Peter Mandelson has stepped down from the House of Lords over fresh revelations about his links to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. These now include emails suggesting thousands of pounds were sent to Mandelson’s husband, that Mandelson lobbied against US bank reforms on behalf of Epstein while he was a UK government minister, and that he shared sensitive information with him. The prime minister, Keir Starmer, had signalled that he wanted him out of the Lords “by hook or by crook”.
He is lucky that Mandelson took the hint and resigned because the prime minister doesn’t currently have the power to remove members of the Lords. And while Mandelson is leaving the House, he will keep his title. He remains Lord Peter Mandelson of Foy and Hartlepool, even though the prime minister has said he does not think it right that he should use the title.
Prior to reforms brought in by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government in 2014, removing a member of the House of Lords was virtually impossible. Erskine May (the authoritative guide to parliamentary practice) states that membership of the House was effectively for life.
