Lord Mandelson is ‘chosen by Keir Starmer’ to be Britain’s Ambassador to US when Donald Trump starts presidency
LORD Peter Mandelson is reportedly set to become Britain’s ambassador to the US — and tasked with wooing Donald Trump.
The New Labour heavyweight is understood to have been picked by Sir Keir Starmer ahead of a raft of other political contenders.
It comes 14 years after Lord Mandelson last served in government under Gordon Brown, The Times reports.
Insiders said it showed how seriously the PM is taking the job of cosying up to the Trump administration.
Ambassadors usually come from within the civil service.
Ex-Cabinet minister Lord Mandelson, 71, was also previously a commissioner to the EU — which Trump has heavily criticised.
Yesterday, the PM warned the President-elect against imposing trade tariffs on the UK.
He told MPs: “I am not a fan of tariffs and therefore we have to make sure that we avoid tariffs.”
He added he believes he can improve things and has had a number of calls with Trump since meeting with him in September in New York.
The PM was yesterday hit by bad news as the Bank of England warned the economy is flatlining after the Budget’s tax raid.
The Bank yesterday held interest rates at 4.75 per cent and signalled that stubborn inflation will prevent a rapid lowering of rates next year.
It is now predicting zero growth in the final quarter of this year — down from its previous prediction of 0.3 per cent.
The PM asked the public to show patience over his mission to drive up living standards saying it “will take some time” for the Government’s changes to start taking effect.
He insisted there was nothing he would do differently despite his tough first six months.