UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Peter Mandelson, a Labour senior politician and former EU Commissioner, is set to be named UK ambassador to the US, tasked with enhancing ties amid a challenging Trump presidency.
He served in multiple ministerial positions under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and was seen as one of the top candidates for the ambassador post after receiving a life peerage.
Dame Karen Pierce’s tenure in Washington, DC, will end in early 2025, making way for his appointment.
The UK is preparing for shifts in US trade relations under the newly elected president, with the prime minister’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeny, meeting Trump’s administration in Washington.
As reported by The Guardian, Keir Starmer believes Mr Mandelson’s trade expertise and networking skills make him an ideal candidate to protest the UK’s interests during this “delicate period” with the United States.
Lord Mandelson, a prominent politician in Labour, played a crucial advisory role to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in preparation for the 2024 election.
He also co-hosted the How To Win An Election podcast for the Times, in addition to his roles as chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University and trustee of the Design Museum.
Once Mr Mandelson’s name was linked to the chancellorship of the University of Oxford, his alma mater, but the post was given to former Tories leader Lord William Hague.
His appointment coincides with the inauguration of newly elected President Donald Trump on January 20.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s The World Tonight, Sir David Manning, who served as the UK’s ambassador to the US, called Peter Mandelson a “very articulate, highly intelligent, extremely experienced operator.”
He also expressed concerns that the position would involve “all sorts of issues that will be contentious and difficult,” such as the Middle East, China, and the climate crisis.
In November, Mandelson, 71, revealed on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that he had not been approached about the ambassador position.
However, he said that he was “more in favour of new ties rather than a special one” with the US and “would be very interested indeed in giving advice about trade to whoever is appointed.”
BBC reports that No 10 source stated, “The fact the prime minister has chosen to make a political appointment and sent Lord Mandelson to Washington shows just how importantly we see our relationship with the Trump administration.”
The source continued, “We’re sending someone close to the prime minister with unrivalled political and policy experience, particularly on the crucial issue of trade. He’s the ideal candidate to represent the UK’s economic and security interests in the USA.”
The White House and Trump campaign were both informed of the appointment in advance.
Mr Trump has committed to implementing universal tariffs of up to 20% on all goods to the US, which is expected to increase costs for consumers in the US.
While responding to Trump’s comments, Keir Starmer said on Thursday that Britain must avoid tariffs, as he wants to enhance economic ties with Washington.
Stephen Moore, a trade adviser to Donald Trump, stated that if the UK adopted the US cycle of “economic freedom,” then the new administration would be more willing to initiate an economic agreement between the two nations.
David Lammy, the foreign secretary has tried to soften his earlier remarks in which he called Donald Trump a “neo-Nazi sympathizing sociopath.”
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, and a close British friend of Donald Trump, described Peter Mandelson as an intelligent personality.