Brash: The Hartlepool MP Born from a Backroom Deal...

Had it not been for Peter Mandelson, Hartlepool would now be enjoying its second term with the Conservatives

The 2009 Backroom Deal That Gave Hartlepool Its MP & How its Likely to Secure His Downfall.

6th Feb 2026

Jonathan Brash could have been the breath of fresh air Hartlepool so desperately needed.

Instead, his political rise now stands as a testament as to how easily ambition can become entangled with the very forces that have corroded trust in politics – and how those tarred with Peter Mandelson’s brush rarely emerge unscathed.

Brash's political career as an MP started at the worst possible time, the outbreak of the Summer 2024 UK riots

Brash now faces one of the most tumultuous periods of his political career, a career that, from the very beginning, has been marked by controversy. He first emerged into the local political spotlight in the aftermath of one of the worst riots to hit his constituency in decades. Now, just 18 months later, he finds himself operating in the long, dark shadow of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal – a scandal in which Mandelson’s name has loomed large, and in which he appears to have played a role in influencing candidate selections seemingly based on past political favours.

At the heart of Brash’s trajectory towards becoming Hartlepool's Labour MP lies a critical moment back in 2009. As a young council leader, Brash supported the granting of the Freedom of the Borough of Hartlepool to Mandelson. To many at the time, this appeared to be a routine, yet controversial civic honour given Mandelson's past scandals, but in reality, it was a cleverly structured political favour that would later prove pivotal to Brash's career ladder. That gesture, more than a decade earlier, was the stepping stone that ultimately helped catapult Brash into the Hartlepool parliamentary seat in 2024.

Its now been discovered Peter Mandelson was in Communication with Jefferey Epstein on the very day he was to receive his honorary freeman of the borough of Hartlepool

What makes this all the more troubling is that, behind the scenes in 2009, while Brash was helping to secure Mandelson his Freeman of the Borough honour, Mandelson was in direct communication with Jeffrey Epstein – a man who would later be imprisoned for sexual offences.

That association, whether direct or indirect, now casts a deeply uncomfortable shadow over the entire chain of events that followed.

In truth, Brash should never have been anywhere near the Labour nomination for Hartlepool. Had it not been for Mandelson’s influence, the party would likely have selected another Dr Paul Williams-style candidate – someone who would almost certainly have lost to a re-elected Conservative Candidate Jill Mortimer. That outcome would have secured the Conservatives a second term in Hartlepool and dealt potentially devastating damage to Labour’s “red wall” in the North East.

But Mandelson understood what was at stake. He knew that Labour needed places like Hartlepool, even if the town’s overwhelmingly pro-Brexit stance sat in stark contrast to Labour’s national policy. Despite this, Hartlepool remained, in many ways, a traditional, working-class, “Bible-bashing” Labour stronghold. Losing it again was simply not an option, they needed someone who could be 'fronted' as a local candidate.

Brash, for his part, had long set his sights on becoming Hartlepool MP. For at least 15 years, he'd been carefully positioning himself for that moment, building intricate political ties to those close to the Labour High Ranks. He understood that the political favours he needed to deliver would have to be made while he was council leader, and that those debts would be repaid when Mandelson deemed the time was right for Brash to step into the national spotlight, but only on Mandelson's Say So !

Mandelson has always operated within a political economy built on favours, this is how he worked. His entire career since the 1980s had been sustained by a network of loyalty, favours, influence, and repayment. Those who supported him were rewarded; those who opposed him were punished. Careers were made by Mandelson and destroyed at his behest, and many people lost their jobs because of his reach and interference.

The “Prince of Darkness” certainly earned his reputation. Yet those who admired him are scarcely less culpable. Brash was among those who looked up to Mandelson as a mentor – a man who seemed to move effortlessly through the political and media landscape, manipulating narratives and crushing opponents who stood in his way. To his admirers, Mandelson appeared untouchable.

What both Brash & Mandelson failed to anticipate was that times have changed. The dirty, backroom world that both Mandelson & brash thrived in is far harder to conceal in the modern era of the internet, social media, and relentless scrutiny of MPs. What could once be quietly buried or spun away with a few favours to the editor of a Newspaper now lingers indefinitely on the digital record.

As Mandelson has now become embroiled in multi-layered scandals, Brash has now found himself dragged into the same murky waters as his former 'mentor'. Rolling in the political mud may once have been part of the game, but today it's far harder to wash off. Associations that Mandelson’s generation could simply shrug away with a nod to a friendly journalist now stick fast to those who aligned themselves with him.

In that sense, Brash’s predicament feels less like bad luck and more like the inevitable consequence of latching his career to a political figure whose legacy is simply inseparable from controversy, manipulation, and scandal.

Hartlepool deserved a new chapter. Instead, it's been left with an MP whose path to power runs straight through one of the most divisive powerbrokers in modern Labour history.

Leaving Brash, Broken, Battered & Hartlepool wishing they'd never voted for him now they know what they know !