No move for Mandelson? Business says “Hurrah!”

Only a few days ago, it looked inevitable that Peter Mandelson would move to the Foreign Office in the current reshuffle. Foreign Secretary was the job he’d always wanted – it was held by his grandfather. Now it emerges he is staying put at the Business and Enterprise Department (BERR), which will be welcomed by the business community.

Why? Because no-one ever stays long at BERR – if Lord Mandelson had moved on less than a year after returning to the department, it would have meant five Business Secretaries during this Parliament. (In case you’ve forgotten, Alan Johnson, Alistair Darling and John Hutton have all had a seat on the carousel since the last election.)

Just when a Business Secretary has got his feet under the table, they are reshuffled out to pastures new. This creates despair among business leaders who need a powerful advocate in Whitehall to face down the massed representatives of the public services departments demanding more regulation and higher taxes to pay for health, education, social security etc. Most recent Business Secretaries haven’t even been on top of the brief before they moved on.

Mandelson’s return to BERR was widely welcomed because he had shown some real commitment to the job in his first stint in the 1990s at what was then the Department of Trade and Industry. Manufacturers have been especially pleased this time around about his advocacy of more government support for British industry. It looks as if he will have a few more months yet to deliver on his promises, which could be just what the country needs to rebalance the economy away from financial services.

John Willman is an award winning journalist. An economic commentator, author and former Associate Editor of the Financial Times. For more information or to contact John Willman, click here.