Goodbye, Peter Mandelson. Or perhaps just au revoir

So, farewell then, Lord Mandelson. The Dark Lord has this evening resigned from the Labour front bench, ending a remarkable third act in a remarkably dramatic career.

Now, we can discuss ad infinitum his accomplishments and defects, his vices and his virtues. The criticisms of Lord Mandelson are well-honed and it must be said that by the end of his last cameo in the Cabinet, he was sometime at risk of coming across as a rather bad caricature of himself, all over-done waspishness and thespy gestures.

But whatever you think of him, it's hard to deny that he was interesting. Whether he helped or hindered Labour's election prospects is a question for another day. That he was worth listening to is undeniable — if only to marvel at the sheer effrontery of his spin and the elegance of his politicking.

Still, I suspect the entertainment won't stop just because he does not deign to serve as Shadow Business Secretary (and who can blame him?). Lord M is simply too absorbing a character to disappear from the stage altogether. Will he stay out of the coming Labour leadership election? It seems unlikely. But plotting alone is unlikely to occupy someone used to the 24/7 life of a major political player.

Money? Will he now cash in on his status and fantastic contact book? I think we can safely predict that the noble lord will not go hungry now he has lost his ministerial salary.

But somehow, I can't see him dedicating himself utterly to Mammon in the way Tony Blair has. Lord Mandelson is an altogether grander figure than the former PM; he will not stoop to fill his bucket with gold. Rather, he will stand erect, confident that money will simply pour down on him like warm rain.

Likewise, I can't see him straining to amass the trappings of wealth Mr Blair so obviously covets. After all, who needs to own a country house, a private jet and a tropical retreat when you have friends willing and able to lend you all of these things and more?

What else? There'll be no end of media opportunities. A guest spot on Strictly? Some documentaries in the style of Michael Portillo? A book or two, on subjects away from routine Westminster politics? Has anyone written a decent biography of Herbert Morrison recently? His grandson's take on his life would be fascinating.

Oh, and a farm. Assuming, that is, he was serious about a rural retirement. If he was, something tells me he'd take up farming in the same way Liz Hurley has; I can't really see Baron Mandelson of Foy and Hartlepool mucking out chickens or shovelling silage.

In a few years, I wonder if "Peter" (as we will surely learn to call him) will be firmly established as a national treasure, a faintly menacing version of Stephen Fry.

Whatever the future holds, I struggle to believe that Lord Mandelson will fade from national life. Another act may have ended, but the final curtain is still some way off.