IT was sleaze that brought John Major's Tory government to its knees.

It was sleaze that Tony Blair vowed would not stain his New Labour administration. It must be purer than pure.

The Prime Minister gambled once by bringing his friend Peter Mandelson back into the Cabinet, ten months after the home loan debacle. Noses were put out of joint - notably Mo Mowlam's - and many eyebrows were raised.

Mr Blair will argue against suggestions that it was a gamble that back-fired, pointing to the effective role the Hartlepool MP played in the Northern Ireland peace process.

But it ultimately back-fired because Mr Mandelson - for all his ability to operate on a grand political level - has been exposed for a second time as someone with an inexplicable tendency to press the self-destruct button.

He didn't need to back himself into a cul-de-sac over his loan from Geoffrey Robinson and he didn't need to trap himself over the Hinduja passport affair.

It is all very well for Mr Mandelson - ace manipulator - to blame the media for his downfall, but he should not need to dig very deep into his own conscience to know that he has blown it.

Whether or not he acted improperly over the passport application, he was clearly guilty of not telling the whole truth - of not being purer than pure.

As a result, Mr Blair's judgement will also be questioned and it is inconceivable that the Prime Minister's loyalty could stretch to giving the architect of New Labour another reprieve. That would be a mistake that even Mr Blair's closest allies would find hard to accept.

So what does the future hold for Mr Mandelson, an undoubtedly talented politician afflicted with a peculiarly vague memory?

His resignation speech hinted at a life outside of politics and it is hard to see his ambitions being satisfied with life on the backbenches.

The mood on the streets of Hartlepool yesterday appeared to be in favour of fresh blood now that Mandelson's has been spilled. But The Northern Echo understands that he was minded last night to fight on for his seat at the forthcoming General Election.

With a popular Tory candidate lying in wait, and a disharmonious local Labour Party still in shock from losing control of the borough council in May, it would be a risky decision to take.

And judgement has not always been Peter Mandelson's strongest virtue.