In BULS, we’re mature enough to dole out criticism and praise where it is due and with the recent release of Lord Mandelson’s Memoirs “The Third Man”, it seems both are present here to one of the founding architectures of ‘New’ Labour. As business secretary, I personally believe Mandy did a brilliant job, the car scrappage scheme was one of the most successful parts of the economic stimulus package brought in after the wake of the financial crisis. His emphasis on a new high tech industries and manufacturing and his ardent support of the Regional Development Agency were just what the country needed in times of economic hardship.
However, Brown’s former adviser Charlie Whelan said “Peter ran the worst general campaign in Labour’s history,” Whelan told the Sunday Telegraph, “Nobody knew what the message was at all. It was a disaster from beginning to end.”. In this instance, how right he was. Now admittedly, I haven’t paid much attention to previous election campaigns, but the 2010 campaign was abysmal. Yes, we were just emerging from a recession and had a leader with a “radio face”, but frankly the campaign did not help. The press-conferences completely lacked any excitement and it seemed Brown was held back by Mandy. The latter we know given Brown’s firebrand speech near the end of the campaign, after Mandy was relinquished of some duties.
To be frank, there was no clear message, let us hope this is not the case in 2015.
Max
Hmm…Out of all the credible reasons to criticise Lord Voldermort you choose a relatively minor one Max. How about the fact that it was always painfully clear that Mandy did not care one bit about the Labour Party and has never been more than a centre-right careerist. The fact that he made his 30 peices of Silver from the Murdoch Empire is evidence for this.
He is also guilty of Cronyism, which still is a major critique that can be made of the whole Labour Party. If you weren’t mates with Mandy, good luck getting selected as a PPC (Case in point – Tristan Hunt, Stephen Twigg)
To be fair to him, even though I can’t stand him, he understood politics more than arguably any other person in government. He was often proved right in what he said, as well.
As a lord I’m not even sure he should have been in government in the first place. He also seemed a popular focus of discontent – the “dark Lord” Mandelson, ever present puppet master in the shadows, fuelling (further) cynicism towards the, now former, government. Andy Burnham apparently agrees (to whatever extent): “Peter did some great things. But we created the impression that the elite was running the country.”
He could have waited a while before dishing the dirt – out of decency, or loyalty to the party perhaps. It isn’t very nice to open a double page Daily Mail smear-a-thon concerning the former government knowing that one of our supposed own is supplying the material.
Hey ho.
Having seen his interview, though, I see his point for the timing. It is better out now and forgotten than out two years down the road after a new leader comes in and midway through the run up to the general election. It is the same reasoning with which the Tories are implementing cuts and broken promises now. Get them out of the way a loong time before an electionn in the hope everyone has forgotte about it by then.
That is good strategy, hopefully the new leader will be untainted.