While the public health crisis is much more important than this political pantomime, the pantomime is more entertaining. So I watched quite a lot of news yesterday. For much of the day the commentary seemed to be leaning towards Cummings being effed. Then, about an hour or so before Johnson rolled out, it started to shift to talk of wiggle room and of official qualifications to the rules/guidance (Government websites related to the crisis seem to use both terms pretty much interchangeably). So, I guessed he was going to give a moderately detailed timeline and explain that DC had adhered to the letter of the rules/guidance, as he interpreted them. I’m surprised he didn’t - unless there is a hole in that story. I can only think that they felt that would make the government advice look too pick and mix (although BJ’s performance failed to mitigate that, imo) or they decided to take a ‘never explain, never apologise’ stance - but I think that only works if you’re not already on the back foot.

Were Mrs Cummings symptoms ever made public and did she actually have the virus ?
Either way, they have gone against all of the Governments own advice and decided that their best defence is to hide behind a four year old.

Every other family in this situation has had to try and divide their house (main residence) into 2 parts and isolate those with symptoms to a bedroom. Leaving food at the door etc.

This guy really does believe that he is in charge of the country - Cummings (Not Johnson) and we now know who is running the show.

Contempt of the highest order and due to his actions, pretty much everyone will be pleasing themselves just a little more than they did a week ago and who could blame them.

Sums the Tories up really well - selfish beyond comparison.

All in it together my

I take it 'bringing the nation together' has been put on hold?

We knew this shower were going to be bad, but not this bad.

I cant quite decide which was worse, Cummings breaking every one of his own rules or, Boris defending the indefensible ?

To play devil’s advocate, a little, there were always going to be situations in which people had to make judgements and balance risks. Our neighbour has technically been breaking lockdown to continue visiting an elderly, infirm and somewhat senile relative each day. The relative is still capable of living semi-independently (and now doesn’t feel like an ideal time to go into a care home), but is housebound and cannot be relied on to take her medication by herself. Balancing the risks, that seems reasonable to me.

I can sort of see where DC is coming from. However, there are a couple of differences. He and his wife knew they were carrying the virus - which is both a justification for seeking help and a pretty compelling reason for not travelling across the country. If they stayed in a car for the whole journey, and then isolated as has been described I’m sort of okay with that. If they stopped at shops or services, that’d represent a fairly major error of judgement imo. If not, it maybe just looks bad rather than being bad. And that has now been compounded by what looks like an attempt to brazen it out and contempt for public opinion.

Did his wife not post that he was bed bound for 10 days due to the virus, when did this happen in the timeline.

Quote ="Scarlet Pimpernell"Did his wife not post that he was bed bound for 10 days due to the virus, when did this happen in the timeline.'" Presumably in the middle, after arriving at the place near Durham? Off topic, but did anybody else find his combining his call for ‘weirdos and misfits with odd skills’ with: ‘I’ll bin you within weeks if you don’t fit’... well, weird and odd? Isn’t not fitting part of being a misfit by definition? https://dominiccummings.com/2020/01/02/ ... d-weirdos/ It reads like he wants maverick free-thinkers who will be pliable, toe the line and do what’s expected of them (by him).

Quote ="Scarlet Pimpernell"Did his wife not post that he was bed bound for 10 days due to the virus, when did this happen in the timeline.'" Presumably in the middle, after arriving at the place near Durham? Off topic, but did anybody else find his combining his call for ‘weirdos and misfits with odd skills’ with: ‘I’ll bin you within weeks if you don’t fit’... well, weird and odd? Isn’t not fitting part of being a misfit by definition? https://dominiccummings.com/2020/01/02/ ... d-weirdos/ It reads like he wants maverick free-thinkers who will be pliable, toe the line and do what’s expected of them (by him).

Did he and his wife know they were carrying the virus.
I think the official party line is that "she" had symptoms - not tonight Dom, I've got a headache - so off they went to Durham.

When you consider what others have had to go through - I have a pal who's wife, a nurse, displaying symptoms, was confined to the spare room for a week yet, Cummings thought his best option wat to sod off to Durham.
Let's get real -if a bloke in his position cant get all the help required while self isolating, there really is no hope for the rest of the population.
I fully accept that any parent would break any rule to protect their child and it would be interesting to know exactly where the kid spent his 2 weeks in Durham and who with but, Cummings pleased himself, pretty much as you'd expect.
This guy is running the show and on the political side, will have enough dirt on Boris to see him fall - you can just imagine how their chat went yesterday morning ??

Good to see one person not suffering from Cummings rabies, unlike some of the - shall we say - less sophisticated thinkers on here.

I have some sympathy. If my wife and I had symptoms the only person who could care for our daughter would be my cousin. That would require me to travel, and I wouldn't wait given the speed CV19 can hit. Is that so bad? There is certainly leeway in the rules for childcare and safeguarding. Yes, it looks bad but this overreaction is completely out of all perspective and has turned from a serious reaction to a wildly hysterical and very distasteful witch-hunt, absolutely motivated by the fact Cummings is the architect of Brexit and Boris's right-hand man.

Interesting, not a peep on here against the like of Stephen Kinnock, Robert Jenrick, Catherine Calderwood, Neil Ferguson, Kyle Walker and others - including a particularly reprehensible member of this forum - for breaking lockdown rules. I have some sympathy with Kinnock and Jenrick - IF their accounts of taking food and medicine to elderly parents are true. The rest take the p.ss.

Whatever he's done, the absolute scum harassing and screaming abuse at him outside his family home deserve a few nightsticks around the head. Islington luvvies and rent-a-mob hyenas, the usual left-wing lynch-mob. Despicable. I include the swarming media pap rats in that.

His statement later will be interesting. Dramatic "fck you" resignation, or something else?

That was my first thought, but Sky are suggesting they’re not expecting a resignation - for what that is worth.

That’d leave ‘sorry’ or the detailed rebuttal that Johnson wasn’t able to deliver yesterday.

Really cant see him resigning it think he will, as the "yoof" put it, be "styling it out".
I think this will be his last and perhaps only chance of survival.

IF he can convince people that he had a genuine case for travelling to his parents and there were no other options, especially closer to home, then he may hang on but, if his response doesn't make this go away, then he simply has to resign (or be sacked).
Should be interesting to see whether he goes for answering questions or, whether he goes for mumbling nonsense, like his employer did yesterday.

As for not being liked, the old adage about treating people well on the way up springs to mind.
This guy has ridden rough shod ove all sorts of "his own" people to get where he wants and there is a long, long queue waiting to stick the boot in.

If he and his wife had such symptoms, should he really have made a 4/5 hour trip up the A1 and was there really no trustworthy help any nearer to his home residence ?

I believe his wife’s sister and brother in law lived nearby, but I suppose they make not like him either.

I think he'll say it couldn't possibly have been him in Durham as he was actually at Pizza Hut, Woking.

I love how Dom is a self-styled destroyer of the elites, yet his family live on an estate. Another elite in working class clothing.

Quote ="King Street Cat"I love how Dom is a self-styled destroyer of the elites, yet his family live on an estate. Another elite in working class clothing.'" This is where his in-laws live. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chillingham_Castle

Quote ="King Street Cat"I love how Dom is a self-styled destroyer of the elites, yet his family live on an estate. Another elite in working class clothing.'" This is where his in-laws live. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chillingham_Castle

True 'man of the people'.

The ‘optics’ are crap, but tbh the only bit that sounds really ropey to me (assuming it is all true) is the trip to the hospital.

Getting more cringeworthy the more it drags on!


His eyesight was 'weird' so he went for an hours test drive.

Quote ="Mild Rover"This is where his in-laws live. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chillingham_Castle'" Yes but didnt he say he stayed in an austere outbuilding with no running water? Should have took a megaphone up with him. It'd saved all that shouting across to his/her parents at a safe distance. So, he didnt have to make any physical contact with his 17 or 20 year old nieces handing the bambino over because his Mrs made a miraculous recovery? Am I getting this right?

Quote ="Mild Rover"This is where his in-laws live. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chillingham_Castle'" Yes but didnt he say he stayed in an austere outbuilding with no running water? Should have took a megaphone up with him. It'd saved all that shouting across to his/her parents at a safe distance. So, he didnt have to make any physical contact with his 17 or 20 year old nieces handing the bambino over because his Mrs made a miraculous recovery? Am I getting this right?

With his wife and kid.

He couldnt have had any confidence in the doctor who gave him the all-clear to drive back.
Bloody kids in cars always wanting a pee.
At least it was nice setting by the river for him to have a leak.

So concerned was he about his child, he took him on a test drive while checking if his eyesight was up to driving safely.

He didnt inform his boss as he was on a respirator fighting for his life........
50/50 apparently.
Even our own Flashman had him dead and buried.

His father built oil rigs and his mother was a special needs teacher... Hardly landed gentry. Surprised nobody has mentioned his mother's very worthy occupation... On second thoughts no, I'm not. Doesn't fit your agendas does it?

You had to laugh when he turned the blame on the media. Would that be the same media in which his wife works? The same media in which his wife published a fake account of their 'ordeal' in the Spectator Magazine? https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/get ... ng-clarity

You had to laugh when he turned the blame on the media. Would that be the same media in which his wife works? The same media in which his wife published a fake account of their 'ordeal' in the Spectator Magazine? https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/get ... ng-clarity