PM hopes new blood will revive wounded Government

On the face of it, yesterday's ministerial reshuffle was good news for Gordon Brown, with promotions for Alistair Darling and Andrew Smith. They are usually labelled as among the Chancellor's allies when Labour MPs gossip about whether people are Brownites or Blairites.

At the same time, the young Blairite Turks David Miliband and David Lammy were given a fast track to promotion in an attempt to foster another generation of prime ministerial allies. This will help to compen- sate for the loss of "true believers" such as Stephen Byers and Peter Mandelson, and gives us a picture of what the Cabinet might look like in a few years' time.

Mr Blair believes the labels can be overdone, although his backbenchers and ministers speculate about them endlessly. His view is that Mr Darling, the new Transport Secretary, and Mr Smith, the new Work and Pensions Secretary, are good, loyal ministers who get the job done without any fuss.

Although the Prime Minister has used previous reshuffles to put the Brownites in their place, yesterday's changes had a less tribal look. Douglas Alexander, one of Mr Brown's closest allies, was moved from the Department of Trade and Industry to a pivotal role at the Cabinet Office because Mr Blair values his strategic skills.

Mr Blair does not enjoy reshuffles and the bigger-than-expected changes, only 11 months after the general election, reflect his determination to sharpen the Government's performance. "He is giving the system a 10,000-volt shock," one minister said.

Nor will this be the end of the story. Another reshuffle may take place in the summer of next year. The smoke signals suggest Peter Hain, the Europe minister, and John Denham, a Home Office minister, will win promotion to the Cabinet then.

Three problem areas for the Government were addressed by Mr Blair in yesterday's changes. The obvious one is the disaster zone at the Department of Transport which will test Mr Darling's "safe pair of hands" to the full. The decision to create, in the Department of Transport, Environment and the Regions an empire big enough for John Prescott, in 1997, has unravelled. First environment was split off, and now local government and the regions have gone, leaving the stand-alone Transport Department that existed under the Tories. The wheel has turned full circle, and the changes since 1997 have been an expensive Whitehall farce.

The second problem area was the Home Office and the hyperactive David Blunkett. Four of his six ministers have changed to beef up the department. It is hoped that Lord Falconer of Thoroton, a QC, will take some of the weight off Mr Blunkett's shoulders by handling reforms to the criminal justice system.

The third issue was "the muddle in the middle": the complex and overlapping structure at the centre of the Government. Mr Prescott has lost his role as a co-ordinator and progress chaser, allowing the Cabinet Office, now under Lord Macdonald of Tradeston, to become a "Prime Minister's department" in all but name.

As the failed experiment at Transport showed, moving the Whitehall furniture around does not solve anything. But Mr Blair hopes his personnel changes will galvanise the Government after a messy start to his second term, during which his administration has lacked confidence and direction.

The most intriguing appointment was a recall for Mike O'Brien, sacked as a Home Office minister at last year's election after his involvement in the Hinduja passports affair. He now returns as the Foreign Office junior minister responsible for the Middle East. Perhaps his rehabilitation was a signal to sacked ministers that there can be life after death if they remain loyal to the Government on the back benches.

After the clear-out, Mr Blair will be hoping for a period of stability so the drive to improve public services is not drowned out by "noises off" such as rows about spin doctors and party funding. At the next election, Mr Blair knows, Labour will be judged on the state of the health service, education and transport, so it is time to get on with the job.