Labour veteran Peter Mandelson says US ambassador job an ‘honour’

Lord Peter Mandelson has called his appointment as the UK’s next ambassador to the US, which has now been officially confirmed, “a great honour”.

The Labour grandee is one of the best-known figures in politics, having served in multiple ministerial roles under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown before taking up a life peerage in the Lords.

Dubbed the “Prince of Darkness” during his years as New Labour’s spin doctor, the 71-year-old will now be the key link between the prime minister and Donald Trump’s incoming administration during a crucial time for US-UK diplomacy.

“We face challenges in Britain, but also big opportunities and it will be a privilege to work with the government to land those opportunities,” Lord Mandelson said.

In a statement, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said was “delighted” to appoint Lord Mandelson.

“The United States is one of our most important allies and as we move into a new chapter in our friendship,” he said.

“Peter will bring unrivalled experience to the role and take our partnership from strength to strength.”

Like other senior Labour figures, Lord Mandelson has a record of criticising Donald Trump, once describing him as “little short of a white nationalist and racist”.

In a recently unearthed interview with an Italian journalist in 2019, Lord Mandelson described Trump as a “reckless and a danger to the world”.

In a 2018 interview with the Evening Standard, he also called Trump “a bully”.

Since being touted as a potential candidate for the US-ambassador role, considered the most prestigious diplomatic post in the UK government, Lord Mandelson has softened his language on Trump.

In November he made a pitch on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme to create “a new relationship rather than a special one” with the US.

He also told News Agents podcast it is “absolutely essential that we establish a relationship with President Trump that enables us not only to understand and interpret what he’s doing but to influence it”.

He added that the Labour government should try to “reconnect” with Trump’s ally and tech multi-billionaire Elon Musk, who has been critical of Sir Keir’s government and has been appointed head of new advisory team the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).

As first reported in The Times, Lord Mandelson will replace Dame Karen Pierce, whose term in Washington DC is due to end as Trump enters the White House in early 2025.

Sir Keir thanked Dame Karen for “her invaluable service for the last four years, and in particular the wisdom and steadfast support she has given me personally since July”.

UK ambassadors are normally career diplomats or civil servants, but Downing Street said choosing a leading Labour politician “shows just how importantly we see our relationship with the Trump administration”.

Labour Health Minister Stephen Kinnock said Lord Mandelson would make “an excellent appointment” as US ambassador.

Kinnock, whose father Neil Kinnock gave Lord Mandelson his first senior role in Labour in the 1980s, pointed to the former EU Trade Commissioner’s “really strong experience in trade”.

“He’s got very good political contacts in Washington DC and I think his appointment would be a reflection of the importance of the US-UK special relationship and I think Peter Mandelson would be a very good person to take that relationship forward,” Kinnock added.

But Lord Mandelson has been a divisive figures in British politics over many years.

He resigned twice as a minister – once for failing to declare a home loan from a cabinet colleague, and a second time over accusations of using his position to influence a passport application.

As a staunch critic of Brexit and advocate for global free-trade, he does not appear to be an obvious fit with the incoming Trump administration.

The former cabinet minister and EU trade negotiator also has enormous political experience, and Downing Street may have judged that sending someone so close to the big political figures in the UK may go down well at the White House.

Trump had once called Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage a “great choice” for ambassador – but Labour were unlikely to choose a political opponent such as Farage.

Lord Mandelson has suggested making use of Farage’s connections in the US as a “bridgehead, both to President Trump and to Elon Musk and others”.

“You’ve got to be pragmatic, practical about this,” he said.

Farage has meanwhile said that he “might disagree with Mandelson on his politics, but he’s a very intelligent man” and would be good choice for ambassador.

Lord Mandelson was the Labour MP for Hartlepool from 1992 to 2004, during which time he served as Northern Ireland secretary and business secretary under Blair. He stood down as an MP in 2004 to become a European Commissioner before returning to the UK to become Gordon Brown’s most senior minister.

Sir Keir said on Thursday the UK would “have to make sure that we avoid tariffs” when asked about Trump’s comments, and reiterated that he wanted to improve trade with Washington.

Trump has pledged to impose wide-ranging tariffs on his first day in office, which experts say could cost the UK £22bn.