Mr Peter Mandelson pulled off a dramatic, but not entirely unexpected, political comeback yesterday, when he was confirmed as the new Northern Ireland Secretary, replacing Dr Mo Mowlam in Mr Tony Blair's Cabinet shuffle which saw five key changes in senior government posts.
Mr Mandelson was banished to the political backwater only 10 months ago when he was forced to resign following the revelations about his £373,000 home loan from the former paymaster general, Mr Geoffrey Robinson. Yet his return to frontline politics heralds a remarkable turnaround in his fortunes, bringing him back into the heart of Mr Blair's inner circle much sooner than he expected. Later today he will travel to Northern Ireland with Dr Mo Mowlam, who replaces Dr Jack Cunningham as Cabinet "enforcer" after he surprised Westminster by tendering his resignation.
After publicly indicating her willingness to remain in her post until the job was done, Dr Mowlam candidly admitted it was never an easy time to go "but everybody has to go at some time" and she described Mr Mandelson as "a very safe pair of hands".
The Conservatives greeted Mr Mandelson's return as an example of Mr Blair's "arrogant" attitude in government. The Tory Party chairman, Mr Michael Ancram, said: "It is wrong to bring back a disgraced minister who was forced to resign only 10 months ago."
In a wider-than-expected shuffle, Mr Blair's room for manoeuvre was greatly enhanced by Mr Frank Dobson's decision to quit his post as health secretary to concentrate on securing Labour's nomination for Mayor of London.
Dr Mowlam had been suggested as his replacement despite criticism of her difficulty with the "detail" of Northern Ireland, but instead Mr Blair chose to promote the "Blairite" former chief secretary to the Treasury, Mr Alan Milburn, to the position of Health Secretary. As a former health minister, Mr Milburn will waste little time in continuing the fight to reduce hospital waiting lists. Mr Andrew Smith, a former employment minister praised for moves up to replaces Mr Milburn.
There was also promotion for the junior Foreign Office minister, Mr Geoff Hoon, a relative unknown who has impressed Mr Blair with his commitment and political effectiveness. He replaces Lord Robertson as Defence Secretary. Lord Robertson will take up his post as NATO Secretary-General later this week. But Mr Hoon's promotion is a blow for the Scottish Secretary, Dr John Reid, who was tipped to return to Defence to replace Lord Robertson.
The resignation of the Cabinet "enforcer", Dr Cunningham, seen in Westminster as more old than new Labour, further enabled the Prime Minister to encourage the "march of the Blair modernisers" into his Cabinet. The view in political circles in recent months was that Dr Cunningham's expensive tastes, which saw the media describe him as "Junket Jack", had irritated Mr Blair.
In his letter of resignation, Dr Cunningham told Mr Blair he had given his future "very careful thought" and had come to the conclusion that, while he was leaving the Cabinet sooner than expected, "I am sure this is the correct decision." Ms Tessa Jowell goes to Department for Education and Employment as New Deal Minister although she will keep her role working on the "women's agenda" for the government and Ms Yvette Cooper (30) replaces her as Public Health Minister.
Mr Blair appointed the Leicester East MP, Mr Keith Vaz, as Minister for Europe in the Foreign Office to replace Mr Hoon.
The Labour whip, Ms Jane Kennedy moves to Mr Vaz's old job as Parliamentary Under Secretary in the Lord Chancellor's Department.