The Mandelson files have produced a truly damning revelation about Keir Starmer’s government. But it is one which will be of little interest to many people because it doesn’t reflect badly on Lord Mandelson. On the contrary, it shows why we would be a lot better off if the Labour party had more people who occupy the same centre political ground that he does.
The revelation comes in the form of a WhatsApp exchange between Mandelson and Pat McFadden in which the latter opines:
Every meeting I have is ‘Who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others?’. They’re asking the wrong questions.
McFadden is the Work and Pensions Secretary. That he thinks Labour is being far too generous on benefits and too gungho on taxes is truly seismic. It suggests that McFadden sees himself as a prisoner who is unable to carry out the welfare reforms that he believes are necessary.
His predecessor, Liz Kendall, similarly found herself powerless; her very modest proposals to rein in the explosion in Personal Independence Payments (PIPs) were rapidly squashed when dozens of Labour backbenchers threatened to rebel. She was swiftly removed from her post. McFadden, it is now revealed, is in the same position and will likely follow her out of the door.
