Tony Blair to campaign for Labour in general election, says Mandelson

Tony Blair will stage his first return to British political battle since stepping down as prime minister to campaign for Labour in the general election, according to his close ally Lord Mandelson. The business secretary said the former prime minister would be one of a number of big hitters from New Labour's early days wheeled out to fight for victory for Gordon Brown. Mandelson insisted it was "not too late" for the party to turn the polls around, and predicted the Conservative leader, David Cameron, could be "in for a shock". Speaking to the Daily Mirror , Mandelson said: "We want all the party's leadership – past and present – to be contributing to our electoral success. They know as well as everyone what is at stake for the country. Everyone will get stuck in. Everyone will campaign: Tony Blair, John Prescott, David Blunkett. We need the support of these well known faces." Asked whether Labour would win the general election, Mandelson admitted: "I wouldn't put money on it at this stage." But he added: "We haven't yet won the general election but nor have we yet lost it. If we play our cards correctly, if we continue to make the right judgment calls on the economy, if we demonstrate both our commitment to maintaining front-line services and also show how we are going to pay for those services – and also if we continue to back the opportunities that families want – we are in with a very good chance of being returned." Blair, who has kept out of domestic politics since quitting Downing Street in 2007, could give Labour an electoral boost as most successful leader ever in electoral terms, having won three successive polls including the record-breaking landslide of 1997. But his appearance on Friday before the Chilcot inquiry will remind voters of his role in the divisive decision to go to war in Iraq, and Conservatives are likely to claim his participation in the campaign as a sign that Labour is stuck in the past. Mandelson compared the 2010 election – which must take place by 3 June – to 1992, when John Major's Tory administration scraped to victory after trailing Labour in the polls for months. Many observers put that result down to last-minute doubts among voters over whether they really wanted Neil Kinnock to lead the country. He said voters may be disillusioned with politicians generally and feel that it is time for a change, but they have not yet thought clearly about whether they want Cameron to take charge. "I think those like David Cameron who think all they need to do is sit back, say little and wait for power to be passed to them on a plate will be in for a shock," he said. "As we approach a general election people will be considering again and more deeply where their interests lie, where their values lie and what the future offers are that have been made by the parties." Speaking shortly after provisional figures showed Britain was out of recession, Mandelson also predicted that the wafer-thin 0.1% growth in GDP for the third quarter of 2009 will be revised upwards as the Office for National Statistics gets more data. "The figures published will be revised later on and they will show that growth is slightly stronger than the top-line figures suggest," he said