Jonathan Mendelsohn

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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]

With Neal Lawson and Ben Lucas, he founded LLM Communications in 1997, a lobbying firm with notable 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]

He donated money to Peter Hain's deputy leadership campaign.[13]

Mendelsohn is on the board of directors of the New Labour pressure group Progress,[1] 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.

According to the Daily Telegraph, "Mr Mendelsohn is steeped in the north London Jewish community. He is a close friend of Lord Levy, who was at the heart of Labour’s cash for peerages affair."[3]

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

He is married with four children. His wife Nicola, nee Clyne, now Lady Mendelsohn, was appointed Facebook’s Vice-President for Europe, the Middle East and Africa in May 2013.[18] 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.[19]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "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. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Christopher Hope (29 November 2007). "Jon Mendelsohn profile: a real Mr Fix-It". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-11-30. 
  4. ↑ Wheen, Francis (7 February 2001). "Social justice - that's so old Labour". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-11-29. 
  5. ↑ Comment is Free… but journos are scared « Follow The Money
  6. ↑ Party Gaming communicator now Labour Party Fundraiser
  7. ↑ 'Labour+sent+me+letter+yesterday+THANKING+me+for+the+money'/article.do '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 2007-11-29. 
  9. ↑ "You must remember this". The Observer. 1 April 2001. Retrieved 2007-11-29. 
  10. ↑ "Draper accuses Observer of entrapment". BBC. 7 July 1998. Retrieved 2007-11-29. 
  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. Retrieved 2007-11-30. 
  14. ↑ "Staff and Trustees". Holocaust Educational Trust. Retrieved 17 June 2012. 
  15. ↑ "NIF UK Board of Trustees". New Israel Fund. Retrieved 17 June 2012. 
  16. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 60621. p. 17761. 9 September 2013.
  17. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 60637. p. 18815. 24 September 2013.
  18. ↑ Katherine Rushton (7 May 2013). "Facebook names UK's Nicola Mendelsohn as head of European arm". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 June 2013. 
  19. ↑ Jennifer Lipman (7 April 2011). "Advertising chief Mendelsohn: UK must beat Mad Men". Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 20 July 2011. 
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