Labour leader and that he has “no reason to believe he isn’t” a fit and proper person, despite reports about his close friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. Clearly the spokesperson has taken spin lessons from Mandelson himself…
