Hull councillors will put forward a motion next week to remove Lord Mandelson from the ceremonial role of high steward after he was dismissed as the United Kingdom's ambassador to the United States following revelations about his communications with Jeffrey Epstein.
The motion, to be tabled at the full council meeting on 18 September, has the backing of Hull City Council leader Mike Ross, Labour group leader Daren Hale and the council's independent group. Ross said: "In light of recent developments, with agreement from the other political groups on the council, we will put forward a motion at next week's full council meeting calling for the high steward role to be removed from Lord Mandelson."
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer withdrew Lord Mandelson's appointment as ambassador "in light of additional information" contained in emails from Mandelson to Epstein. The department said the correspondence showed that "the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein" was "materially different from that known at the time of his appointment" and noted as new information Mandelson's suggestion that Epstein's first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged. The government said the withdrawal was made "mindful of the victims of Epstein's crimes".
The high steward post, a largely ceremonial position dating to 1853, was allowed to lapse in 1974 after the creation of the county of Humberside and was reinstated in 2013 with the permission of Queen Elizabeth II. According to the council, the role's holder is "expected to act as a highly placed lobbyist for the interests of the city." Lord Mandelson was appointed to that role in 2013 and subsequently launched a 10-year plan aimed at transforming Hull and supported the city's drive to become UK City of Culture 2017.
Lord Mandelson, a Labour peer and former cabinet minister, has family links to the city: his grandfather, former Labour minister Herbert Morrison, held the high steward post in the 1950s. The council's proposed vote follows intense public and political scrutiny after the release of the emails and the government's decision to rescind the ambassadorship.
The scheduled full council meeting on 18 September will provide councillors an opportunity to debate and vote on whether to strip Lord Mandelson of the honorary title. Any decision would apply to the local ceremonial appointment rather than national honours or peerage status.
The matter adds to broader political scrutiny of public figures' past associations with Jeffrey Epstein, the US financier convicted in a sex crimes case whose dealings and contacts have prompted investigations and resignations internationally.