Yesterday, it was the Chinese ambassador threatening Theresa May over Hinkley point. Today, it’s Lord Mandelson’s turn. The Labour grandee said that for the Prime Minister to ‘stretch out’ the Hinkley hold-up any further than the end of September ‘would be a mistake’. What was remarkable about Mandelson’s warning on Today just now was its similarity to that issued by China’s ambassador Liu Xiaoming. Xiamong didn’t mention the ‘B’ word – Brexit – but it was the elephant in his piece in the FT yesterday when he suggested that at such a ‘historical juncture’ Britain needed China. Mandelson went somewhat further to say the referendum was an important factor in May’s decision and that post-Brexit Britain was ‘not in the happiest position’. He said our position in relation to China was ‘invidious’ and Mandelson also indicated that the UK was ‘probably less relevant’ to China outside the EU but also ‘more dependent on China’s goodwill because we’ll need to replace trade lost in Europe’.
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