Documents Reveal Mandelson’s Post-Election Government Engagement Through Lobbying Firm]

Peter Mandelson actively lobbied government ministers to engage with his advisory firm Global Counsel in the months following Labour’s 2024 general election victory, according to newly released documents.

The disclosures come through emails and WhatsApp messages showing Mandelson’s efforts to leverage his connections within government for the benefit of both his company and his subsequent campaign to become chancellor of Oxford University.

Shortly after the election, Mandelson contacted Spencer Livermore, the Treasury’s financial secretary, via WhatsApp, suggesting they meet for lunch away from government premises. The exchange indicated a Global Counsel employee would also be included.

Mandelson then emailed Science Minister Patrick Vallance with reflections on his ministerial experience, followed by an invitation two months later for a research and innovation panel event in Oxford. Vallance requested the event be scheduled after the Oxford chancellor election to avoid appearing campaign-related.

The documents also reveal Mandelson introducing Trade Minister Douglas Alexander to a Global Counsel employee, with Alexander describing their subsequent meeting as “the single most enlightening conversation I’ve had in the last month on trade.”

Additional correspondence shows Mandelson emailing ministers Sarah Jones and seeking confirmation for a clean energy mission roundtable, though the invitation received no immediate response.

These revelations emerge as part of extensive documents relating to Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to the US, which was cut short amid controversies surrounding his friendship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Mandelson resigned as a Global Counsel director in May 2024 and stepped down as president in January 2025, the same month he assumed the ambassadorship. The firm subsequently entered administration in February 2025 following the Epstein-related disclosures.

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