Mandelson and McSweeney: a partnership forged on winning and crushing the Labour left

Former chief of staff who helped bring Mandelson out of Labour shadows for Washington post to be questioned by MPs on vetting process Like many Labour stories, Peter Mandelson’s and Morgan McSweeney’s both start at Lambeth council. Mandelson was in his mid-20s. It was 1979, and he was a new councillor under the leadership of “Red” Ted Knight. He came to despise the local party, describing the Lambeth Labour party’s leadership as “contributing very little to the economic development of south L...

By Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor