The Wardman Wire

Back to the Future: Part 3
Well so much for the low key reshuffle we had all been speculating about – and No.10 had been briefing the media with. As expected, Brown stuck with the big guns in Darling and Miliband, but no-one, no-one, predicted this. Nick Robinson has been saying the Tories were going back to the future when Cameron mentioned Thatcher in his speech. Well they were just words; Brown really has gone back to the future with this reshuffle. Watch out: Mandelson is back.

He is a marked man
This move will either prove to be a stroke of genius by Brown or yet another poor piece of judgement. Of course, the media will be loving it – especially the tabloids. Mandy brings out the best in homophobia in our red tops and expect some outrageously unfair nonsense from them. Is that really something Brown needs right now even if it is grossly unfair? Then there is small question of being sacked last time… and the time before that. Mandelson is a marked man before he even takes over his new brief.

He is good at what he does
On the plus side, Mandelson knows how to make Labour electable. He was plying the so called dark arts of spin for new Labour long before Alistair Campbell. He is also going to appeal to business – the guy knows his stuff. He will, potentially at least, tear the Tory’s policies on transport and energy apart and for that I am thankful. The Tories are so wildly out of touch in these places that they need to be brought to their sense – I just had no idea Mandelson would be the man charged with doing it!

Too much bad blood?
But make no mistake, this appointment is a risk and could easily back fire. You could ask what has Brown got to lose? Afterall, this move could take the wind out of the Tory’s sails after a pretty impressive and successful conference for them in Birmingham. But I sense that the media and public may have made their minds up over this move already – Mandelson is for many nothing more than a crook and does not deserve another chance. For others he is everything they hated about New Labour and Tony Blair. For the knuckleheads at certain newspapers and blogs, he is gay and that is enough to not want him back. Hell, even Gordon Brown doesn’t like him!

A new department for Whitehall and more old faces
Of course, this appointment has overshadowed Brown’s other big move – he has created a new department – for Energy and Climate Change. The name does imply that it is for climate change, but I suspect it is actually against it. The new department does leave us with the question – what will Defra now do other than tackle outbreaks of blue tongue and foot and mouth disease? Hilary Benn must be pretty cheesed off. It could be a good move from Brown, but I suspect it is little more than gesture politics. This will be a department primarily for energy with climate change taken in to account. For now the greens will be appeased, but I am not so sure for how long. It leaves Whitehall in a little bit of a mess with BERR, Defra and now DECC all confused over what they should be doing.

Other blasts from the past returning to the cabinet table include Margaret Beckett – who has taken over Caroline Flint’s role as Housing Minister. Flint is clearly being punished for showing dissent over the summer. Lord Drayson is back from racing cars and it’s off with his head for Des Browne who has finally been sacked from Defence. He is, of course, the last of the Blair appointments to be moved on.

A masterstroke or another disaster?
It has been another exciting day in politics and it just goes to show, you have to be a mug to predict what will happen in this game, but I’ll keep on trying! The right will hate to hear this, but Mandelson is good at what he does and could well be the man to help fix this broken government. But I suspect the media are too far gone with Brown and had it with Mandelson years ago. Time will tell if this is the masterstroke Blunkett has called it or just another episode in the disastrous and luckless premiership of Gordon Brown.