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Foreign Secretary David Lammy has backed Lord Peter Mandelson to become the UK’s next ambassador to the US, helping to cement the former trade secretary’s position as frontrunner in the succession race Dame Karen Pierce.
Downing Street officials said a decision would likely be made next month and that political appointments were now more likely than civil servant selections.
Donald Trump’s victory in last week’s US presidential election has sharpened Number 10’s calculations about the type of candidate needed – and reinforced the need for someone with commercial qualifications like Mandelson.
According to two people with knowledge of the foreign secretary position, Lammy is keeping quiet publicly about his preference for the ambassadorship, but is now privately backing Mandelson. A Lammy spokesman declined to comment.
Mandelson, a close political ally of Starmer’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, is a Labor Party veteran who held the senior post last time the party was in power and also previously served as trade commissioner. European trade.
Trump has threatened to increase tariffs on US imports, potentially plunging the world into a new trade war.
According to British government officials, Pierce, whose term has already been extended once, is expected to continue in power to handle the transition between outgoing incumbent Joe Biden and Trump, before when his successor takes over shortly after the presidential inauguration in January.
A senior Labor figure said Mandelson was “extremely close” to McSweeney, who has just been appointed chief of staff, replacing Sue Gray: “Because Morgan is now in a very strong position in Number 10, this bodes well for Peter’s chances. ”
However, McSweeney is understood to have stayed out of the current deliberations to avoid any conflict of interest.
Mandelson is also a former ally of Pat McFadden, the influential Cabinet Office minister who was his deputy in business 15 years ago.
A Number 10 official said any decisions would be based on merit rather than personal loyalty, noting that Mandelson had almost unparalleled experience of commercial issues. Downing Street declined to comment.
Mandelson is seen as the front-runner ahead of three other potential political appointments widely advertised as being in the running for the role: former UK foreign secretary David Miliband, former UK development secretary South Baroness Valerie Amos and former European foreign affairs commissioner, Baroness Cathy Ashton.
Prime Minister Rachel Reeves is said to support Miliband and met the former foreign secretary during a visit to New York in August.
Mandelson is simultaneously vying for the ceremonial role of Oxford chancellor, voting for which begins on November 18. Despite the distance involved, one Mandelson ally suggested he could take on both roles game, pointing to the example of Chris Patten, Oxford’s chancellor and president. by BBC.
Mandelson told the BBC on Sunday “that no one has talked to me about this job”. He added that the UK should pursue a “tech and digital economy deal” between the two countries instead of an “outdated goods and mortar kind of free trade agreement”.
People familiar with the process say an extension of Pierce’s term has not yet been ruled out, given her success in building deep connections with Maga-aligned Republicans.
Nicknamed “The Trump Whisperer” in British diplomatic circles, she is said to have arranged for Starmer to have one of his first phone calls with Trump after his victory last week and hosted a friendly dinner secret between Starmer, Trump and Lammy in New York in September.
She was also praised for supporting then-UK Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron in meeting Trump at Mar-a-Lago in April to help galvanize Republican support for aid of the United States to Ukraine, as well as the UK embassy leading a well-resourced delegation to Ukraine. Republican convention this summer.
“There will clearly be value in keeping Karen there because of the way she maintains a good relationship with the Trump people,” said one Labor Party insider. “She is more political than a conventional diplomat.”
They added: “The four political names we have are all really good and it would be great if someone else was president, but . . . Maybe they should look elsewhere.”
The resignation of Sir Philip Barton, permanent secretary of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, earlier this month has also sparked fresh competition for the position.
Some diplomats believe Pierce could replace him at the head of the Department, while others are leaning towards Sir Matthew Rycroft, currently permanent secretary of the Home Office, and Dame Barbara Woodward, special envoy UK member to the United Nations.
