Will Cummings go?

[highflyer]

It's genuinely puzzling.

Back in November one thing was made clear to me, time after time in discussions 'on the doorstep'. Almost nobody was voting Tory out of a love for Boris and chums.

There was certainly some element of distrust of Corbyn as a person, despite people liking many of his policies. Personally I think two years of concerted media attacks had something to do with that, plus the fact he was never really cut out for (or expected to end up in) a leadership role, but that's been well discussed elsewhere.

For me though what came through most strongly was that NOBODY really trusted Boris or the Tories. The issue that got Boris elected was not Boris. It was Brexit. The Tories knew full well they had been 'lent' a vote by many instinctive Labour voters. And they made it clear that they understood that.

Just a few months later and Brexit has faded in people's minds. The Covid-19 crisis has eclipsed it, and he economic fall-out will ensure that Brexit remains a background irrelevance for the majority.

On the health side there certainly seems to have been mismanagement. I'll wait until we have all the facts to make any final judgement about how it was handled on a day to day basis in the early stages. But starting out with a health system on its knees from a decade of underfunding and undermining certainly won't have helped, and for that the Tories have to take the blame.

So, despite their majority, they are vulnerable. And they have some of the most difficult times in recent history ahead of them. They know that.

And in the early stages of the crisis they did well in terms of saying that it won't be the poor that pay for this like in 2008. Saying that we won't go back to austerity. And in moving fast with the support to business and individuals. Bold, and positive. Actions that could pay dividends longer term.

So why have they thrown so much precious public support away now to save Cummings? Why? You don't need clever spin doctors to tell you you are getting it wrong when even the Mail and Sun are sensing which way public opinion is going and feel forced to turn on their own Frankensteins?

There is something else here that we don't yet know about.
There must be.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Er sorry, neither does anyone else. He has been reported to the police that's the fact.

Having thought about this tonight, I fully expect he had a good reason to do what he did. I might well be wrong but it's a hunch.

However (and it's a big one)

We aren't being told the whole facts although the Prime Minister alluded to something, "medical reasons" and the "right type of child care". Unfortunately to protect Cummings' family privacy, the Government have retrospectively re-defined the advice and blown the overall message out the window.

On that basis alone, the Prime Minister clearly values his friends family privacy over the UK's health at large. We are in exceptional times and the privacy of an individual in the centre of government is a not an absolute. He's called that wrong.

Secondly, whilst Cummings may have had a very good reason to do what he did, his wife (and number 10) engaged in a premeditated cover up soon after to make it appear they were in London.

That's the real issue.

Why did they do it ?

At worst to cover up their hypocrisy, but at best to ensure others didn't follow. At best it's still then one rule for them and another for people in similar circumstances of which there will be thousands.

They could have released the particular circumstances at the time and avoided most of this, but chose not to. Of course many would have still attacked the decision but many wouldn't. It's simply not good enough for the Prime Minister to defend his decision but tell us how he came to that conclusion.

They both hold the nation in very low regard clearly. They have insulted us.

Both are now deeply damaged.

It seems the medical reason could be the son is possibly autistic and can’t be left with just anyone.

 

[darkwolf666]

It seems the medical reason could be the son is possibly autistic and can’t be left with just anyone.

If that is true, all the more reason for fronting this out at the very start, not leaving it until weeks later, allowing the story to ferment and fester.

Still doesn’t explain why the sister, who was Plan A for childcare, couldn’t have come and got said child, nor who looked after the child when they were supposedly so poorly, according to his wife’s editorial piece in The Spectator.

Nothing adds up about this story and at the very least his wife was being economical with the truth for a magazine story, or they are both liars, you decide...

Trotting out the possible autistic child is a little like John Selwyn Gummer being pictured with his daughter, eating a beef burger, in the midst of the mad cow disease.

 

[mikeyjh]

I could be wrong?

There you go, you've nailed it.

 

[highflyer]

It seems the medical reason could be the son is possibly autistic and can’t be left with just anyone.

Is that your guess, or has that been 'leaked' in some way?

Sounds possible. And could genuinely explain why they did what they did. But surely they should have known that a cover-up was always going to be damaging and got the explanation out early.

I guess they can now 'reluctantly' release that information, saying that they wanted to protect the privacy of his family but have now been forced to go public - in the expectation it will bring sympathy back to them, or at least confuse matters enough to dilute the fall out. Which it could do.

 

[Recidivist]

Will Cummings go ?

It's genuinely puzzling.

Back in November one thing was made clear to me, time after time in discussions 'on the doorstep'. Almost nobody was voting Tory out of a love for Boris and chums.

There was certainly some element of distrust of Corbyn as a person, despite people liking many of his policies. Personally I think two years of concerted media attacks had something to do with that, plus the fact he was never really cut out for (or expected to end up in) a leadership role, but that's been well discussed elsewhere.

For me though what came through most strongly was that NOBODY really trusted Boris or the Tories. The issue that got Boris elected was not Boris. It was Brexit. The Tories knew full well they had been 'lent' a vote by many instinctive Labour voters. And they made it clear that they understood that.

Just a few months later and Brexit has faded in people's minds. The Covid-19 crisis has eclipsed it, and he economic fall-out will ensure that Brexit remains a background irrelevance for the majority.

On the health side there certainly seems to have been mismanagement. I'll wait until we have all the facts to make any final judgement about how it was handled on a day to day basis in the early stages. But starting out with a health system on its knees from a decade of underfunding and undermining certainly won't have helped, and for that the Tories have to take the blame.

So, despite their majority, they are vulnerable. And they have some of the most difficult times in recent history ahead of them. They know that.

And in the early stages of the crisis they did well in terms of saying that it won't be the poor that pay for this like in 2008. Saying that we won't go back to austerity. And in moving fast with the support to business and individuals. Bold, and positive. Actions that could pay dividends longer term.

So why have they thrown so much precious public support away now to save Cummings? Why? You don't need clever spin doctors to tell you you are getting it wrong when even the Mail and Sun are sensing which way public opinion is going and feel forced to turn on their own Frankensteins?

There is something else here that we don't yet know about.
There must be.

You're assuming there's some master plan behind this government's actions with some hidden rationale for the handling of the Cummings affair?

My simpler assumption is that Johnson is a weak, arrogant, superficial leader with poor political antennae and a cabinet that reflects his lack of ability.

We've already seen a number of issues surrounding its poor handling of this pandemic and decisions, such as imposing charges on immigrant NHS workers only to reverse it hours later when challenged by Starmer, rather supports this view!?

Occam's razor?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Is that your guess, or has that been 'leaked' in some way?

Sounds possible. And could genuinely explain why they did what they did. But surely they should have known that a cover-up was always going to be damaging and got the explanation out early.

I guess they can now 'reluctantly' release that information, saying that they wanted to protect the privacy of his family but have now been forced to go public - in the expectation it will bring sympathy back to them, or at least confuse matters enough to dilute the fall out. Which it could do.

It’s all over Twitter, but that doesn’t make it true, of course.
What I have been reading is angry responses from parents with autistic children who are even more angry now.
Most of them saying the disruption of moving home, etc would be more unsettling for the child.

If it is right, why didn’t the sister who is acceptable, as opposed to two other family members who live a lot nearer, move down to London to help out?

None of this was mentioned in the Spectator article by Mary.

 

[darkwolf666]

It’s all over Twitter, but that doesn’t make it true, of course.
What I have been reading is angry responses from parents with autistic children who are even more angry now.
Most of them saying the disruption of moving home, etc would be more unsettling for the child.

If it is right, why didn’t the sister who is acceptable, as opposed to two other family members who live a lot nearer, move down to London to help out?

None of this was mentioned in the Spectator article by Mary.

That’s because it’s all bollocks and an attempt to cover up.

If there is even a shred of truth in their explanation, then Cummings clearly isn’t as smart as he would have others believe he is...

 

[Thunder Bolt]

That’s because it’s all bollocks and an attempt to cover up.

If there is even a shred of truth in their explanation, then Cummings clearly isn’t as smart as he would have others believe he is...

I’m inclined to agree. His mother is trying the uncle died (in London) sympathy card, and someone is using the child’s needs as another route. It is cynical but will sway some opinions.

 

[Uh_huh_him]

It’s all over Twitter, but that doesn’t make it true, of course.
What I have been reading is angry responses from parents with autistic children who are even more angry now.
Most of them saying the disruption of moving home, etc would be more unsettling for the child.

If it is right, why didn’t the sister who is acceptable, as opposed to two other family members who live a lot nearer, move down to London to help out?

None of this was mentioned in the Spectator article by Mary.

Every autistic child is different. It isn't always the case that a change from normal surroundings would in itself be a problem for a particular child.

If this is the case (and that's a big if) then fairly irrational behaviour, from parents of a recently diagnosed child, would be forgivable.
I made several myself in less difficult times.

 

[rogersix]

The sheer histrionics over this story is all or nearly all about Remainiacs pouncing on the first slip up by the man who orchestrated Brexit to crucify him.

you've misunderstood it, it really isn't

 

[Nitram]

I’m sure thousands of people could make cases for breaking lockdown rules, however if you are part of the government and architect of the rules you have no leeway. It’s as simple as that.

 

[DJ NOBO]

The sheer histrionics over this story is all or nearly all about Remainiacs pouncing on the first slip up by the man who orchestrated Brexit to crucify him.

You’re overthinking it.
It’s about The general public, who have made great sacrifices, being livid that someone who flouted the rules is being defended by the very person who enforced those rules.

 

[Bognor Seagull]

 

[Hugo Rune]

View attachment 124051

Who cares what that cheating c*** thinks?


“In 2018, Grimes was fined £20,000 by the Electoral Commission after they determined that there was evidence that BeLeave had spent more than £675,000 with the Canadian political consultancy firm AggregateIQ in coordination with the official Brexit campaign organisation Vote Leave to distribute targeted social media advertisements.”

 

[Stat Brother]

I'm just grateful we finally have a Prime Minister who isn't part of the lazy entitled political class.

 

[Razzoo]

You’re overthinking it.
It’s about The general public, who have made great sacrifices, being livid that someone who flouted the rules is being defended by the very person who enforced those rules.

Ok it looks terrible but I don't know the full story. Maybe he had to do what he did as a last resort. I hope that is the case.

 

[sydney]

As a father I have always told my kids, if you do something wrong, or are found to have done something wrong, own up, don’t deny or lie to cover your tracks, face up to it and the consequences.

Clearly neither Johnson’s or Cummings fathers had the same parenting skills as me!

if they had been the honest , scrupulous types they wouldn't be where they are today.

 

[Bold Seagull]

View attachment 124051

The Daily Mail leading with a more damning headline than even the Guardian on this one. Steve Baker making louder criticism than any Labour MP so far.

So Grimes is just posting more bullshit, you’re eating it too.

 

[Iggle Piggle]

If Dom is so concerned about his family, I'm hoping he will be able to spend a lot more time with them in the near future.

Surely, he will be toast? When did the Mail and the Guardian last agree?