Why can't ministers admit the truth about the Mandelson scandal?

Spectator Australia · Matthew Gould · Sunday 3 May 2026

Why can't ministers admit the truth about the Mandelson scandal?

The Mandelson appointment was a calculated bet that the rolodex was worth the baggage. Ministers can't say so out loud, so the silence is doing the confessing for them.

Mandelson back at the table and the ministers can't say why — because the truth is they needed his rolodex more than they feared his baggage. Blair would've at least lied about it with style. This lot are caught somewhere between the mea culpa and the press release, and the silence is doing the confessing for them.

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Spectator Australia
Spectator Australia