Mandelson's Speeches To The BBC And C4

Peter Mandelson made what sounded like an excellent and supportive pro-fourth-term speech to the Progress Rally yesterday. I couldn't hear what he said very well, due to my being allocated a seat "with restricted view" just behind the lighting control panel and squeezed inbetween Walter Wolfgang and Kate Hudson. They both kept putting me off by glowering in my direction and it didn't help much either when I told Kate how much I enjoyed watching her performance in Alex & Emma. I'm sure Peter's speech deserved a wider audience, but as my notes were too sketchy to make any sense, here are some reports of two speeches he made to the BBC just three years ago. I'm sure Peter will have been voicing very similar sentiments yesterday.

Wednesday, 30 April, 2003: Former minister Peter Mandelson has told the BBC about the moment when Tony Blair demanded his resignation over the Hinduja passport affair. Mr Mandelson recalled his encounter with the PM when Mr Blair made clear he would have to resign for a second time. "I asked, "Are you going to destroy my entire political career, if not my life, on the basis of one morning's newspaper headlines?". And he looked pained, very pained, and said: "I'm afraid I don't think I have any alternative"."

On his home loan, Peter said: "I knew I hadn't done anything wrong. The allegations that were being cooked up I knew were false. I did not believe for one moment that the thing would be so badly handled and such a muddle created that it would result in my departure from government. What happened in all that was a sort of a chasm opened up in front of me over this allegation of cash for passports, which was complete nonsense. It could have been easily dealt with, if only we'd been on top of the facts and not muddled through and just been precise in what we said to the press. But we weren't.

Continuing on the theme of political spin, Mandelson said: "I committed the mortal sin with good publicity, or extensive publicity. Instead of just enjoying it, I inhaled. And I think I probably did inhale a bit too much."

Sunday, 3 August, 2003: Hartlepool MP and former Cabinet minister Peter Mandelson has said that Tony Blair may not serve out a full third term as Prime Minister if he wins the next General Election. "Mr Blair would not go on and on and on and on", he said, "beyond the point where he was no longer wanted."

Mr Mandelson told Channel 4 News: "I must say I am less concerned about who is Prime Minister at the end of a third term - as long as it is a Labour Prime Minister - than what that government is doing during its time in office. No Prime Minister goes on and on and on and on. Mrs Thatcher said she was going to do so and then found that other people had different ideas. I think that for Tony - he has said this himself before - he is not going to overstay his welcome. He is not going to get to the point that, whatever good he is doing for the country, people sort of feel restless and want a change. I don't think he is going to reach that point."