Well, my gaster has never been so flabbered!! I honestly never saw this one coming!!

Peter Mandelson to make shock return to Cabinet

Peter Mandelson is to make a shock return to the Government it emerged today as Gordon Brown carried out his first Cabinet reshuffle.

Mr Mandelson, who is currently Britain's European Commissioner, has twice resigned as a Cabinet minister under a cloud.

Well, that's quite an understatement, isn't it?

It was reported that he will return to one of his old jobs at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

That would mean taking over from John Hutton who was said to be heading for Defence where he will be replacing Des Browne who is expected to leave the Government.

In other moves, Chief Whip Geoff Hoon was said to be going to Transport, taking over from Ruth Kelly who is standing down to spend more time with her young family.

He is likely to be replaced by Deputy Chief Whip Nick Brown, one of the Prime Minister's closest political allies.

The Leader of the Lords, Baroness Ashton of Upholland, is to replace Mr Mandelson in Brussels.

As a peer, her appointment would avoid the need for a potentially difficult by-election if a sitting MP had been chosen for the post.

Former foreign secretary Margaret Beckett was also said to be making an unexpected return to the Government, although it was not immediately clear in what capacity.

However, the big surprise is the return of Mr Mandelson.

...and when the music stops, you must all find a seat..Hey, Mandelson, how the hell did you get in?...

It would also mark the end of a feud with Mr Brown dating back more than a decade to when Mr Mandelson supported Tony Blair to become Labour leader following the death of John Smith.

Having given up his parliamentary seat in 2004 in order to take up the post of Trade Commissioner, he would have to be given a peerage and a seat in the House of Lords if he returns to government.

His appointment would be seen as a major olive branch to Blairites in the Government still smarting after Mr Brown's perceived put-down of their favourite - Foreign Secretary David Miliband - as a "novice".

That's a nice wee sweetener after being unceremoniously dumped twice in the past, Brown must be really depserate to invite this unscrupulous character back into the fold, what is he doing??

The move was welcomed by Derek Draper, a former adviser to Mr Mandelson who has recently returned to work for the Labour Party.

"I think Peter will prove to be a pretty formidable secretary of state, a really brilliant contributor to the strategy of the Government and the presentation of the Government," he said.

"People will look at Peter and think: 'you know what, we misjudge Peter Mandelson sometimes', and actually the strengths of Peter and the good side of Peter will come through now.

"As someone who knows him and has had my issues with him, I think he deserves this and I think he will prove to people why he deserves that place at the top table of British politics."

So Mandelson's former advisor backs him; hadly earth-shattering news, is it?

The move suggests that Mr Brown's reshuffle will be more widespread than had been originally anticipated, although senior figures like Mr Miliband and Chancellor Alistair Darling are expected to retain their current jobs.

Where do these people get the idea that swapping jobs with each other will make the slightest bit of difference to anyone outside Westminster?

In an interview earlier this week with the New Statesman, Mr Mandelson publicly voiced support for Mr Brown while urging him not to abandon the New Labour "project".

"I do not think that changing the face at the top is the panacea some imagine," he said.

"But the whole of the leadership must remain true to the values and principles that have delivered us success in the past ten years."

"Geeza Job (Peerage), Gordy; I'll save you..."

The two men, together with Mr Blair, were the key architects of New Labour.

However they fell out spectacularly following Mr Smith's death in 1994 creating a fault-line which has run through the party ever since.

Mr Hutton's appointment as Defence Secretary was confirmed by former home secretary David Blunkett who said his friend was "very pleased".

"I've spoken to John Hutton, he is a friend of mine - I'm very pleased to still have a couple of friends in Cabinet - and he is very pleased and I think he will be an excellent defence secretary.

Mr Hutton would "bat very hard" for the armed forces in difficult circumstances, he said, paying tribute to Mr Browne.

"Des had worked very hard and I think they will miss him at the Ministry of Defence - they have been very supportive of him and vice versa.

"But I do know that he has got young children and it is a hell of a job, with a family, dealing with overseas visits which is part of the stock-in trade of the Secretary of State of Defence."

He said the reshuffle would give "extra vitality" to the Government and help reverse Labour's fortunes.

Mr Blunkett, who also had to quit the Government twice, described Mr Mandelson's appointment as a "masterstroke". He told Sky News: "It is a masterstroke in the sense that Peter was an excellent secretary of state for trade and industry but more importantly the connections he has built up as trade commissioner in Europe will be invaluable to the UK.

"Of course it is a political stroke as well because it is inclusive and brings back someone who could be described as nothing else but an arch-Blairite."

Several paragraphs of back-slapping which say absolutely nothing.


Labour MP John McDonnell said he was "absolutely gobsmacked" at Mr Mandelson's return to Cabinet, adding: "The whole Labour movement will be utterly perplexed at what the Prime Minister's motives are.

"This is an extraordinary step backwards into the worst elements of the Blair era, to reinstate possibly the most divisive figure in Labour's recent history."

Not just the Labour movement, buddy. There's a lot of confused people out here.

John Cridland, Deputy Director-General of the CBI, said: "John Hutton has succeeded in giving the new Department for Business a sense of mission and drive that was lacking at its predecessor, the DTI. In particular, he has taken decisive action to try to deliver energy security of supply in the future.

"The Department for Business must have a heavyweight political big hitter at the Cabinet table, and we are encouraged that Peter Mandelson is returning to this role."

Yes, I'm sure he'll be absolutely wonderful. Stop the back-slapping, already...

Cabinet Office minister Ed Miliband, another key ally of Mr Brown, was being tipped to head a newly created department covering energy - currently part of the Business Department - and climate change which is the responsibility of the Department of Environment.

John Wright, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, welcomed the appointment of Mr Mandelson.

"This shock return is no surprise to us given Mr Mandelson's previous tenure at the DTI and his current position as Britain's European Commissioner for Trade.

"Mr Mandelson's experience will mean that he can do away with the probationary period and get straight into the business of dealing with the current credit crunch.

"We will be seeking an early meeting with him in order to convey some very easy-to-implement measures to safeguard the future of small businesses during these difficult times."

I'm losing the will to live here with all the self-congratulation being spread around. Will someone just tell me what Gordon Brown thinks he's doing? This one has totally flummoxed me...

dws asked: Will someone just tell me what Gordon Brown thinks he's doing? Perhaps it's just a measure of how desperate Gordie now is. Alternatively, he could just be paving the way to getting Blunkett back into the cabinet too?

Why stop there? If Gordon can hold his nose and invite Mandy back, wanting 'serious people for serious times', then why not a really serious person viz. A.C.L.Blair?
(Only joking, folks ...)

I was reading some of the reaction on the blogosphere to Mandelson's return to government. Usually there are a range of responses to any issue. Oddly, this time there are only two diametrically opposed points of view -

a) It is a master stroke of genius which will unite Labour's warring factions and return the party to its successes of the late 90s.

b) It is gobsmackingly insane, and final proof, if proof were needed, that Gordon Brown has finally lost the plot entirely. Watch as Labour wave goodbye to the remaining shreds of their core vote. Hello oblivion at the next General Election.

Guess which point of view is the overwhelmingly the most prevalent?

I go with B myself. Like 99% of the other comments I've read.

This has all the smell of one of Brown's "tactical moves". He does love his showy baubles this guy. Brown has a history of making some very dodgy decisions to improve his position in the short term, and invariably they come back and bite him on the bum. He's brought Mandelson back to placate the Blairites and try and restore a measure of stability to his cabinet. And the headlines it generates will drown out even more any news of the Tory party conference, especially in this weekend's Sunday papers so squashes Cameron's post conference bounce in the polls. It also allows Brown to play at being the mature statesman who puts personal issues behind him during this time of crisis blah de blah.

It makes a big splash in the media because it was an unexpected move, so Brown can tell himself that he's setting the media agenda, which continues the delusion that he's in control of events. These people really do confuse getting headlines with being in control of events.

Meanwhile, Brown reckons, it means he can keep Mandelson where he can see him. Unfortunately for him Peter Mandelson will stab an enemy in the front as cheerfully as in the back. Brown and Mandelson loathe one another, although apparently some pro-Labour commentators are claiming they're getting on well these days. I don't think it's so much they've all of a sudden become such great pals as both recognise that their own personal futures are closely linked to the impending doom of the New Labour project. The cracks will soon become apparent.

Of course out in the real world it's seen as a sign of desperation. Brown has just sold out his chances of shoring up the collapse in support amongst Old Labour core voters. And he's signalled a return to the politics of spin which he'd claimed to have given up - remember the "Not flash, just Gordon" slogan? He's also pretty much given up on the support of the Murdoch press, which loathes Mandelson passionately. And then there's all that sleaze stuff, it's just not going away.

It will all end in tears before bedtime.

Loved what Macwhirter said in yesterday's Herald regarding the return of Mandy "Brown couldn't think of anything sensible to do, so he did something daft"
That sort of sums up IRN BROON these days don't you think?