A month after the idea was first whispered about, rumours that Lord (née Peter) Mandelson will run for Mayor in 2012 are growing.
According to the Guardian, Labour insiders are a-buzz over the story, offering as it does a rare positive gloss on what is likely to be a generation in the political wilderness. Ken Livingstone, who harbours his own 2012 ambitions, rates him as the biggest rival in winning the party’s nomination. Could these two grandmasters of the political comeback grapple for the red ticket?
Interestingly, Mandelson has in the past said that he wishes to emulate the political career of his grandfather, Herbert Morrison, by becoming the Foreign Secretary, a post he was reported to have demanded recently; time may be running out for such a move, but Morrison also ran the London County Council in the 1930s.
If the current Business Secretary wins, the vol au vents will be on Guardian blogger Dave Hill, who placed a fanciful bet on Mandelson winning last month.
