The Mandelson backlash
James Forsyth 1:56pm
Bringing back Peter Mandelson and sidelining Damian McBride has not gone down well with some of the more hard-core Brownites. Kevin Maguire savages the Mandelson appointment, arguing that it makes Brown look weak, weak, weak:
If Gordon Brown hopes people have forgotten who Peter Mandelson was he will be badly mistaken. Both will hate the ridicule coming their way. To turn to a figure who personified a lack of trust in politicians is a grave error. Should we start placing bets on Lord Mandy's third Cabinet resignation?What other surprises has Brown up his sleeve? John Prescott as Deputy PM? Denis Healey as Chancellor? Neil Kinnock's still around. And what about Tony Blair coming back as, erm, Prime Minister?
The complaints from John McDonnell and his ilk are unlikely to inflict damage on Mandelson. But if the alienated Brownites and the unions kick off, and remember what Charlie Whelan does now, then there could be blood on the carpet before long.
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adrian drummond
October 3rd, 2008 2:15pm Report this commentI can't think of a more odious person in politics than Mandelson.
mitch
October 3rd, 2008 2:17pm Report this commentA man who has resigned in disgrace not once but twice, Gordon is not only mad but deluded if he thinks we have forgotten what utter slime Mandelson is.
Faceless Bureaucrat
October 3rd, 2008 2:20pm Report this commentAs I have commented earler, 'shafting' McBride in this way was an error of huge proportions on Brown's part. True, not all Unions loved McBride, but he had a connection with them that Mandy will never be able to replicate. Batten down the hatches, Ladies and Gentlemen, this could turn very nasty...
Mike, Brighton
October 3rd, 2008 2:35pm Report this commentIs Brown now going to bring back David Blunkett? How about Blair?
There are some political corpses that should stay buried.
Christopher Pincher
October 3rd, 2008 2:47pm Report this commentPerhaps his trump card is to dig up Ray Gunter? Gordon Brown turns to Burke & Hare for inspiration.
JohnAnt
October 3rd, 2008 2:49pm Report this commentHow useful, as mortages become more difficult to get, to be reminded how simple it is to make a misleading statement on your mortgage application. And not be fined or prosecuted when caught out.
LSS
October 3rd, 2008 3:45pm Report this commentThis is a fantastic appointment for the Conservative Party and DC because this really plays into the hands of DC's message about the Conservative Party offering a 'change'. Bringing back disgraced former ministers like Mandy shows that GB hasn't got anything new to offer and that the Labour can not change and move the times.
CCHQ will be rubbing their hands together at this appointment. God only knows what Broon is thinking.
Puncheon
October 3rd, 2008 3:54pm Report this commentIt's so good to see Old Mother Mandelson back. Perhaps Gordon thinks we need more entertainment, or that we all need advice on how to acquire an easy mortgage.
Oscar
October 3rd, 2008 3:56pm Report this commentGordon Brown has just irrevocably trashed his own brand. Gone are the heady days of June 2007 when he promised an end to spin and saw off the detested spin doctors. Now they are all back – Alistair Campbell – Peter Mandelson. Brown was supposed to restore trust in government and now he’s blown it. Many in the electorate will no doubt be thinking "there is nothing that you could ever say to me now that I could ever believe".
mac
October 3rd, 2008 4:33pm Report this commentTruly, Mandelson's motto must be "Resurgam'. His role, of course, is to be Brown's Minister of Propaganda. Stand by for an infestation of the airwaves as supercilious Lord Mandelson returns to instruct all 59.999 million lesser mortals in the country what's good for us, aided by a craven BBC. Rehashed New Labour codswallop will be peddled incessantly to the obsequious Marr, Robinson, Naughtie et al. Hellzbellz!
seb
October 3rd, 2008 5:26pm Report this commentHas anyone been watching Sky News and the BBC? Their coverage of the resurrection of Peter Mandelson gives new meaning to the word ‘sycophancy’. I have yet to see opponents of this move, such as Labour MP Dr. Ian Gibson, be given a chance to speak.
Reaction on the BBC’s Have Your Say site [which will, no doubt, not be reported] is overwhelmingly hostile. Our Dear Leader clearly feels that it is time to be Brown the Bold rather than Brown the Bottler. If, of course, he campaigns in Glenrothes and Labour loses, it will be the fan blades as well as the Prime Minister that’s Brown. Just how dim does the Prime Minister think the voters are?
Frank P
October 3rd, 2008 5:35pm Report this commentThis is all beyond parody. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson is writing the script at No.10. There are all rehearsing for the Christmas panto, aren't they?
David Lindsay
October 3rd, 2008 5:39pm Report this commentThe ghastly Blair years are being restored, it seems. After Mandelson, such other eye-wateringly undistinguished figures such as Alastair Campbell, Jonathan Powell, Carole Caplin, Michael Levy, even Blair himself...
Say it ain't so, Gordon.
I see that the Department to be headed by Mandy still has its ultra-capitalist name, and presumably also brief, even now. Bring back the DTI.
And we should all apply, not only for Metropolitan Police Commissioner, but now also for EU Trade Commissioner, when those jobs are advertised. Or have I missed something?
Ronald
October 3rd, 2008 7:09pm Report this commentGordon Brown probably thinks that, in order to buy himself more time, anything is acceptable.
We would like to advise him that it isn't.
David Gerard
October 4th, 2008 5:50pm Report this commentMr Mandelson has had a chequered career in office. Previous Cabinet terms have ended with unfortunate resignations due to being beheaded by angry villagers, burnt at the stake, wrapped in chains and thrown to the bottom of the Volga and, in one case, nuked from orbit.
My blog rant: http://tinyurl.com/4o747b
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