Jonathan Mendelsohn

Baron Mendelsohn
Born Jonathan Neil Mendelsohn
(1966-12-30) 30 December 1966
Residence Finchley, North London, England
Nationality British
Occupation Lobbyist, spokesman
Spouse(s) Nicola, Lady Mendelsohn
Children 4
Parent(s) Barry and Celia Clyne

Jonathan Neil Mendelsohn, Baron Mendelsohn (born 30 December 1966[1]) is a British lobbyist and Labour political organiser. He was appointed the Director of General Election Resources for the party in 2007.[2][3]

"Lobbygate"

With Neal Lawson and Ben Lucas, he founded LLM Communications in 1997, a lobbying firm with easy access to the new Labour Government.[4][5] He has been a spokesman and lobbyist for the gambling company PartyGaming.[6]

He had written to controversial Labour donor David Abrahams claiming he was one of Labour's "strongest supporters".[7] In 1998, he was caught on tape along with Derek Draper boasting to Greg Palast, an undercover reporter posing as a businessman, about how they could sell access to government ministers and create tax breaks for their clients[8] in a scandal that was dubbed "Lobbygate".[9] Draper denied the allegations.[10]

In the same incident Mendelsohn was approached by an undercover journalist posing as a representative of American energy companies who were seeking to ignore environmental laws. Despite LLM's claim that "we believe that there will be a new breed of 'ethical winners' who will demonstrate that businesses no longer operate in a moral vacuum",[11] Mendelsohn went on to advise the reporter to rephrase their plans into language that sounded "Earth-Friendly" going on to say "Tony [Blair] is very anxious to be seen as green. Everything has to be couched in environmental language – even if it's slightly Orwellian."[12]

Other activities

He donated money to Peter Hain's 2007 deputy leadership campaign.[13] Mendelsohn is on the board of directors of the New Labour pressure group Progress,[1] According to The Daily Telegraph, "Mr Mendelsohn is steeped in the north London Jewish community",[3] and is a trustee of the UK charities the Holocaust Educational Trust[14] and the UK arm of the New Israel Fund.[15] He is a former chairman of Labour Friends of Israel,[3] of the Finchley United Synagogue, and the Union of Jewish Students.

House of Lords

On 5 September 2013 he was created a life peer as Baron Mendelsohn, of Finchley in the London Borough of Barnet.[16][17]

Mendelsohn, formerly Labour's business and international trade spokesman in the House of Lords, was asked to "step down" from his front bench role, after attending part of the January 2018 Presidents Club dinner, where several women were subjected to sexual harassment and groping, as President of a charity which received support from the event.[18] According to a party statement, he "did not witness any of the appalling incidents described in reports and has unreservedly condemned such behaviour".[19]

Personal life

He is married with four children. His wife Nicola, née Clyne, now Lady Mendelsohn, was appointed Facebook's Vice-President for Europe, the Middle East and Africa in May 2013.[20] She was formerly chairman of the advertising agency Karmarama, deputy chairman of the advertising agency Grey London[3] and past President of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising.[21]

References

  1. 1 2 "Companies House WebCHeck – PROGRESS LIMITED". Companies House. Company No. 03109611. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  2. ↑ "Labour appoints election director". BBC. 9 August 2007. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Christopher Hope (29 November 2007). "Jon Mendelsohn profile: a real Mr Fix-It". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 November 2007.
  4. ↑ Wheen, Francis (7 February 2001). "Social justice – that's so old Labour". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 November 2007.
  5. ↑ Comment is Free… but journos are scared « Follow The Money
  6. ↑ Party Gaming communicator now Labour Party Fundraiser Archived 4 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ 'You're not up to the job Gordon': Cameron launches blistering attack over donor scandal, Evening Standard, 28 November
  8. ↑ Greg Palast (1 May 2005). "Britain for Sale". Retrieved 29 November 2007.
  9. ↑ "You must remember this". The Observer. 1 April 2001. Retrieved 29 November 2007.
  10. ↑ "Draper accuses Observer of entrapment". BBC. 7 July 1998. Retrieved 29 November 2007.
  11. ↑ LLM Brochure
  12. ↑ "Jon Mendelsohn". Man in the Eye. Private Eye. 7 December 2007.
  13. ↑ Colin Brown (30 November 2007). "Brown aide in the frame as police are asked to investigate donations". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 December 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2007.
  14. ↑ "Staff and Trustees". Holocaust Educational Trust. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  15. ↑ "NIF UK Board of Trustees". New Israel Fund. Archived from the original on 27 October 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  16. ↑ "No. 60621". The London Gazette. 9 September 2013. p. 17761.
  17. ↑ "No. 60637". The London Gazette. 24 September 2013. p. 18815.
  18. ↑ Greenfield, Patrick (25 January 2018). "Presidents Club furore claims Labour scalp as party ejects peer". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  19. ↑ Smith, Lydia (26 January 2018). "Lord Mendelsohn 'sacked' from front bench after attending Presidents Club dinner". The Independent. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  20. ↑ Katherine Rushton (7 May 2013). "Facebook names UK's Nicola Mendelsohn as head of European arm". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  21. ↑ Lipman, Jennifer (7 April 2011). "Advertising chief Mendelsohn: UK must beat Mad Men". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
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