Triumph for long-departed SDP
The appointment of Simon Lewis as the new Downing Street Director of Communications - first broken on this blog last night - is another small triumph for the long-departed Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Mr Lewis was once Communications Director of the SDP. Other former SDPers with big roles in politics these days include Chris Grayling, Lord Andrew Adonis, Vince Cable and Chris Huhne.
But notably not Peter Mandelson. Although several of Mandelson's friends from the early 1980s left Labour for the SDP - such as Roger Liddle and Derek Scott - and many wondered if he would follow them, I've always thought it one of the most important features of his biography that Mandelson stuck with Labour even during the grim years of the early 80s.
I'm Michael Crick, and I'm Newsnight's political editor. My guiding rule is that in any story there's usually something the politicians would prefer the world not to know. My job is to find that out. Follow me on 
Comment number 1.
At 17:05 16th Jun 2009, thatotherguy2 wrote:What Downing Street needs is a Dictator of Communications. Simon will Direct what he is told to. It will all end in tears but at least Simon now has a job again....as does his new boss the Deputy Prime Minister (and I don't mean Peter).
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Comment number 2.
At 00:26 17th Jun 2009, bubblegumTriffid wrote:Hi,
is that Bilberbeg stuff still going on? Loads of notaries dancing around Giant Owls, some of them perhaps not even drunk?
didnt beleive a word of it until I saw the TV programme on it
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