{{Short description|British lobbyist and politician (born 1966)}} {{Use British English|date=September 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = [[The Right Honourable]] | name = The Lord Mendelsohn | image = | image_size = | caption = | office1 = [[Member of the House of Lords]] | status1 = [[Lord Temporal]] | term_label1 = [[Life peer]]age | term_start1 = 5 September 2013 | term_end1 = | birth_name = Jonathan Neil Mendelsohn | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1966|12|30}} | birth_place = | education = | occupation = Lobbyist, spokesman | years_active = | employer = | predecessor = | spouse = [[Nicola Mendelsohn|Nicola Clyne]] | children = 4 | awards = | honorific_suffix = }}
'''Jonathan Neil Mendelsohn, Baron Mendelsohn''' (born 30 December 1966<ref name=comphouse-progress>{{cite web |url=http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/ |title=Companies House WebCHeck – PROGRESS LIMITED |id=Company No. 03109611 |publisher=Companies House |accessdate=16 June 2012}}</ref>), best known as '''Jon Mendelsohn''', is a British [[Lobbying|lobbyist]] and [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] political organiser. He was appointed the Director of General Election Resources for the party in 2007.<ref name=bbc-20070809>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6938243.stm |title=Labour appoints election director |publisher=BBC |date=9 August 2007 |accessdate=17 June 2012}}</ref><ref name=telegraph-20071129>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/11/28/nbrown1928.xml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071202060634/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/11/28/nbrown1928.xml|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 December 2007|title=Jon Mendelsohn profile: a real Mr Fix-It|author=Christopher Hope|publisher=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=29 November 2007|accessdate=30 November 2007}}</ref>
Mendelsohn is a life peer member of the House of Lords and chairman of [[888 Holdings]], a gambling company.
=="Lobbygate"== With [[Neal Lawson]] and [[Ben Lucas (lobbyist)|Ben Lucas]], he founded [[LLM Communications]] in 1997, a lobbying firm with easy access to the [[First Blair ministry|new Labour Government]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/Columnists/Column/0,5673,434619,00.html|title=Social justice – that's so old Labour|first=Francis|last=Wheen|date=7 February 2001|work=The Guardian|accessdate=29 November 2007}}</ref> He has been a spokesman and lobbyist for the gambling company [[PartyGaming]].<ref>[http://www.betsage.com/gamblingnews/17082007/partygamingcommunicator.htm Party Gaming communicator now Labour Party Fundraiser] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071104153032/http://www.betsage.com/gamblingnews/17082007/partygamingcommunicator.htm |date= 4 November 2007 }}</ref>
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<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gregpalast.com/tony-blair-and-the-sale-of-britain/|title=Britain for Sale|date=1 May 2005|author=Greg Palast|author-link=Greg Palast|accessdate=29 November 2007}}</ref> in a scandal that was dubbed "Lobbygate".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/apr/01/uk.election200112|title=You must remember this|date=1 April 2001|publisher=The Observer|access-date=29 November 2007}}</ref> Draper denied the allegations.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/128125.stm|title=Draper accuses Observer of entrapment|date=7 July 1998|publisher=BBC|accessdate=29 November 2007}}</ref>
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",<ref>LLM Brochure</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news |title=Jon Mendelsohn |work=Man in the Eye |publisher=Private Eye |date=7 December 2007 }}</ref>
In 2007, then a fundraiser for Gordon Brown, he wrote to controversial Labour donor [[David Abrahams (Labour party donor)|David Abrahams]], describing Abrahams as one of Labour's "strongest supporters", at the height of a scandal over falsely declared donations.<ref>[https://archive.today/20130505105501/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23423341-details/Scandal+donor:+'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</ref>
==Other activities== He donated money to [[Peter Hain]]'s [[2007 Labour Party (UK) deputy leadership election|2007 deputy leadership campaign]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article3209867.ece|title=Brown aide in the frame as police are asked to investigate donations|author=Colin Brown|work=[[The Independent]]|date=30 November 2007|accessdate=30 November 2007|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071201002719/http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article3209867.ece|archivedate=1 December 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref> According to ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', "Mr Mendelsohn is steeped in the north London Jewish community",<ref name=telegraph-20071129 /> and is a former chairman of [[Labour Friends of Israel]].<ref name=telegraph-20071129 />
==House of Lords== On 5 September 2013 he was created a [[life peer]] as '''Baron Mendelsohn''', of [[Finchley]] in the [[London Borough of Barnet]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=60621 |date=9 September 2013 |page=17761}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=60637 |date=24 September 2013 |page=18815}}</ref> He became Labour's business and international trade spokesman in the House of Lords.
In January 2018 he was asked to "step down" from this front bench role, in the wake of the [[Presidents Club]] dinner earlier that month, where several women were subjected to sexual harassment and groping. He attended the dinner as President of a charity which received support from the event.<ref>{{cite news|last=Greenfield|first=Patrick|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jan/25/presidents-club-furore-claims-labour-scalp-as-peer-ejected-by-party|title=Presidents Club furore claims Labour scalp as party ejects peer|work=The Guardian|date=25 January 2018|accessdate=26 January 2018}}</ref> According to a party statement, he "did not witness any of the appalling incidents described in reports and has unreservedly condemned such behaviour".<ref>{{cite news|last=Smith|first=Lydia|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/lord-mendelsohn-sacked-presidents-club-labour-party-peer-front-bench-a8178791.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220614/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/lord-mendelsohn-sacked-presidents-club-labour-party-peer-front-bench-a8178791.html |archive-date=14 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Lord Mendelsohn 'sacked' from front bench after attending Presidents Club dinner|work=The Independent|date=26 January 2018|accessdate=26 January 2018}}</ref>
==Personal life== He is married with four children. His wife [[Nicola Mendelsohn|Nicola]], née Clyne, now Lady Mendelsohn, was appointed [[Facebook]]'s vice-president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa in May 2013.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/digital-media/10042663/Facebook-names-UKs-Nicola-Mendelsohn-as-head-of-European-arm.html |title=Facebook names UK's Nicola Mendelsohn as head of European arm |author=Katherine Rushton |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=7 May 2013 |accessdate=27 June 2013}}</ref> She was formerly chairman of the advertising agency [[Karmarama (advertising agency)|Karmarama]], deputy chairman of the advertising agency [[Grey London]]<ref name=telegraph-20071129 /> and past President of the [[Institute of Practitioners in Advertising]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/47576/advertising-chief-mendelsohn-uk-must-beat-mad-men |title=Advertising chief Mendelsohn: UK must beat Mad Men |last=Lipman|first=Jennifer|work=The Jewish Chronicle |date=7 April 2011 |accessdate=20 July 2011}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|30em}} {{s-start}} {{s-prec|uk}} {{s-bef|before=[[Baron Horam|The Lord Horam]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom|Gentlemen]]'''<br />''Baron Mendelsohn'' '''}} {{s-fol|after=[[Baron Wrigglesworth|The Lord Wrigglesworth]]}} {{s-end}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendelsohn, Jonathan}} [[Category:1966 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Labour Party (UK) officials]] [[Category:Labour Party (UK) life peers]] [[Category:Life peers created by Elizabeth II]] [[Category:Labour Friends of Israel]] [[Category:British Jews]] [[Category:British lobbyists]] [[Category:British businesspeople in the entertainment industry]]