Can the return of Lord Cameron of Remainville win back lost Tory voters?

The PM has seized headlines with his surprise appointment of David Cameron as foreign secretary – but does a lurch to the centre have any hope of securing the Conservatives a fifth term, wonders John Rentoul

Lord Cameron arrives in Downing Street – accompanied by international development secretary Andrew Mitchell – for his first Cabinet meeting as foreign secretary (PA)

The comparison from history is with the return of Peter Mandelson to the Labour cabinet in 2008. That was a publicity coup by Gordon Brown, reaching out to the Blairites to unite the party and bringing in one of the most talented ministers of the New Labour era.

Mandelson – who, like David Cameron, re-entered the cabinet via the House of Lords – strengthened Brown’s government and helped Labour fight back from the depths of opinion-poll gloom.

Lord Cameron’s return is less likely to be successful. It succeeded in diverting attention from the “look-at-me” former home secretary. But the only question that matters over the next year or so is whether it helps win back some of the votes that the Conservative Party has lost.