Streeting's Mandelson messages reveal election fears and criticism of government

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has released his messages with former US ambassador Peter Mandelson, as he insists they were not close friends.

Among them are messages from March 2025, where Streeting said he thinks he is "toast" at the next election, and others where he criticised the government for having "no [economic] growth strategy".

Writing in the Guardian, Streeting said he had decided to publish the messages "after a weekend of smear and innuendo that I have something to hide".

The health secretary said he thought Lord Mandelson's appointment was "a good move" at the time, but admitted he "did not think enough about the appointment or the past that was known".

Streeting's team said they released all private messages between the pair from six months before Lord Mandelson's appointment in December 2024 to the present day.

Some have a friendly, warmer tone, and the occasional exchange of an "x" to signal a kiss.

Writing in the Guardian, Streeting said "contrary to what has been widely reported, I was not a close friend of Peter Mandelson, but I am not going to wash my hands of my actual association with him either".

Lord Mandelson was sacked last year as the UK ambassador to Washington and resigned as a Labour member last week, over his links with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Streeting said: "Mandelson and I saw each other for dinner on average once a year, in a group setting. He offered advice. My partner worked for him 25 years ago and I therefore got to know him better than others of that generation in politics."

The released text messages show Streeting feared Labour were "in big trouble" electorally, with voters having no clear reason to support the party. He also criticised the government for having "no growth strategy at all".

In March 2025, an exchange begins with them discussing Matthew Doyle, who had recently left his job as Sir Keir Starmer's director of communications.

Mandelson asked: "Why was he pushed out?"

Streeting replied: "God knows". To which Mandelson responded: "the government's problems do not stem from comms".

Streeting agreed: "quite".

Streeting then said he was concerned that he could lose his own parliamentary seat at the next general election.

"I fear we're in big trouble here - and I am toast at the next election.

"We just lost our safest ward in Redbridge (51% Muslim, Ilford S) to a Gaza independent. At this rate I don't think we'll hold either of the two Ilford seats," he said.

And in a clear, if indirect, criticism of Sir Keir's leadership, Streeting said "there isn't a clear answer to the question: why Labour?"

In a separate set of messages from July 2025, Streeting sought advice from Lord Mandelson after French President Emmanuel Macron announced he would be formally recognising a Palestinian state.

Streeting said "morally and politically, I think we need to join France".

He added that "politically, a Commons vote will be engineered in September on recognition, and we will lose it if we're not ahead of it. There are no circumstances in which people like me or Shabana [Mahmood] could abstain or vote against".

Lord Mandelson replied that he was "worried that such a gesture now could blow a 2 SS [two state solution] out of the water if Israel decided that unilateral recognition justified further WB [West Bank] annexation".

Streeting replied that "Israel is doing it anyway" and said "this is rogue state behaviour. Let them pay the price as pariahs with sanctions applied to the state, not just a few ministers".

The health secretary said there is considerable unhappiness among Labour MPs, and there could be "resignations at every level" in the government over the issue.

Lord Mandelson replied that "if those events unfolded it would certainly convince the public that we are unfit for government".

In September, Sir Keir announced the UK's recognition of a Palestinian state. Ministers highlighted the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law, as a key factor in the decision.

The move drew fierce criticism from the Israeli government, families of hostages held in Gaza and some Conservatives.

Writing in the Guardian, Streeting said he was not involved in the decision to appoint Lord Mandelson as ambassador in 2024, and "like many other people I thought it was a good move at the time".

He added: "I filtered the news of it entirely through the lens of whether it seemed a sensible way to help our relationship with a critical ally at a crucial moment."

Streeting said the appointment was a "scandal", adding that "the really worrying aspect is... a candidate's known association with a convicted sexual predator did not weigh heavily enough on decision-makers".

"We need to think too about the silence of those who stood by, who knew enough to feel uneasy and yet did not speak loudly enough to influence the decision. This is a group I include myself in."

He said the government's response should go deeper than reforming vetting procedures, and should deal with the fact that "for too long, proximity to power insulated powerful, wealthy and well-connected men from the consequences of their appalling behaviour towards women and girls".

Streeting's decision to publish his text messages with Lord Mandelson has various aims - and all are connected to his ambition to become the next prime minister.

Firstly, he wants to distance himself from the former ambassador. To try to demonstrate the pair are not that close, and to scotch claims that his links to Lord Mandelson could ruin a future leadership pitch.

He believes he has nothing to hide and, with the prime minister's premiership teetering, he needs to quickly minimise doubts among potential supporters on the backbenches.

Secondly, Streeting hopes the intervention helps project him as a confident, decisive and front-footed politician. And this arguably creates a clear contrast with the more cautious instincts of the prime minister.

Thirdly, the health secretary is probably keen to show Labour MPs that he is a little like them: privately frustrated about the state of the economy, worried about holding onto his constituency, and even excited to meet a famous US politician - the Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg.

Fourthly, his messages show some views that are likely to be widely-shared amongst the Labour members - who will be the ones ultimately deciding on the next party leader.

In particular, Streeting's push for the UK to recognise a Palestinian state before Sir Keir made that shift.

As for accusations that these messages have been selectively chosen, Streeting's team insist these are all the WhatsApps between the pair from six months before Lord Mandelson's appointment to Monday.

There are certainly moments in the messages that some might find cringe-worthy - including the kisses from both Lord Mandelson and Streeting to each other.

But there is nothing so embarrassing as to stop a leadership bid in its tracks, and the health secretary wants to prove that fast.