Lord Mandelson ‘open to working with Farage to win over Trump’
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Mr Farage, who has been a close ally of Donald Trump since his 2016 election campaign, has offered up his services to Lord Mandelson to act as a link to the president-elect. Lord Mandelson is reportedly set to call on Nigel Farage to help him win over Donald Trump in his new role as UK ambassador to the US.
![[Reform UK leader Nigel Farage]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/20/16/32016db6f5577373daedca2e5127d9f7Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM0Nzk2ODU5-2.78328797.jpg)
He is said to be ready to work with the Reform UK leader, as part of an attempt to persuade the president-elect not to target Britain with tariffs. Experts have warned of a looming trade war after Mr Trump himself said: “Tariff is my favourite word”, and promised to implement 10 to 20 per cent tariffs on all goods coming into the country – a figure that rises to 60 per cent for those from China.
Lord Mandelson’s indication that he would work with Mr Farage comes despite warnings from senior Labour figures that making overtures to politicians like the Reform UK leader would elevate their cause. But referencing the scepticism, a source close to the Labour peer told The Telegraph: “I am sure that would be a view held by some but not those who need to conduct UK-US relations in the most optimum way.”.
Last month, speaking in his Times podcast, Lord Mandelson urged the government to “swallow your pride” and not ignore Mr Farage, in order to improve relations with the president-elect. Over the weekend, the Reform leader, who has been a close ally of Mr Trump since his 2016 election campaign, offered up his services to Lord Mandelson to act as a link to the president-elect if it helped the UK’s national interest.
