Lord Mandelson recently batted away the prospect of his becoming Labour leader by pointing out that he couldn’t leave the House of Lords. (“I am trapped. I believe it is for life.”) . Since then, of course, the legislation has been changed – co-incidentally they say – for peers to become commoners again.
But who would want Mandy as prime minister, for all his manifold strengths?
Step forward Peter Slowe, recently re-appointed as chairman of the Labour Finance and Industry Group – which contains 300 business supporters.
Mr Slowe told the Scotsman this morning: “(Lord] Mandelson is the only one in the Labour ranks who could realistically take on the Tories and win.” Slowe is an arch-Blairite who first led the Labour Finance group in the 1990s.
The Herald has a similar story, with Slowe quoted as saying Mandelson had the “clout, intellect and charisma” to take on the Tories.
Not sure that the appointment would go down well among the Campaign group or other left-wing corners of Labour.
Jim Pickard
Kiran Stacey