‘Pestering for a role’: how Mandelson talked his way back into the Labour fold

Officials, MPs and other insiders recall a need for clarity and Blair-era frisson before election – even if Sue Gray was wary

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A general election was on the horizon and Peter Mandelson was everywhere. “He didn’t have a desk but he would dip in and out on big issues; he was always there for advice,” recalled a former Labour official of the party’s run-up to the campaign in 2024.

“He would be in and out of the Loto [leader of the opposition] office in Westminster, picking people off individually, ‘We need to chat and do this’, sort of thing.”