As the Prime Minister Keir Starmer struggles to contain the Mandelson controversy, Herald writer Brian Taylor looks for answers in Labour history – and examines the impact of the row on the coming Scottish election

To begin, this is the end. Sir Keir Starmer is finished as Prime Minister. Confronting the Mandelson tempest, he has looked weak, evasive and implausible. Politically, he is damaged beyond repair. Labour MPs regard him with contempt or, at best, mute dismay. Voters look on with a mixture of emotions, ranging from incomprehension to nausea.

The Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, does not get much right. But she has called this one. It is when, rather than if. And that question also haunts Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader. He has influence here: minuscule maybe, but discernible. Should he be saying internally that the PM can fight on? Or should he be saying that Starmer should quit now before he does even more damage to the party’s diminishing prospects in May?

More on that in a moment. But, firstly, reflect that this hideous controversy is entirely of the Prime Minister’s own making. He did not need to maintain any relationship with Peter Mandelson whatsoever, let alone appoint him Ambassador to the United States, the UK’s top diplomatic role.

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Starmer is never done reminding us that he has the mandate, that he secured a substantial Labour majority in the 2024 election. He uses this argument, when needed, to subdue internal disquiet. Yes, Mandelson played an advisory role offstage in that endeavour. But there was no need to reward him so handsomely, no need to bring him back into the inner circle of the British........

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