- guardian.co.uk, Saturday 10 March 2001 18.11 GMT
So, in the fading Victorian grandeur of Hutton Road and his other home in the better end of an old steel and shipbuilding town, the former Northern Ireland secretary insisted: "It will be Hartlepool first from now on. I'm not going to lose my voice in politics but I am going on being a first-class constituency MP."
His visit to a struggling north-east constituency, which at times has taken a back seat to wider ambitions, was given a "Peter returns to the grassroots" billing. Schoolchildren bursting past special branch minders thrust autograph books in his face, pensioners clasped his hand, some cheered and some jeered.
Mr Mandelson cruised effortlessly through school and hospital visits and private constituency business, after a shaky start.
Outside his home he read out his 300-odd word statement grimly and ended by saying: "I intend to concentrate on winning back the full trust of my Hartlepool constituents and serving in Parliament for another term. For reasons I hope people will understand, I do not desire a return to government. There are more ways to serve New Labour and fulfil our ambitions for the country. This I intend to do." He refused to elaborate.
Trust? It was the first admission that he had a fight on his hands to retain a once solid Labour seat (majority 17,000) now regarded by Labour's hierarchy as more marginal since the party lost control of the local council last May, and the intervention of a populist local Tory, Gus Robinson the builder, with the added irritation of Arthur Scargill, the miner's union president, standing for the small Socialist Labour Party he created.
Throughout the day, Peter Mandelson's tactic was clear: emphasise the local, avoid most of the national media and be kind to the excellent local paper the Hartlepool Mail.
On Thursday night he phoned its deputy editor, to say he would speak to them exclusively.
"I feel slightly drained but happy that the whole thing is behind me," he told the paper. "It has been, I would say, a searing experience. I feel bruised, but I would like to thank the people who have supported me. This town has been strong ... my job now is to restore people's confidence in me."
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Useful links
Peter Mandelson: Why I had to go - Sunday Times, 28.01.2001
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