Tories to block Mandy leadership bid
DAVID CAMERON last night moved to block a change in the law that could allow Peter Mandelson to launch a bid for the Labour leadership.
The Tory leader let it be known his party would oppose reforms that would give Lord Mandelson a potential “escape route” back to the House of Commons.
The Tory move comes amid mounting speculation that Lord Mandelson could be a candidate for the Labour leadership, either before or after the next General Election. He is seen as a potential rival to Deputy Leader Harriet Harman who has used her time standing in for Gordon Brown over the past fortnight to burnish her own leadership credentials.
Ladbrokes said the odds on Lord Mandelson becoming Labour’s next leader had been slashed from 200-1 to 16-1, with £5 being staked on him for every £1 bet on other frontrunners.
Under Labour’s rules only MPs can become party leader. Life peers, such as Lord Mandelson, cannot renounce their peerages to stand for election to the Commons.
A clause in the new Constitutional Renewal Bill would change this, potentially allowing Lord Mandelson to be parachuted into a safe Labour seat.
Lord Strathclyde, Tory leader in the Lords and a close ally of Mr Cameron, said the Conservatives would “definitely” oppose the change.
Lord Mandelson will be back in the spotlight next week when he returns from a holiday in Corfu to stand in for Gordon Brown.
