Well, well, well. Picking a fight with Elon Musk is hardly the wisest decision Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour lot have made so far, especially given the new job the Twitter CEO has been awarded by Donald Trump. With Musk set to become co-leader of the president-elect’s Department of Government Efficiency, the UK Prime Minister might want to start figuring out how to repair relations with the US tech billionaire – and now even some on his own side are urging Starmer to make amends…
Speaking on Times Radio’s How to win an election podcast today, Peter Mandelson has today urged the PM to ‘engage’ with Musk – ‘rapidly, directly, personally’. Going on, the New Labour spin doctor insisted:
[Musk] has a wonderful Trump-like way of communicating, being noticed, he exaggerates to make a point but he’s entitled to his view… I’m not going to get all tied up and wound up over the hyperbole. I’m much more interested in what he’s done. What he’s done with Tesla, with all the rockets, the satellite system, which is fairly unique. I mean, he is a phenomenon. He is a technological, industrial, commercial phenomenon. And it would be unwise in my view for Britain to ignore him.
How curious. Issuing a stark warning to Starmer’s army, the Prince of Darkness remarked:
If I were the government here, I’d be asking the embassy in Washington DC to find out who his other British friends are. And they’ve got to be used as a bridge to Musk… You cannot just continue this feud indefinitely. You’ve got to get over it. He’s got to be reintroduced to the British government.
Is Mandelson even advising the lefty lot to extend an olive branch to Reform’s Nigel Farage, then? ‘Yes, I would include Nigel Farage,’ Lord Mandelson replied promptly. ‘You can’t ignore him. He’s an elected Member of Parliament. He’s a public figure. He’s a bridgehead both to President Trump and to Elon Musk.’ Quite. Whether Sir Keir’s crowd will heed Mandy’s advice is quite another matter…
Watch the clip here:
“Musk is a phenomenon…It would be unwise for Britain to ignore him.”
— Times Radio (@TimesRadio) November 19, 2024
Peter Mandelson says the government should use Nigel Farage to build bridges with Elon Musk.
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