A London-based leader dubbed Mandelson's preference a "joke", considering the strength of Karen Pierce's position. Another expression was dissent, which, according to the Liberal Party's approach to China, likely contradicts their initiatives towards Trump, which Mandelson likely considers unsuitable for their promotion. One of the commenters described the absence of appointments of women to higher diplomatic posts as "a personal goal".
Insiders of the Liberal Party have long asserted that Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, leads a "club of boys" and now some claim that this also interferes with his domestic policy. Three women, who either worked or recently held high-level positions in the UK government, stated that the Prime Minister couldn't strengthen the position of British women on the international stage.
Women lamented the departure of Karen Pierce, known for her strong connections with US President Donald Trump in using veterans' liberal deputy Peter Mandelson. Two of them underlined that Starmer's appointment of three men to notable positions in his administration and described this as a "personal goal". One compared it to "the razing".
Starmer's allies firmly rejected this assertion, pointing out a group of outstanding female ministers in his cabinet and senior aides in the government. The continued tenure of the head of government has been faced with accusations of diminishing the influence of male consultants in his team, who appear to support each other and ignore women's voices.
Starmer sharply criticized media focus on political figures. Last year, he noted that referring to the term "the boys' club" is seen as 'an obscuration' for women in his team. At the start of his administration, he was accompanied by numerous reports about the struggle for power between party managers, advisors Morgan's Maxvane, and then chief advisor Sue Gray. In the end, Gray was dismissed in favor of Maxvane.
Once again, the issue of underrepresentation arose due to recent reports on female cabinet members, such as Minister of Internal Affairs Ivette Cooper, Minister of Labour and Pensions Liz Kendall, and Minister of Education Bridget Philpot, who were not named as sources in the government. At the same time, Mandelson, a close associate of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, was appointed as the new ambassador to the United States instead of allowing the new ambassador, Pierce, to fulfill her mission.
Pierce built a good reputation, establishing close ties with Trump during her mission, at a time when many in London focus on Mandelson's previous statements about the future president and his known connections with China as evidence that his popularity in Washington is minimal.
The "Independent" newspaper noted that US President Donald Trump may refuse to appoint Peter Mandelson as the UK’s envoy to Washington. This is an extremely unusual step that could trigger a challenge for Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer.
