IN bringing Ken Clarke back into the shadow cabinet, David Cameron has taken a gamble every bit as big as Gordon Brown took with the surprise comeback of Peter Mandelson.

Former Tory chancellor Mr Clarke is back as shadow business secretary, in direct opposition to Mr Mandelson, and we welcome the return of a true political heavyweight.

And in many ways, the appointments of Messrs Clarke and Mandelson underline the perceived weaknesses of the party leaders as they build towards a General Election.

The Prime Minister had to bury the hatchet to bring back Mr Mandelson because he was in desperate need of the former Hartlepool MP’s political guile and strategic acumen.

And the Tory leader needed to balance his own relative inexperience by bringing in someone who has served as health, education and home secretaries, as well as chancellor.

He is the “big beast” feared by the Labour Party and Mr Cameron is right to bring him back.

But the risks taken by the two party leaders cannot be underestimated.

Mr Brown knows that Mr Mandelson is hardly a safe pair of hands. For all his intelligence, he has a selfdestruct button that could easily leave the Prime Minister’s judgement open to question.

And, at 68, Mr Clarke has very little to lose. He knows all too well that his resignation from the Tories’ front bench team would be a hammer blow to Mr Cameron’s credibility.

Politics has suddenly become a lot more interesting, and the stakes are a great deal higher.