Nothing about Brexit in any of that. All of it makes complete sense.
But it is still Brexit. You know it, I know it
This has got sod all to do with Brexit. Britain has left the EU and, in case you didn't notice, it's not the story any more.
If you genuinely cannot understand the seething anger from the public, who have made immense sacrifices, at being essentially told they are mugs who somehow don't love their children enough, then you're a moron.
Sigh. I understand the anger. I have been extremely critical of this government over their handling of covid-19. On this site. I believe they have been criminally negligent and careers should end. Possibly including the PM's
My point is that the EXTREME ferocity aimed at Cummings is because he did a Brexit on the lawn of posh people. He is verily disliked, thereby
Nope. You really, really don't get it.
The people whose blood is now boiling aren't the hardened old Remoaner foe or whatever. This is visceral from people who obeyed the rules at great personal expense to save lives, and now think they were treated like mugs.
Except the greatest bile is coming from the most angry Remoaners, like Led By Donkeys. They parked this in Dom C's street
Check the Tweeter's timeline. Insane Remoanerism. Completely batshit.
Denying this is futile
Yes, absolutely, Remainers are loving this. But Julia Hartley-Brewer retweeted Led by Donkeys today so the bile crosses the Brexit divide.
Yes, I entirely accept that. It's when I saw JHB getting het up about CastleGate, on Friday evening, that I thought: OK, this could be a lot bigger than I expected.
I still wholly believe this is driven at its core by Remainers seeking revenge (or more), but it has gone way beyond them. As a Tory PM, if you lose the Daily Mail on an issue like this, you are in deep shit. I am quite mystified by Boris' behaviour.
I would agree with you if you replaced “Remainers” with “the left”. This is a return to some form of politics as normal. Leavers underestimate how Remainers have moved on. We have, indeed, “got over it” as we were constantly advised and are returning to our old political homes. Cummings mistake is that he’s still fighting a battle he won - see he comment to journalists outside his house yesterday - and thinks he knows more than he does. He’s fighting the last war and will therefore lose this one.
Unfortunately for those erstwhile Remainers, it seems Leavers haven't moved on. Johnson is the feckless charlatan he has always been and always will be, but that 47% support for him, even before this weekend's events is depressing and will be difficult to beat. Dominic Cummings may be right that he will win again.
Nothing about Brexit in any of that. All of it makes complete sense.
But it is still Brexit. You know it, I know it
This has got sod all to do with Brexit. Britain has left the EU and, in case you didn't notice, it's not the story any more.
If you genuinely cannot understand the seething anger from the public, who have made immense sacrifices, at being essentially told they are mugs who somehow don't love their children enough, then you're a moron.
Sigh. I understand the anger. I have been extremely critical of this government over their handling of covid-19. On this site. I believe they have been criminally negligent and careers should end. Possibly including the PM's
My point is that the EXTREME ferocity aimed at Cummings is because he did a Brexit on the lawn of posh people. He is verily disliked, thereby
Nope. You really, really don't get it.
The people whose blood is now boiling aren't the hardened old Remoaner foe or whatever. This is visceral from people who obeyed the rules at great personal expense to save lives, and now think they were treated like mugs.
Except the greatest bile is coming from the most angry Remoaners, like Led By Donkeys. They parked this in Dom C's street
Check the Tweeter's timeline. Insane Remoanerism. Completely batshit.
Denying this is futile
Yes, absolutely, Remainers are loving this. But Julia Hartley-Brewer retweeted Led by Donkeys today so the bile crosses the Brexit divide.
Yes, I entirely accept that. It's when I saw JHB getting het up about CastleGate, on Friday evening, that I thought: OK, this could be a lot bigger than I expected.
I still wholly believe this is driven at its core by Remainers seeking revenge (or more), but it has gone way beyond them. As a Tory PM, if you lose the Daily Mail on an issue like this, you are in deep shit. I am quite mystified by Boris' behaviour.
I would agree with you if you replaced “Remainers” with “the left”. This is a return to some form of politics as normal. Leavers underestimate how Remainers have moved on. We have, indeed, “got over it” as we were constantly advised and are returning to our old political homes. Cummings mistake is that he’s still fighting a battle he won - see he comment to journalists outside his house yesterday - and thinks he knows more than he does. He’s fighting the last war and will therefore lose this one.
Unfortunately for those erstwhile Remainers, it seems Leavers haven't moved on. Johnson is the feckless charlatan he has always been and always will be, but that 47% support for him, even before this weekend's events is depressing and will be difficult to beat.
The last 5 months have been an eternity but Boris really doesn't look good.
Be careful what you wish for.
Boris wanted to be a 'blood, toil, tears and sweat' leader but a 'blood, toil, tears and sweat' leader can involve actual blood, toil, tears and sweat as well as giving speeches about 'blood, toil, tears and sweat'.
Makes this afternoon even less explicable. Boris or a minion could have done a low key "Dom understands people's concerns, Cabinet Secretary has promised a report will be on PM's desk Friday, keep calm, carry on and remain indoors unless permitted." Deflate the story by boring the hell out of everyone.
Instead, we've seen the stakes doubled, the PM looking strange, confused and shifty again, and the PM has kept the story going.
The last 5 months have been an eternity but Boris really doesn't look good.
Be careful what you wish for.
Boris wanted to be a 'blood, toil, tears and sweat' leader but a 'blood, toil, tears and sweat' leader can involve actual blood, toil, tears and sweat as well as giving speeches about 'blood, toil, tears and sweat'.
Polling is going to look dire if the Mail has lost confidence
I am sure it will but the more important issue is why has Boris sacrificed his career for Cummings
That indeed is the question
I can see Boris falling over this. WHY?
Brothers in arms. One for all and all for one.
Doesn't really explain it. Boris is not exactly known for unswerving loyalty to a man or a cause
It's the price of Gove's support. Cummings is Gove's man. Apparently Cummings' plan for reorganizing government is to have him and Gove in command of it all from the Cabinet Office.
Nothing about Brexit in any of that. All of it makes complete sense.
But it is still Brexit. You know it, I know it
This has got sod all to do with Brexit. Britain has left the EU and, in case you didn't notice, it's not the story any more.
If you genuinely cannot understand the seething anger from the public, who have made immense sacrifices, at being essentially told they are mugs who somehow don't love their children enough, then you're a moron.
Sigh. I understand the anger. I have been extremely critical of this government over their handling of covid-19. On this site. I believe they have been criminally negligent and careers should end. Possibly including the PM's
My point is that the EXTREME ferocity aimed at Cummings is because he did a Brexit on the lawn of posh people. He is verily disliked, thereby
Not in my case - it's because he created this lockdown mess and then wilfully ignored it himself.
Heck it seems he ignored it a second time to see his parents due to the death of his uncle - when a lot of people were unable to travel to see their spouse or parents prior or even after their death because HSE stated that it wasn't an essential journey.
Plus Cummings is an arrogant twat.
I’ve been saying this for years.
It’s very gratifying people are now starting to notice I was right.
People with these kinds of attitudes always come unstuck eventually.
I do hope I don’t.
Oh, sorry, did you mean Cummings?
I meant Cummings, yes. I like your posts.
My post was not intended entirely seriously
But thank you for the second sentence. I fear I am vain enough to purr at the compliment.
Ah, no worries
Please feel free to purr, I know I get excited when occasionally users like my posts too
I fear I am not very popular on this site.
You are ok CHB. You are committed to your cause. You can give it out but can take it too! 😊
That's kind but I won't be able to offer you a position in my Government.
I think you’re f’in ace! You’re the only poor sod who likes my posts!
Excellent header. We can't live like this, it's unnatural. Apparently primary school children will be in 'bubbles' than can''t interact with the kids in the other 'bubbles' even in the playground. Three year olds in nurseries will have to sit and play alone. If you want to cause kids mental health problems, these policies sound like excellent ways of achieving this.
Nothing about Brexit in any of that. All of it makes complete sense.
But it is still Brexit. You know it, I know it
This has got sod all to do with Brexit. Britain has left the EU and, in case you didn't notice, it's not the story any more.
If you genuinely cannot understand the seething anger from the public, who have made immense sacrifices, at being essentially told they are mugs who somehow don't love their children enough, then you're a moron.
Sigh. I understand the anger. I have been extremely critical of this government over their handling of covid-19. On this site. I believe they have been criminally negligent and careers should end. Possibly including the PM's
My point is that the EXTREME ferocity aimed at Cummings is because he did a Brexit on the lawn of posh people. He is verily disliked, thereby
Not in my case - it's because he created this lockdown mess and then wilfully ignored it himself.
Heck it seems he ignored it a second time to see his parents due to the death of his uncle - when a lot of people were unable to travel to see their spouse or parents prior or even after their death because HSE stated that it wasn't an essential journey.
Plus Cummings is an arrogant twat.
I’ve been saying this for years.
It’s very gratifying people are now starting to notice I was right.
People with these kinds of attitudes always come unstuck eventually.
I do hope I don’t.
Oh, sorry, did you mean Cummings?
I meant Cummings, yes. I like your posts.
My post was not intended entirely seriously
But thank you for the second sentence. I fear I am vain enough to purr at the compliment.
Ah, no worries
Please feel free to purr, I know I get excited when occasionally users like my posts too
I fear I am not very popular on this site.
You are ok CHB. You are committed to your cause. You can give it out but can take it too! 😊
That's kind but I won't be able to offer you a position in my Government.
I think you’re f’in ace! You’re the only poor sod who likes my posts!
They're good contributions, please continue.
But love-bombing me will not change my mind, I will not run a Government via nepotism.
Those saying crickey even the Daily Mail blasting the government tonight...have you not seen their coverage of government handling of coronavirus, Piers Morgan articles aren't even the most hostile. They have been as critical of the government as the Guardian.
Remember they got a new editor, who knows his readership, but no fan of Boris or Brexit.
That all been said, again the handling of this is even worse than the botched loosening of the lockdown. Bad politics, bad comms / PR and bad morals.
TBF, Dorries would screw up the opening of a box of chocolates. But Starmer is on dodgy grounds given his time as Head of the CPS. The Tories haven't really gone into his record yet, give it time and they will.
I'm not sure there is much in this.
"There's a case you don't remember more than a decade ago where Keir Starmer arguably ought to have green or red lighted a prosecution and didn't". That's what the DPP job is at the end of the day.
We will disagree on this. The US and the UK have much in common politically and one thing I suspect will be the same is that those involved in prosecuting cases will always have baggage that will hold them back. At the moment, nobody really knows about Keir Starmer and his past as Head of the DPP. Once there are references to, e.g., how he didn't press for grooming gangs to be vigorously stamped upon, that will play badly, especially in ex-Red Wall towns
I thought Nadine Dorries had just tried that and hastily had to retract her tweet and skulk off with her tail between her legs.
I'm not joking when I say this, I honestly think Gordon Brown would have handled the situation better than Boris has. Brown would have better understood how people would feel and realised he had to get rid of his aide. And could always bring him back after a suitable time.
It's incredible how badly No. 10 and Boris have judged this. Today's statements have simply fanned the flames.
Makes this afternoon even less explicable. Boris or a minion could have done a low key "Dom understands people's concerns, Cabinet Secretary has promised a report will be on PM's desk Friday, keep calm, carry on and remain indoors unless permitted." Deflate the story by boring the hell out of everyone.
Instead, we've seen the stakes doubled, the PM looking strange, confused and shifty again, and the PM has kept the story going.
Makes no sense.
This is, indeed, the weirdest thing of all.
How can they have imagined for one moment that the PM fronting it up, without any contrition, explanation, or willingness to answer a straight question, would have helped resolve it?
How on earth did they not see it was pouring petrol onto the fire?
Nothing about Brexit in any of that. All of it makes complete sense.
But it is still Brexit. You know it, I know it
This has got sod all to do with Brexit. Britain has left the EU and, in case you didn't notice, it's not the story any more.
If you genuinely cannot understand the seething anger from the public, who have made immense sacrifices, at being essentially told they are mugs who somehow don't love their children enough, then you're a moron.
Sigh. I understand the anger. I have been extremely critical of this government over their handling of covid-19. On this site. I believe they have been criminally negligent and careers should end. Possibly including the PM's
My point is that the EXTREME ferocity aimed at Cummings is because he did a Brexit on the lawn of posh people. He is verily disliked, thereby
Nope. You really, really don't get it.
The people whose blood is now boiling aren't the hardened old Remoaner foe or whatever. This is visceral from people who obeyed the rules at great personal expense to save lives, and now think they were treated like mugs.
Except the greatest bile is coming from the most angry Remoaners, like Led By Donkeys. They parked this in Dom C's street
[A tweet]
Check the Tweeter's timeline. Insane Remoanerism. Completely batshit.
Denying this is futile
Twitter does not equal the world.
Tory MPs are hearing from people who are furious and aren't all rabid Remainers.
See my other comment. I entirely accept that this is now way beyond Remainers.
The Tories have upset Middle Britain, how deeply has to be seen, but it ain't good.
I reckon Cummings will go, sooner or later - probably sooner - and he might be followed quite swiftly by Boris himself
Not sure "upset" is the word. Middle England is fucking furious. Every family and every group of mates has a story to tell of sacrifice during the last eight weeks. Many of them heartbreaking.
"What planet are you on" is the right headline, cos that is what people are asking
Makes this afternoon even less explicable. Boris or a minion could have done a low key "Dom understands people's concerns, Cabinet Secretary has promised a report will be on PM's desk Friday, keep calm, carry on and remain indoors unless permitted." Deflate the story by boring the hell out of everyone.
Instead, we've seen the stakes doubled, the PM looking strange, confused and shifty again, and the PM has kept the story going.
Makes no sense.
This is, indeed, the weirdest thing of all.
How can they have imagined for one moment that the PM fronting it up, without any contrition, explanation, or willingness to answer a straight question, would have helped resolve it?
How on earth did they not see it was pouring petrol onto the fire?
What is wrong at the heart of the operation?
You have a sociopath trying to explain his problems away, that is why.
Makes this afternoon even less explicable. Boris or a minion could have done a low key "Dom understands people's concerns, Cabinet Secretary has promised a report will be on PM's desk Friday, keep calm, carry on and remain indoors unless permitted." Deflate the story by boring the hell out of everyone.
Instead, we've seen the stakes doubled, the PM looking strange, confused and shifty again, and the PM has kept the story going.
Makes no sense.
You’re assuming they’re rational and intelligent, and trying to act sensibly.
Big dom for his supposed political genius...they could have closed this story down in half a day, nobody would have noticed as nice bank holiday, and been back in government in 6 months.
The Tories have always suffered from a perception that they do not understand the problems of ordinary people, that they are not one of us, that they don’t get people’s wishes.
Boris’s USP was that he seemed to be just such a person - despite his background. That he was “in touch”. It was Labour leaders who were seen as out of touch, Corbyn especially.
Now Boris has damaged that USP. He comes across as someone who not only thinks the rules don’t apply to him and his mates but doesn’t understand why others are furious/upset at this. He comes across as arrogant and entitled - just like the traditional view of Tories.
Excellent header. We can't live like this, it's unnatural. Apparently primary school children will be in 'bubbles' than can''t interact with the kids in the other 'bubbles' even in the playground. Three year olds in nurseries will have to sit and play alone. If you want to cause kids mental health problems, these policies sound like excellent ways of achieving this.
Trouble is that the way out of lockdown and bubbles is to get test'n'track working. Like the WHO were telling us back in February and March. And now we have testing facilities, contact tracing is just competent gumshoeing. it's effortful, and it won't pick up everything but it's not difficult. It's just going back to how we used to do things before antibiotics made us lazy.
I know nothing of the inner workings of the Tory Party but one thing I gleaned from my posting here last year is that Boris is, apparently, not well loved in the Parliamentary Party, he was seen as a means to an end. Surely he realises this - why is he alienating it further?
Makes this afternoon even less explicable. Boris or a minion could have done a low key "Dom understands people's concerns, Cabinet Secretary has promised a report will be on PM's desk Friday, keep calm, carry on and remain indoors unless permitted." Deflate the story by boring the hell out of everyone.
Instead, we've seen the stakes doubled, the PM looking strange, confused and shifty again, and the PM has kept the story going.
Makes no sense.
You’re assuming they’re rational and intelligent, and trying to act sensibly.
This is a bold assumption.
No, they're politicians - its a different mindset.
Now does being a politician lead to that mindset or does politics attract people with that mindset ?
Excellent header. We can't live like this, it's unnatural. Apparently primary school children will be in 'bubbles' than can''t interact with the kids in the other 'bubbles' even in the playground. Three year olds in nurseries will have to sit and play alone. If you want to cause kids mental health problems, these policies sound like excellent ways of achieving this.
If you want normality to resume, and lockdown to go, then support strict quarantine measures to protect normality.
Track, Trace, Isolate if you want no second wave.
Quarantine and lockdown are not the same, they are alternatives. Johnson and Cummings have just done a Cleveland Steamer on the prospect of quarantine working.
The Tories have always suffered from a perception that they do not understand the problems of ordinary people, that they are not one of us, that they don’t get people’s wishes.
Boris’s USP was that he seemed to be just such a person - despite his background. That he was “in touch”. It was Labour leaders who were seen as out of touch, Corbyn especially.
Now Boris has damaged that USP. He comes across as someone who not only thinks the rules don’t apply to him and his mates but doesn’t understand why others are furious/upset at this. He comes across as arrogant and entitled - just like the traditional view of Tories.
Like I said before, Johnson won by being a new Tory, like we hadn't just had 10 years of Tory Government.
I wondered how he managed to do that. Doesn't matter anymore, that is shattered.
Makes this afternoon even less explicable. Boris or a minion could have done a low key "Dom understands people's concerns, Cabinet Secretary has promised a report will be on PM's desk Friday, keep calm, carry on and remain indoors unless permitted." Deflate the story by boring the hell out of everyone.
Instead, we've seen the stakes doubled, the PM looking strange, confused and shifty again, and the PM has kept the story going.
Makes no sense.
This is, indeed, the weirdest thing of all.
How can they have imagined for one moment that the PM fronting it up, without any contrition, explanation, or willingness to answer a straight question, would have helped resolve it?
How on earth did they not see it was pouring petrol onto the fire?
What is wrong at the heart of the operation?
You have a sociopath trying to explain his problems away, that is why.
That may be so.
Cummings think he is the cleverest in the room, whether he's talking politics with politicians, medicine with doctors, statistics with statisticians, or PR with PR people.
If you want an example of how to close a story down quickly. PC MP accused of assaulting his wife, out the party in a few hours, 99.99999% of the public have no idea about this story.
Big dom for his supposed political genius...they could have closed this story down in half a day, nobody would have noticed as nice bank holiday, and been back in government in 6 months.
Yes, as I said on Friday. Sack him and earn the plaudits for firm and fair leadership, rehire him as a *consultant* on August 19th. And quietly ask him his advice interim. Basically zero damage, indeed possible political gains, and you still get to keep Dom Cummings as your boffin for the end-stage of Brexit
Now the party is in open revolt, and they've lost the Daily Mail, and the tenure of the PM is in doubt
Witlessly stupid, but also weird
See Prof Pantsdown is still advising the government and i bet if it looks like a second wave is coming he will be back in the meetings in person.
I've had a couple of texts to say Cummings family have a new line about grieving for a lost brother.
Any info on this?
Cummings’ mother has said they wanted to be together as her brother had died.
Not a terribly plausible explanation as (1) he didn’t die until after Cummings had done his chicken run and (2) the brother in question also lived in London.
It’s just another attempt to dodge the truth - which is that he wanted to be locked down in a house with a nice garden.
Big dom for his supposed political genius...they could have closed this story down in half a day, nobody would have noticed as nice bank holiday, and been back in government in 6 months.
Worse. He might have pulled off a full on apology and some guff about panicking as he was sick and he has a child to look after.
Could all have been over by now.
But thats what little people do, the ordinary people, the ones who watch the news and follow the guidelines, the ones who graft away in ordinary jobs hoping for a bit of pension and a few years with the grandkids.
The Übermenschs on the other hand. They reach for the stars.
Big dom for his supposed political genius...they could have closed this story down in half a day, nobody would have noticed as nice bank holiday, and been back in government in 6 months.
He doesn't seem to understand that it's not going to be let go, with him having made enemies of everyone - not just the usual suspects and FBPE types, but most of the wider media class and a large chunk of the Tory backbenches. They're all happily queuing up to stick the knife in, and eventually Johnson will discard him.
Big dom for his supposed political genius...they could have closed this story down in half a day, nobody would have noticed as nice bank holiday, and been back in government in 6 months.
Worse. He might have pulled off a full on apology and some guff about panicking as he was sick and he has a child to look after.
Could all have been over by now.
But thats what little people do, the ordinary people, the ones who watch the news and follow the guidelines, the ones who graft away in ordinary jobs hoping for a bit of pension and a few years with the grandkids.
The Übermenschs on the other hand. They reach for the stars.
Yes, Boris could have come out and said look thus is serious, must abide by the rules, nobody above it, all in this together, know is hard, but know personally how evil this virus is, yadda yadda yadda.
Big Dom does puff pieces about scared for family, kid, etc
And other than the Guardian / Twitter, at most people hear that weird bloke had it and resigned.....oh look the pubs open for takeaway....beer...
Makes this afternoon even less explicable. Boris or a minion could have done a low key "Dom understands people's concerns, Cabinet Secretary has promised a report will be on PM's desk Friday, keep calm, carry on and remain indoors unless permitted." Deflate the story by boring the hell out of everyone.
Instead, we've seen the stakes doubled, the PM looking strange, confused and shifty again, and the PM has kept the story going.
Makes no sense.
This is, indeed, the weirdest thing of all.
How can they have imagined for one moment that the PM fronting it up, without any contrition, explanation, or willingness to answer a straight question, would have helped resolve it?
How on earth did they not see it was pouring petrol onto the fire?
What is wrong at the heart of the operation?
Johnson seems to have believed he could win with a slogan just as he did with "get Brexit done" in the last election. So he trots out "acted responsibly, legally and with integrity" on a loop. Johnson wouldn't recognise responsibility, legality and integrity if they bit him in the ass, so it was an interesting selection of words. More important, it missed any awareness of the problem or explanation for it.
There is a lot of frustration, fear and anger about the CV lockdown. This goes far beyond Cummings. Cummings is a catalyst.
Boris has unwittingly positioned his government to be the recipient of all of that.
The question is why. What was worse than that?
Indeed. I guess that maybe Cummings' sudden departure would expose Boris fatally, in some way. But how?
Cummings has been trying to arrange his own departure since Boris became PM. He was scheduled to have an op in Feb, and wanted to quit/do a lot less afterwards
That doesn't make any sense at all. If it is true then why didn't he just quit on Friday evening and spare the boss all this arse-ache?
It is true
August 2019
"Cummings had to make a proper sacrifice to take the job; Johnson talked him into cancelling a surgical procedure, serious enough to warrant general anesthetic, which had been scheduled for three days later, when Johnson formally became PM.
He promised his wife, the journalist Mary Wakefield, that he would reschedule the operation for the week following 31 October and only after the op would he then discuss with Johnson what - if any - his future role in government would be.
I cannot judge whether Cummings will return after the surgery. I understand it depends on his health, the views of his wife, and whether he and Johnson can agree on a long-term role that would suit them both. Pimpernel-like, he may vanish again."
"Dominic Cummings, the Prime Minister’s most senior adviser, will quit his role in the New Year if he is unable to negotiate a pared back position in Downing Street, i can reveal.
Mr Cummings, who is widely credited for masterminding both Brexit and the Tories’ thumping election victory, is due to take a leave of absence in February for an operation that has been repeatedly postponed since he joined the Government"
Excellent header. We can't live like this, it's unnatural. Apparently primary school children will be in 'bubbles' than can''t interact with the kids in the other 'bubbles' even in the playground. Three year olds in nurseries will have to sit and play alone. If you want to cause kids mental health problems, these policies sound like excellent ways of achieving this.
If you want normality to resume, and lockdown to go, then support strict quarantine measures to protect normality.
Track, Trace, Isolate if you want no second wave.
Quarantine and lockdown are not the same, they are alternatives. Johnson and Cummings have just done a Cleveland Steamer on the prospect of quarantine working.
God I had to look up 'Cleveland Steamer' and now wish I hadn't. I must have had a blissfully innocent life.
Amusingly though there is a company that makes Cleveland Steamers
Makes this afternoon even less explicable. Boris or a minion could have done a low key "Dom understands people's concerns, Cabinet Secretary has promised a report will be on PM's desk Friday, keep calm, carry on and remain indoors unless permitted." Deflate the story by boring the hell out of everyone.
Instead, we've seen the stakes doubled, the PM looking strange, confused and shifty again, and the PM has kept the story going.
Makes no sense.
This is, indeed, the weirdest thing of all.
How can they have imagined for one moment that the PM fronting it up, without any contrition, explanation, or willingness to answer a straight question, would have helped resolve it?
How on earth did they not see it was pouring petrol onto the fire?
What is wrong at the heart of the operation?
You have a sociopath trying to explain his problems away, that is why.
That may be so.
Cummings think he is the cleverest in the room, whether he's talking politics with politicians, medicine with doctors, statistics with statisticians, or PR with PR people.
The ego on it!
He might well be.
And that might be the source of problems.
Because problems in life often arise from thinking yourself cleverer than you are.
Big dom for his supposed political genius...they could have closed this story down in half a day, nobody would have noticed as nice bank holiday, and been back in government in 6 months.
Yes, as I said on Friday. Sack him and earn the plaudits for firm and fair leadership, rehire him as a *consultant* on August 19th. And quietly ask him his advice interim. Basically zero damage, indeed possible political gains, and you still get to keep Dom Cummings as your boffin for the end-stage of Brexit
Now the party is in open revolt, and they've lost the Daily Mail, and the tenure of the PM is in doubt
Witlessly stupid, but also weird
It would be interesting to know who was involved in the decision making process.
It can be all too easy to convince yourself of what you want to believe.
It is unfortunate for Cummings that the whole country is frustrated and has a huge amount of pent up energy waiting to be unleashed.
He happened to be the person that was at the right time and place and with adequate reason to satisfy that need.
Whether he was right or wrong in what he did is immaterial.
He must know that he has a lot of enemies & so they will look for anything done wrong...see the whole SAGE stuff. The thought that nobody would notice in his street not being there for two weeks or people wouldn't see him walking about in the NE....its idiot level stuff.
Comments
Boris wanted to be a 'blood, toil, tears and sweat' leader but a 'blood, toil, tears and sweat' leader can involve actual blood, toil, tears and sweat as well as giving speeches about 'blood, toil, tears and sweat'.
Join our cause, a strong and stable Government in the national interest can be achieved.
Instead, we've seen the stakes doubled, the PM looking strange, confused and shifty again, and the PM has kept the story going.
Makes no sense.
Johnson is just the front man.
Together they're a three-legged stool.
Apparently primary school children will be in 'bubbles' than can''t interact with the kids in the other 'bubbles' even in the playground. Three year olds in nurseries will have to sit and play alone.
If you want to cause kids mental health problems, these policies sound like excellent ways of achieving this.
But love-bombing me will not change my mind, I will not run a Government via nepotism.
Sunak 7/2
Gove 10/1
Raab 14/1
Hunt 16/1
Javid 20/1
Mordaunt 25/1
Patel 25/1
Tugendhat 25/1
Remember they got a new editor, who knows his readership, but no fan of Boris or Brexit.
That all been said, again the handling of this is even worse than the botched loosening of the lockdown. Bad politics, bad comms / PR and bad morals.
It's incredible how badly No. 10 and Boris have judged this. Today's statements have simply fanned the flames.
How can they have imagined for one moment that the PM fronting it up, without any contrition, explanation, or willingness to answer a straight question, would have helped resolve it?
How on earth did they not see it was pouring petrol onto the fire?
What is wrong at the heart of the operation?
"What planet are you on" is the right headline, cos that is what people are asking
This is a bold assumption.
Do I need to apologise again?
Boris’s USP was that he seemed to be just such a person - despite his background. That he was “in touch”. It was Labour leaders who were seen as out of touch, Corbyn especially.
Now Boris has damaged that USP. He comes across as someone who not only thinks the rules don’t apply to him and his mates but doesn’t understand why others are furious/upset at this. He comes across as arrogant and entitled - just like the traditional view of Tories.
Any info on this?
70 in a week doesn't sound like a huge number - France still has 3000 cases a week after all, and inevitably some will be in this age group.
Not much of a comfort to the parents of course, but the wider evidence afaics still seems to be that schools don't seem to increase spread much.
Say what you like about the Mail but it knows the beating heart of its readership
Now does being a politician lead to that mindset or does politics attract people with that mindset ?
Track, Trace, Isolate if you want no second wave.
Quarantine and lockdown are not the same, they are alternatives. Johnson and Cummings have just done a Cleveland Steamer on the prospect of quarantine working.
I wondered how he managed to do that. Doesn't matter anymore, that is shattered.
Cummings think he is the cleverest in the room, whether he's talking politics with politicians, medicine with doctors, statistics with statisticians, or PR with PR people.
The ego on it!
Not a terribly plausible explanation as (1) he didn’t die until after Cummings had done his chicken run and (2) the brother in question also lived in London.
It’s just another attempt to dodge the truth - which is that he wanted to be locked down in a house with a nice garden.
Could all have been over by now.
But thats what little people do, the ordinary people, the ones who watch the news and follow the guidelines, the ones who graft away in ordinary jobs hoping for a bit of pension and a few years with the grandkids.
The Übermenschs on the other hand. They reach for the stars.
But apparently the Uncle died, in London...
https://twitter.com/IsabelOakeshott/status/1264673594761773056
A few minor problems with this new wheeze:
1. The uncle was dying in LONDON.
2. The rules were clear that you should NOT be with ill or grieving relatives, and many suffered as a result of following that rule.
3. Particularly - but by no means only - if you had symptoms.
Other than that, it's a good line from the very stable geniuses that the Cummings family plainly believe themselves to be.
Big Dom does puff pieces about scared for family, kid, etc
And other than the Guardian / Twitter, at most people hear that weird bloke had it and resigned.....oh look the pubs open for takeaway....beer...
And come the autumn he gets rehired.
I am not sure if I am impressed
Yesterday and today he agonised over whether he should be required to resign.
But in the end Cummings could think of no-one to replace him, so Boris had to stay.
August 2019
"Cummings had to make a proper sacrifice to take the job; Johnson talked him into cancelling a surgical procedure, serious enough to warrant general anesthetic, which had been scheduled for three days later, when Johnson formally became PM.
He promised his wife, the journalist Mary Wakefield, that he would reschedule the operation for the week following 31 October and only after the op would he then discuss with Johnson what - if any - his future role in government would be.
I cannot judge whether Cummings will return after the surgery. I understand it depends on his health, the views of his wife, and whether he and Johnson can agree on a long-term role that would suit them both. Pimpernel-like, he may vanish again."
https://www.itv.com/news/2019-08-09/the-truth-about-dominic-cummings-writes-robert-peston/
Dec 2019
"Dominic Cummings, the Prime Minister’s most senior adviser, will quit his role in the New Year if he is unable to negotiate a pared back position in Downing Street, i can reveal.
Mr Cummings, who is widely credited for masterminding both Brexit and the Tories’ thumping election victory, is due to take a leave of absence in February for an operation that has been repeatedly postponed since he joined the Government"
https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/dominic-cummings-could-quit-boris-johnsons-government-if-hes-unable-to-cut-down-hours-1345990
Amusingly though there is a company that makes Cleveland Steamers
https://www.clevelandrange.com/Products/Steamers
Today was Boris's 'Gerard Ratner' moment
And that might be the source of problems.
Because problems in life often arise from thinking yourself cleverer than you are.
He happened to be the person that was at the right time and place and with adequate reason to satisfy that need.
Whether he was right or wrong in what he did is immaterial.
https://twitter.com/Coldwar_Steve/status/1264615276492062720/photo/1
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2020/05/why-barnard-castle/
It can be all too easy to convince yourself of what you want to believe.
Bridge too far?
That would certainly not be an allowable reason to drive 260 miles which is why he made up the child care one
We shall see.
Who is the younger one?