The Bad PlaceThe Guardian | Mandelson lobbied hard for advisory firm after Labour victory, papers show by Daniel Boffey Chief reporter
AI generated summary, Read the full article for complete information.
Peter Mandelson, while president of his advisory firm Global Counsel, intensively lobbied senior Labour ministers in the months after the 2024 general election, using WhatsApp messages and emails to arrange lunches, introduce firm staff, and invite officials to panels and round‑tables that also served his personal ambitions, such as his campaign for Oxford University chancellor. He contacted Treasury secretary Spencer Livermore for a private lunch, emailed new science minister Patrick Vallance with reflections on his ministerial experience and an invitation to a research‑innovation event, and coordinated meetings between trade minister Douglas Alexander and Global Counsel personnel, repeatedly following up on ministerial attendance at a clean‑energy roundtable. The disclosed correspondence, part of a data release tied to Mandelson’s brief tenure as UK ambassador to the US, highlights how a Labour peer leveraged his position to promote his firm’s interests—whose clients have included TikTok, Palantir, Shell and Anglo American—while navigating the rules that prohibit Lords from offering parliamentary advice for profit. Mandelson resigned from Global Counsel’s directorship in May 2024, remained president until January 2025, and the firm entered administration in February after revelations about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
#PeterMandelson #GlobalCounsel #labour #lobbying #politics #SpencerLivermore #PatrickVallance #DouglasAlexander #SarahJones #BenjaminWeggProsser #JeffreyEpstein
