George Osborne was on Downing Street’s shortlist to be the next UK ambassador to Washington, it has been claimed, despite the former Conservative chancellor being reviled by many in the Labour party and wider political left.
In the new edition of his biography on Keir Starmer, the writer Tom Baldwin suggests the prime minister’s senior aides “invested considerable effort” in unsuccessfully pushing Osborne’s application. Sources confirmed to the Guardian that the former Tory politician was approached about the role.
However, Peter Mandelson was announced as the new UK ambassador last December after Starmer decided the Labour peer and former EU trade commissioner was the best candidate for what was going to be a delicate diplomatic role, with Donald Trump returning the White House.
However, the revelation that senior No 10 figures felt that Osborne, the architect of the Tory austerity that brought Britain’s public services to their knees, was a suitable candidate is likely to cast further doubt on their judgment among Labour backbenchers.
There are already concerns over Downing Street’s handling of the welfare cuts rebellion last week, which led to the bill being ultimately hollowed out with changes to disability payments dropped and the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, left to plug a £5bn hole in the country’s finance.
At the time of the appointment, sources said Downing Street felt that a former politician might be the best option given how much Trump was opposed to bureaucrats.
Lord Mandelson was an architect of New Labour and served as a cabinet minister under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. However, Osborne also had a reputation as a deft political strategist who had links to Washington neoconservatives. He is now an investment banker and podcast host.
In an article for the New World newspaper, Baldwin, a close ally of Starmer, argued that the prime minister should trust his own political instincts and values to find a way through the daunting domestic challenges ahead – just as he had done while navigating difficult global issues.
“Another illustration of Starmer’s straight-forward approach on foreign policy was over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the US in December. He has generally been regarded as a success with his political skills and swagger adapting well to the narcissistic Maga-land of Washington,” Baldwin wrote.
“The new edition of my biography reveals that this was despite, just days beforehand, the name of George Osborne being added to the final shortlist presented to the prime minister by Downing Street advisers.
“They are understood to have invested considerable effort in unsuccessfully pushing the former Tory chancellor’s application, even though that perhaps unnecessarily complicated what Starmer would ultimately regard as a relatively simple decision.”
Downing Street has been approached for comment.
