Brown goes 'back to the future' with new-look Cabinet » Central government » 24dash.com

This is no time for novices. Gordon Brown has been as good as his word, bringing back battle-hardened veterans into the Cabinet in his reshuffle.

The return of Peter Mandelson was a rare and genuine political shocker. The Labour left-winger John McDonnell was not exaggerating when he said he was "absolutely gobsmacked".

There had been no hint in the thousands of words of pre-reshuffle speculation over the past couple of weeks that the so-called Prince of Darkness was making a surprising comeback.

The Westminster village was divided today on whether it was a brilliant move by Mr Brown to bind a leading Blairite close to him, or a sign of desperation. Mr Mandelson is a mercurial figure who is still regarded as divisive by many in the Labour Party.

But there was no doubt that his surprise comeback caught the media's attention and has given an adrenaline boost to a tired and jaded Team Brown.

The return of Labour veteran Margaret Beckett as Housing Minister confirms the "back to the future" look to Mr Brown's new line-up.

She was a junior minister in Jim Callaghan's government in the late 1970s. Her long career in politics has taken her to acting Labour leader and foreign secretary - before she was allowed to spend more time with her caravan when Mr Brown became Prime Minister.

She was dropped in favour of David Miliband because he wanted fresher, younger faces around the Cabinet table - though Mr Brown probably regrets that decision.

Mrs Beckett is a traditional Labour figure, a safe pair of hands, an unflappable figure who can put across the Government line on the Today programme during times of crisis.

The return of Mandelson and Beckett is a tacit acknowledgement that the Brown Cabinet lacked the firepower of the so-called big beasts. Unlike Tony Blair, Mr Brown did not like having big figures around him who could be seen as potential rivals or outshine him.

At Labour's conference in Manchester last week. there was a clear sense of nostalgia for John Prescott, the former deputy PM. He provided one of the brighter moments of the week when he joined forces with Alastair Campbell to launch a new campaigning group for a fourth Labour victory.

Mr Mandelson is certainly one of Labour's most prominent figures. Even during his exile in Brussels, he could not resist sticking his oar into Labour's politics, telling the New Statesman magazine this week that Mr Brown must not abandon the new Labour project.

Bringing him back into government will be seen as a significant olive branch to the Blairites. For the short term at least, it will reduce the risk of any attempted Cabinet coup by supporters of Mr Miliband, widely regarded as the "heir to Blair".

Friends of Mr Mandelson insisted today that the long-running feud between him and Mr Brown was over - and the hatchet had been buried in the No 10 garden, now that Mr Brown had achieved his ambition of becoming Prime Minister.

Their mutual animosity dates back to the Labour leadership contest in 1994 after the death of John Smith, when Mr Mandelson switched sides to support Mr Blair. It contributed to Mr Brown's burning sense of resentment that he had been denied the leadership that was rightfully his.

Both men have matured and adversity makes strange bedfellows. Mr Mandelson will be deeply grateful for the opportunity to return to front-line politics, even if he will be in the House of Lords. As he once famously declared after being re-elected as an MP, he's a "fighter not a quitter".

The title he takes will be fascinating - though it is unlikely to be Lord Mandelson of Spin.

Mr Mandelson has always felt hard done-by, believing his second resignation from the Cabinet was unfair and unjustified.

But many in the Labour Party will question whether he is a reformed character. They still see him as a controversial figure - and as Business Secretary he could come into conflict with the unions.

Labour critics fear his return will lead to a revival of the plotting and gossip with which he was associated during his earlier career in government.

Mr Brown may well feel safer with Mr Mandelson inside rather than outside the Labour tent. But if his current bounce in the poll is short-lived, and Labour still appears to be heading for a defeat at the next election, the pressure for a new leader could return.

Now back at the heart of government, Mr Mandelson will be at the centre of any internal manoeuvrings, and the old resentments could return with a vengeance.

There is likely to be some apprehension in the Conservative Party at the return of such a skilled political operator as Mr Mandelson. He was one of the architects of new Labour and the near-destruction of the Tories in 1997.

Some Tories literally feared his powers of spin and mastery of the black arts of political manipulation.

Mr Brown is now placing a heavy emphasis on experience. But a Cabinet featuring prominent retreads will be more vulnerable to charges that it is made up of yesterday's men and women. And "time for a change" has consistently proved to be one of the most powerful of all election slogans.