Will Cummings go?

[Machiavelli]

Financial Times Editorial yesterday (not in full):

The foundation of this UK government is a bunker of close allies surrounded by a lightweight, supine and largely ineffectual cabinet chosen mainly for their commitment to Brexit or their loyalty to Mr Johnson in last year’s Conservative party leadership contest. With the possible exception of Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, and Michael Gove, the cabinet office minister, few show the gravity demanded of a secretary of state. More heavyweight conservatives are meanwhile banished to the back benches.

They have their analysis spot on there. It's only Sunak and Gove that have demonstrated any intellect. Gove gets rolled out in situations such as this when things get really desperate, or a case needs to be made, because he's the Cabinet's most skilled, detailed and effective communicator, but the extent to which he's aligned with the Johnson/Cummings/Brexit project and takeover of the Tory Party is blindingly obvious. Most agree that, so far, Sunak has got things right, and he's also shown himself to be a lithe, skilled communicator. His problem -- or opportunity -- will come when he formulates policies to extract us from lockdown and depression. I suspect that the depth of the problems are too stark, and that he'll probably get unfairly blamed, but that's politics unfortunately. The Tories have gone relentlessly after Brown for 'crashing the economy', and chickens will no doubt be coming home to roost for a decade of that particular mantra.

 

[Stat Brother]

They have their analysis spot on there. It's only Sunak and Gove that have demonstrated any intellect. Gove gets rolled out in situations such as this when things get really desperate, or a case needs to be made, because he's the Cabinet's most skilled, detailed and effective communicator, but the extent to which he's aligned with the Johnson/Cummings/Brexit project and takeover of the Tory Party is blindingly obvious. Most agree that, so far, Sunak has got things right, and he's also shown himself to be a lithe, skilled communicator. His problem -- or opportunity -- will come when he formulates policies to extract us from lockdown and depression. I suspect that the depth of the problems are too stark, and that he'll probably get unfairly blamed, but that's politics unfortunately. The Tories have gone relentlessly after Brown for 'crashing the economy', and chickens will no doubt be coming home to roost for a decade of that particular mantra.

Are you absolutely sure:-

[tweet]1265238184423718912[/tweet]

 

[WATFORD zero]

Makes you wonder if this was the cause of the 35 minute delay before Cummings spoke.

I thought it was to take out all the references to Durham Police from his statement after they confirmed at 4.01 that they had spoken to his Father.

 

[Grombleton]

Financial Times Editorial yesterday (not in full):

The foundation of this UK government is a bunker of close allies surrounded by a lightweight, supine and largely ineffectual cabinet chosen mainly for their commitment to Brexit or their loyalty to Mr Johnson in last year’s Conservative party leadership contest. With the possible exception of Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, and Michael Gove, the cabinet office minister, few show the gravity demanded of a secretary of state. More heavyweight conservatives are meanwhile banished to the back benches.

To me, Gove is one of the more dangerous people in the cabinet - not beyond lying through his teeth on TV, or coming out with frankly embarrassing comments (his latest LBC chat being a prime example). But his track record of being a Weapons Grade Snake just makes me uncomfortable.

Plus, he looks like his face is made of melting plasticine.

 

[Wozza]

They have their analysis spot on there. It's only Sunak and Gove that have demonstrated any intellect. Gove gets rolled out in situations such as this when things get really desperate, or a case needs to be made, because he's the Cabinet's most skilled, detailed and effective communicator...

https://twitter.com/nickmurftweets/status/1265547788160507906?s=20

[tweet]1265547788160507906[/tweet]

 

[WATFORD zero]

My personal probably rubbish theory is they have possibly suffered from something else. The key being his son was released from hospital (after an overnight stay) after taking a test.Cummings didn't state clearly whether it was negative or not, but said he was released "home" the next day.

He was sent there with similar symptoms (according to Cummings) stayed overnight and was released.

Cummings stated he hasn't taken a test, but we don't know about his wife.

Is it a possibility that they thought they had it (or were going to get it) but it turns out the mass panic was for nothing ? They feel a bit silly and tried to cover the whole episode up.

That's the reason for the odd ramble at the start about advisors not being tested that week, the implication being he was unable to get one.

Based on the fact that none of the family have, at any point, tested positive for Covid, which I believe he said in his press conference, my theory is a little simpler.

He took advantage of the 'break' at Westminster to shoot up and see his parents for a bit of a jolly (for his wife's birthday) and his wife writes a cover piece for the Spectator. Nice and simple. 2 Problems then turn up.

1. Son falls ill and has to spend the night in local hospital (I remember one of mine doing exactly the same at that age in Southampton hospital while were in New Forest). He stays in car, wife takes son in and out, no one sees him, Excellent.

2. Durham Police turn up and talk to his Father. Problem, but let's deny it.

When Durham police went public, the whole story had to change, particularly knowing that his son will be registered as having been at local hospital. So Project cover-up begins and we have all seen the various stages and lies on lies played out. (He couldn't even resist adding completely new lies in front of the cameras, the press and the public, about a blog he wrote).

The thing that really worries me is if these are the same bunch of incompetents that our Government put together to come up with that load of shit as they used for Covid, then what else are we going to uncover

 

[WATFORD zero]

Are you absolutely sure:-

[tweet]1265238184423718912[/tweet]

It's really come to something when even a senior minister can't keep a straight face at the absurdity of the explanation

 

[Acker79]

A twitter thread summarising things so far:

https://twitter.com/RussInCheshire/status/1265449109449777160

 

[kevo]

This is brilliant

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

Why don't they ever learn that the cover up is almost always worse than the 'crime' ?

 

[GT49er]

https://twitter.com/nickmurftweets/status/1265547788160507906?s=20

[tweet]1265547788160507906[/tweet]

Effective communicator? Don't know about that, but he's certainly a snake, and back-stabbing is his favourite hobby. He's stabbed Boris in the back once, and he'll do it again - which would be fine by me, except that he'll only do it to make himself PM, which IMHO would be even worse than having Boris as PM.

 

[darkwolf666]

My personal probably rubbish theory is they have possibly suffered from something else. The key being his son was released from hospital (after an overnight stay) after taking a test.Cummings didn't state clearly whether it was negative or not, but said he was released "home" the next day.

He was sent there with similar symptoms (according to Cummings) stayed overnight and was released.

Cummings stated he hasn't taken a test, but we don't know about his wife.

Is it a possibility that they thought they had it (or were going to get it) but it turns out the mass panic was for nothing ? They feel a bit silly and tried to cover the whole episode up.

That's the reason for the odd ramble at the start about advisors not being tested that week, the implication being he was unable to get one.

Or alternatively, he is a liar who thought he wouldn't get caught, did and now will say anything to save his skin, other than "I'm sorry" or "I resign"!

 

[Lincoln Imp]

The reason people are incensed is because he is taking the piss out of us, treating us with contempt. They think we are idiots.

The fact that they seem to think they can just move on is even more galling.

In fairness to Dominic Cummings, he does have some fairly strong evidence that he can take the piss out of the British people, lie to them, regard them as idiots and then get away with it. It's worked for him before. And for Johnson.

 

[Deportivo Seagull]

Effective communicator? Don't know about that, but he's certainly a snake, and back-stabbing is his favourite hobby. He's stabbed Boris in the back once, and he'll do it again - which would be fine by me, except that he'll only do it to make himself PM, which IMHO would be even worse than having Boris as PM.

Gove will always be the nearly man as he is universally despised by all. He just doesn’t know it.


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[Stat Brother]

It's really come to something when even a senior minister can't keep a straight face at the absurdity of the explanation

Laughing at us, not with us.

 

[WATFORD zero]

A twitter thread summarising things so far:

https://twitter.com/RussInCheshire/status/1265449109449777160

Well worth the hassle of copying and pasting

1. Dominic Cummings, one of the few men to have ever been found in contempt of Parliament, moved onto contempt for everything
2. When the story broke, and he was accused of doing things that look bad, he said he didn't care how things looked
3. Then ministers said press outrage meant nothing, only the opinion of the people mattered
4. Then polls showed 52% of people wanted Cummings to resign
5. So Cummings decided to show the public some respect, by turning up 30 minutes late to make his explanation

6. He began by saying he wasn't speaking for the govt, which must be why he was in the Rose Garden of 10 Downing Street
7. Then the self-styled "enemy of the Islington media elite" said his wife, who works in the media, had been ill in their house in Islington
8. But she was only a bit ill, so he popped home, got himself nice and infected, then went back to Downing Street for meetings with lots of vitally important people in the middle of a national crisis
9. But then he got ill too, so then it was suddenly important
10. Sadly he couldn't get childcare in London, even though 3 immediate relatives live within 3 miles of his London home

11. So because he was carrying a virus that can cross a 2 metre distance and kill, he immediately locked himself in a car with his wife and child for 5 hours
12. He then drove 264 miles without stopping in a Land Rover that gets maybe 25 MPG
13. Then the scourge of the metropolitan elites made himself extra-relatable by describing his family's sprawling country estate, multiple houses and idyllic woodlands
14. He explained that he'd warned about a coronavirus years ago in his blog
15. Then it was revealed he actually secretly amended old blogs after he'd returned from Durham

16. And anyway, if he'd warned years ago, why was he so massively unprepared and slow to react?
17. Then he said he was too ill to move for a week
18. But in the middle of that week, presumably with "wonky eyes", he drove his child to hospital
19. Then he said that to test his "wonky eyes" he put his wife and child in a car and drove 30 miles on public roads
20. Then it was revealed his wife drives, so there was no reason for the "eye test", cos she could have driven them back to London

21. Then it was revealed the "eye test" trip to a local tourist spot took place on his wife's birthday
22. Then cameras filmed as he threw a cup onto the table, smirked and left
23. And then it emerged his wife had written an article during the time in Dunham, describing their experience of being in lockdown in London, which you'd definitely do if you weren't hiding anything
24. A govt scientific advisor said "more people will die" as a result of what Cummings had done.
25. Boris Johnson said he "wouldn't mark Cummings " down for what he'd done.

26. The Attorney General said it was ok to break the law if you were acting on instinct
27. The Health Minister said it was OK to endanger public health if you meant well
28. Johnson said Cummings' "story rings true" because his own eyesight was fine before coronavirus, but now he needs glasses
29. But in an interview with The Telegraph 5 years ago, Johnson said he needed glasses cos he was "blind as a bat"
30. Michael Gove went on TV and said it was "wise" to drive 30 miles on public roads with your family in the car to test your eyesight

31. The DVLA tweeted that you should never, ever do this
32. Then ministers started claiming Cummings had to go to Durham because he feared crowds attacking his home. The streets were empty because we were observing the lockdown.
33. And then a minister finally resigned
34. Steve Baker, Richard Littlejohn, Isabel Oakeshott, Tim Montgomerie, Jan Moir, Ian Dale, Julia Hartley Brewer, 30 Tory MPs, half a dozen bishops and the actual Daily Mail said Cummings should go
35. The govt suggested we can ignore them, because they're all left-wingers

36. Then a vicar asked Matt Hancock if other people who had been fined for doing exactly what Cummings did would get their fine dropped. Matt Hancock said he'd suggest it to the govt
37. The govt said no within an hour. Cummings' statement had lasted longer than that
38. And if the guidelines were so clear, why were people being stopped and fined for driving to find childcare in the first place?
39. Then a new poll found people who wanted Cummings sacked had risen from 52% to 57%
40. And in the middle of all this, in case we take our eye off it: we reached 60,000 deaths. One of the highest per capita death rates worldwide.

 

[Deportivo Seagull]

To me, Gove is one of the more dangerous people in the cabinet - not beyond lying through his teeth on TV, or coming out with frankly embarrassing comments (his latest LBC chat being a prime example). But his track record of being a Weapons Grade Snake just makes me uncomfortable.

Plus, he looks like his face is made of melting plasticine.

I loath the man. I am doing him a disservice but every time I see him I think of a Josef Goebles.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Dorset Seagull]

Haven't read everything on this topic but has any reporter actually asked him why his wife couldn't drive down instead?

 

[daveinplzen]

Well worth the hassle of copying and pasting

1. Dominic Cummings, one of the few men to have ever been found in contempt of Parliament, moved onto contempt for everything
2. When the story broke, and he was accused of doing things that look bad, he said he didn't care how things looked
3. Then ministers said press outrage meant nothing, only the opinion of the people mattered
4. Then polls showed 52% of people wanted Cummings to resign
5. So Cummings decided to show the public some respect, by turning up 30 minutes late to make his explanation

6. He began by saying he wasn't speaking for the govt, which must be why he was in the Rose Garden of 10 Downing Street
7. Then the self-styled "enemy of the Islington media elite" said his wife, who works in the media, had been ill in their house in Islington
8. But she was only a bit ill, so he popped home, got himself nice and infected, then went back to Downing Street for meetings with lots of vitally important people in the middle of a national crisis
9. But then he got ill too, so then it was suddenly important
10. Sadly he couldn't get childcare in London, even though 3 immediate relatives live within 3 miles of his London home

11. So because he was carrying a virus that can cross a 2 metre distance and kill, he immediately locked himself in a car with his wife and child for 5 hours
12. He then drove 264 miles without stopping in a Land Rover that gets maybe 25 MPG
13. Then the scourge of the metropolitan elites made himself extra-relatable by describing his family's sprawling country estate, multiple houses and idyllic woodlands
14. He explained that he'd warned about a coronavirus years ago in his blog
15. Then it was revealed he actually secretly amended old blogs after he'd returned from Durham

16. And anyway, if he'd warned years ago, why was he so massively unprepared and slow to react?
17. Then he said he was too ill to move for a week
18. But in the middle of that week, presumably with "wonky eyes", he drove his child to hospital
19. Then he said that to test his "wonky eyes" he put his wife and child in a car and drove 30 miles on public roads
20. Then it was revealed his wife drives, so there was no reason for the "eye test", cos she could have driven them back to London

21. Then it was revealed the "eye test" trip to a local tourist spot took place on his wife's birthday
22. Then cameras filmed as he threw a cup onto the table, smirked and left
23. And then it emerged his wife had written an article during the time in Dunham, describing their experience of being in lockdown in London, which you'd definitely do if you weren't hiding anything
24. A govt scientific advisor said "more people will die" as a result of what Cummings had done.
25. Boris Johnson said he "wouldn't mark Cummings " down for what he'd done.

26. The Attorney General said it was ok to break the law if you were acting on instinct
27. The Health Minister said it was OK to endanger public health if you meant well
28. Johnson said Cummings' "story rings true" because his own eyesight was fine before coronavirus, but now he needs glasses
29. But in an interview with The Telegraph 5 years ago, Johnson said he needed glasses cos he was "blind as a bat"
30. Michael Gove went on TV and said it was "wise" to drive 30 miles on public roads with your family in the car to test your eyesight

31. The DVLA tweeted that you should never, ever do this
32. Then ministers started claiming Cummings had to go to Durham because he feared crowds attacking his home. The streets were empty because we were observing the lockdown.
33. And then a minister finally resigned
34. Steve Baker, Richard Littlejohn, Isabel Oakeshott, Tim Montgomerie, Jan Moir, Ian Dale, Julia Hartley Brewer, 30 Tory MPs, half a dozen bishops and the actual Daily Mail said Cummings should go
35. The govt suggested we can ignore them, because they're all left-wingers

36. Then a vicar asked Matt Hancock if other people who had been fined for doing exactly what Cummings did would get their fine dropped. Matt Hancock said he'd suggest it to the govt
37. The govt said no within an hour. Cummings' statement had lasted longer than that
38. And if the guidelines were so clear, why were people being stopped and fined for driving to find childcare in the first place?
39. Then a new poll found people who wanted Cummings sacked had risen from 52% to 57%
40. And in the middle of all this, in case we take our eye off it: we reached 60,000 deaths. One of the highest per capita death rates worldwide.

………..

 

[WATFORD zero]

Haven't read everything on this topic but has any reporter actually asked him why his wife couldn't drive down instead?

I really don't know as I haven't seen that question asked and, as far as I know, the rose garden was the only place any questions were asked and answered by Dominic Cummings, and it certainly wasn't asked there.

But, if she had a bad foot and couldn't drive, would that make all the other lies true

It's just such a shame really that Dominic and his family couldn't get tested as quickly as every other minister and senior civil servant were getting at that time. I believe they were taking under 24 hrs from mild symptoms to actual result of test. If only we knew the reason why he couldn't have got the same test as everyone else in power, it could have saved him getting into this awful messy situation could't it