Lord Peter Mandelson expected to be named next ambassador to US

Labour grandee Lord Peter Mandelson is expected to be the next UK ambassador to the US.

Lord Mandelson, who served in the cabinets of Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, is poised to be the UK’s next top diplomat in Washington, as President-elect Donald Trump returns to office.

The tenure of Dame Karen Pierce, the current office holder, is expected to come to an end at the start of 2025 and Lord Mandelson had been widely tipped as the person next in line for the job.

In November, the former MP for Hartlepool told the BBC that he would be “very interested” in giving advice on trade to whoever got the job.

Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, Lord Mandelson said he was “more in favour of a new relationship rather than a special one” with the US, and added: “Can I just make the point if you don’t mind: nobody has spoken to me about this job.

“I read about it in the papers but nobody has actually spoken to me about it, so let’s put it to one side.”

Pushed further on whether he would be interested in the Washington role, the former government minister said: “I would be very interested indeed in giving advice about trade to whoever is appointed.”

The move would come as Mr Trump is set to be inaugurated for the second time, with questions over what a second Trump presidency could mean for the UK.

Mr Trump has pledged to introduce wide-ranging tariffs on the first day of his new administration, which starts on January 20, with experts predicting damaging consequences for Britain’s goods trade with the US.

On Thursday, Sir Keir said that the UK would “have to make sure that we avoid tariffs” as he faced questions on his approach to the incoming US president.

He told the Commons Liaison Committee he was “alive to the danger of tariffs” but would not “speculate as to what the incoming president might do”.

He said: “I am not a fan of tariffs and, therefore, we have to make sure that we avoid tariffs.”

Lord Mandelson was one of the architects of New Labour, helping to restore the party to power in the 1990s.

He served as business secretary and Northern Ireland secretary under Sir Tony, but then stood down as an MP in 2004 to become a European Commissioner.

He returned to government in 2008 when Mr Brown awarded him a peerage and appointed him business secretary.

More recently, Lord Mandelson stood to be the next chancellor of Oxford University, but ultimately lost out to former Conservative leader Lord William Hague.

Published: 19/12/2024 by Radio NewsHub