Memo to Mandelson: Wednesday 14th April

Dear Peter,

The message of the day is that Labour needs to speak with one voice and improve its performance at the press conferences.

1. Why is your disagreement with Lord Myners in the papers?  All this does is send a free gift to the Tories, which they will exploit with relish;
2. Was it wise for Brown to admit he made a mistake on bank regulation and the 10p tax?  Why remind voters of this.  What’s next?  Boom and bust.  Remember the old saying: “Never apologise, never explain”;
3. If you are going to continue to expose Ed Balls to the media, he has got to learn the two magic words, “no comment”, when the subject of Damian McBride is raised.  Be aware, his answer this morning will not satisfy Andrew Neil; and
4. The bloggers are going to have field day at your expense after you said: “We don't compete with David Cameron on personal insults” and then: “David Cameron is looking down his rather long toffee nose”.  These cheap remarks turn the voters off in a big way;

You gave the impression this morning of just going through the motions.  Do try and show a little enthusiasm at the press conferences and remember to be warm and friendly to the hacks.

You must improve the media operation otherwise Labour will not get its message across.

Enough said.

Best wishes

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