Mandelson says the UK should use Farage as a ‘bridgehead’ for Trump and Musk.


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Britain should use British “friends” Nigel Farage and Elon Musk as “bridgeheads” to build relations with Donald Trump’s incoming US administration, Lord Peter Mandelson has said.

The proposal by the former business secretary, who is considered the front-runner to be Britain’s ambassador to the US, is at odds with official government policy not to include Farage in an international diplomatic capacity.

Mandelson called Farage, now an MP and leader of the Reform UK party, “a bridgehead for both President Trump and Elon Musk and others”, adding that the UK should “swallow your pride”. And should engage with Tesla and X. Companion of the leader.

“If I were the government here, I would ask the embassy in Washington, DC, who is it? [Musk’s] Others are British friends. . .[and use them as a]He told the Times Radio podcast on Tuesday.

Mendelsohn described Musk, who has become close to Trump and will head the US government’s new efficiency department, as a “technological, industrial, commercial trend” and warned that it would be “unwise.” .. so that Britain ignores it.

Musk has been a frequent critic of Sir Keir Starmer’s government, claiming Britain has “become a police state” over its handling of online hate speech, and announced this week that he would join the farming protests. Britain was “going full Stalin”.

Mendelson said: “You can’t chase these fights. You can’t afford to do it. We have to try to get him in touch as soon as possible.”

He said he would include Farage among potential contenders to act as a bridge to America: “You can’t ignore him, he’s an elected member of parliament. He’s a public figure. He’s President Trump and Elon Musk and others are a bridgehead in all sorts of weird and wonderful ways.

Starmer’s government has so far distanced itself from Farage, who campaigned for Trump and spoke at his rallies. After Farage’s name emerged as a possible US ambassador this month, Finance Minister Darren Jones said he should “concentrate his efforts on the Clacton constituency”.

Mandelson’s comments about Farage blindsided Starmer and his team. “Did Peter really say that?” asked a No. 10 official.

Asked about Mendelsohn’s remarks at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro, Starmer said he had “no comment” about “appointments”.

Musk’s online criticisms have caused some anxiety in the British government about what increased efforts to regulate social media platforms will mean.

Britain’s Online Safety Act, which regulates social media platforms including X, will come into full force next year, and some British officials fear Musk could use his new position to oversee any new platforms. may try to endanger

In response to Mandelson’s suggestion, Farage told the Financial Times that he “may disagree with Mandelson on his politics, but he is a very intelligent man”.

Asked if he endorsed Mendelsohn for the role of U.S. ambassador, he said, “The list of runners and riders I’ve seen is the smartest.” “He is trying very hard,” he added, but questioned whether he could break his “commitment to the European Union”. Mendelssohn is a former EU trade commissioner.

In an interview over the weekend for a YouTube podcast, The Winston Marshall ShowFarage said he was introduced to Musk by Trump during the US election.

He described Musk as “remarkably normal, affable, personable, entertaining, opinionated and enthusiastic.”

Farage said he asked the tech billionaire – who has been married twice to a British woman – why he had “an extraordinary interest in this little island”.

He said Musk told him that Britain was “the mother country of the entire English-speaking world”, and that the nation “really matters”.

Musk was “one of the sharpest minds ever created,” Farage added.


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