The Dominic Cummings file

[Spymaster]

A few more junior ministers, or ideally ministers, resigning could be a real game changer.

They usually only do this when they’ve wanted to go anyway, probably have another job lined up elsewhere and decide to leave with a flounce. Politicians that you’ve hardly ever heard of having a go at making a headline.

 

[frogwoman]

It has an element of plausibility for me. If I've gone from "this appears totally out of order" to "meh, maybe he broke the spirit of the guidance to some extent" then probably a lot of others have as well. I get that there are people angry that they've not been able to visit ill/dying family members and so on, but the wind has been taken out of those sails by the fact that he had no contact with his family up there. Of course, if new evidence appears that he did, then that could change things. The 30 mile trip doesn't seem all that significant to me - lots of people have blatantly been going out for joyrides in their cars throughout this.

Lol his wife wrote an article claiming he was too ill to get out of bed and emerged back into 'london lockdown'. He is so full of shit. He had already scuttled up to Durham by the time his uncle died.

 

[phillm]

Gove also has "driven on occasion to check my eyesight" apparently

Ferrari was openly laughing at him during that interview and then asked him when and he just stuttered and stammered away. Lie is the default mode now.

 

[chilango]

what are you fixated on, that we can do something about?

Mutual aid responses and workers trying to resist being sent into unsafe workplaces.

 

[Spymaster]

It has an element of plausibility for me. If I've gone from "this appears totally out of order" to "meh, maybe he broke the spirit of the guidance to some extent" then probably a lot of others have as well. Last night I spoke to some friends who I expected to be in outrage about the whole thing but they had kind of changed their minds following the statement. I get that there are people angry that they've not been able to visit ill/dying family members and so on, but the wind has been taken out of those sails by the fact that he had no contact with his family up there. Of course, if new evidence appears that he did, then that could change things. The 30 mile trip doesn't seem all that significant to me - lots of people have blatantly been going out for joyrides in their cars throughout this.

I’d agree with this if he hadn’t blatantly lied about it yesterday. Now the story isn’t about what he did or why, but the fact that he’s gone on national telly in a blatant attempt to mug everyone off. That’s what’s going to do for him.

 

[Petcha]

lolz. he'll survive. 4 years or something till an election and a massive majority in the commons thanks to the utter incompetence of the 'opposition'. there's no reason to sack him if you look at it cynically.

 

[killer b]

Mutual aid responses and workers trying to resist being sent into unsafe workplaces.

link us up.

 

[teuchter]

Lol his wife wrote an article claiming he was too ill to get out of bed and emerged back into 'london lockdown'. He is so full of shit. He had already scuttled up to Durham by the time his uncle died.

What article is that?

 

[MickiQ]

The 30 mile trip doesn't seem all that significant to me - lots of people have blatantly been going out for joyrides in their cars throughout this.

Sending aside the WTF?? eyesight thing, The people going for joyrides weren't punished because they weren't caught. Had they been caught then they would have been; They and everyone else know this. Cummings is admitting to breaking the rules but insisting he didn't do anything wrong.

 

[frogwoman]

What article is that?

This one

Getting coronavirus does not bring clarity | The Spectator Australia

I had thought that actually getting the coronavirus would bring clarity — that there would be some satisfaction in meeting the enemy, feeling its spectral hands around my lungs. No such luck.

www.spectator.com.au

 

[chilango]

link us up.

Link you up?

The beauty of this stuff is it's not confined to the internet.

For me, the Thursday evening claps have been important.

Neighbours who previously never spoke to each other are chatting and checking up on each other. Helping each other out. Acting collectively.

That's the seed we need to plant.

Not get carried away with the spectacle.

If/when Cummings goes it won't change a damn thing.

People rediscovering their own power, however gently, will.

 

[two sheds]

I'd like to see a proper timeline of all the things he and his wife have claimed/admitted. I think that might demonstrate the lies, and help with responses to the tory wankers who are still supporting him.

 

[teuchter]

I’d agree with this if he hadn’t blatantly lied about it yesterday. Now the story isn’t about what he did or why, but the fact that he’s gone on national telly in a blatant attempt to mug everyone off. That’s what’s going to do for him.

Lied about what?

 

[Mr.Bishie]

Lied about what?

Not one journo yesterday asked why his wife’s account that she’d published in the Spectator was so very different from his account. Those lies!

 

[maomao]

An actual ministerial resignation. Maybe Boris' army of thick right wing mps don't actually want to be the unsullied to his Daenerys and some of them may even have turned up to work with illusions of representing the people who elected them.
Well I can dream.

 

[teuchter]

Sending aside the WTF?? eyesight thing, The people going for joyrides weren't punished because they weren't caught. Had they been caught then they would have been; They and everyone else know this. Cummings is admitting to breaking the rules but insisting he didn't do anything wrong.

People have been going for joyrides and the police have been making virtually no effort to do anything about it. How many people have been caught and/or punished for going for short rides in their cars? They should have been but the focus has been on park sunbathers and ranting about joggers.

 

[bimble]

Not one journo yesterday asked why his wife’s account that she’d published in the Spectator was so very different from his account. Those lies!

She didn't lie though she just forgot to mention that they had a trip to Durham in between getting sick and 'emerging' into London. Same way that both the prime minister and DC forgot the conversation they'd had about that trip. All perfectly understandable.

 

[Petcha]

It's up there with the Woking Pizza Express line really. Sheer brilliance. His career will be defined by it.

 

[Lord Camomile]

lolz. he'll survive. 4 years or something till an election and a massive majority in the commons thanks to the utter incompetence of the 'opposition'. there's no reason to sack him if you look at it cynically.

This is the really weird thing. Either his wife couldn't drive, in which case why take her (which also necessitates bringing his kid), or she can drive in which case why isn't she driving back to London?? And, also, why not just wait until you were sure your eyesight was ok??

Am I right in understanding this was the day of his wife's birthday? Would have been nice for one of the journos to point that out, just to make him at least give us the ol' "oh, that's just a coincidence" bullshit.

 

[Mr.Bishie]

People have been going for joyrides and the police have been making virtually no effort to do anything about it. How many people have been caught and/or punished for going for short rides in their cars? They should have been but the focus has been on park sunbathers and ranting about joggers.

Sussex plod have certainly been very busy!

“Sussex Police has revealed how many fines have been issued to members of the public for flouting the rules of lockdown. Between Friday, March 27, and Monday, May 11 – roughly the first eight weeks of lockdown – police issued a total of 655 fines to people breaching the rules.18 May 2020”

 

[phillm]

I'd like to see a proper timeline of all the things he and his wife have claimed/admitted. I think that might demonstrate the lies, and help with responses to the tory wankers who are still supporting him.

Starmer is constructing a most beautiful one as we speak...but to no avail as the uber-deflector Johnson will be that people need to make up their own minds line. Repeatedly for an hour - whilst touting the latest fag-packet corona wheeze dreamt up by coked-up schoolboys and gels gorging on big data.

 

[maomao]

Not one journo yesterday asked why his wife’s account that she’d published in the Spectator was so very different from his account. Those lies!

I'd imagine they all routinely make stuff up in articles about themselves too. She's not a member or employee of the government and the Spectator article doesn't mean anything.

 

[teuchter]

This one

Getting coronavirus does not bring clarity | The Spectator Australia

I had thought that actually getting the coronavirus would bring clarity — that there would be some satisfaction in meeting the enemy, feeling its spectral hands around my lungs. No such luck.

www.spectator.com.au

Ok - I don't see what the problem is with the bit about emerging into london lockdown.

But it does imply that she already thought she had covid at the point where they drove north, which is a problem.

 

[Petcha]

This is the really weird thing. Either his wife couldn't drive, in which case why take her (which also necessitates bringing his kid), or she can drive in which case why isn't she driving back to London?? And, also, why not just wait until you were sure your eyesight was ok??

Am I right in understanding this was the day of his wife's birthday? Would have been nice for one of the journos to point that out, just to make him at least give us the ol' "oh, that's just a coincidence" bullshit.

As I understand it, yeh it was...

Gove says it's 'irrelevant' that Cummings' country drive was on wife's birthday

Mr Gove, a long-time ally of Mr Cummings, said he couldn't see the relevance of the journey taking place on his wife's birthday - or on Easter Sunday, for that matter

www.mirror.co.uk

 

[Lord Camomile]

I'd like to see a proper timeline of all the things he and his wife have claimed/admitted. I think that might demonstrate the lies, and help with responses to the tory wankers who are still supporting him.

Yeah, this would be mighty handy. Keep idly thinking about drawing up a rough one, but then... well, not bothering

She didn't lie though she just forgot to mention that they had a trip to Durham in between getting sick and 'emerging' into London. Same way that both the prime minister and DC forgot the conversation they'd had about that trip. All perfectly understandable.

There's also the line that he was "doggo" (?? - is this "sick as a dog", or something?) and in bed for 10 days. I guess they'd argue he was in bed for 10 days after they drove up to Durham.

 

[frogwoman]

Ok - I don't see what the problem is with the bit about emerging into london lockdown.

But it does imply that she already thought she had covid at the point where they drove north, which is a problem.

How is she emerging into london lockdown when they drove back from Durham?

 

[Lord Camomile]

As I understand it, yeh it was...

Gove says it's 'irrelevant' that Cummings' country drive was on wife's birthday

Mr Gove, a long-time ally of Mr Cummings, said he couldn't see the relevance of the journey taking place on his wife's birthday - or on Easter Sunday, for that matter

www.mirror.co.uk

Good ol' Gove...

 

[killer b]

Link you up?

The beauty of this stuff is it's not confined to the internet.

For me, the Thursday evening claps have been important.

Neighbours who previously never spoke to each other are chatting and checking up on each other. Helping each other out. Acting collectively.

That's the seed we need to plant.

Not get carried away with the spectacle.

If/when Cummings goes it won't change a damn thing.

People rediscovering their own power, however gently, will.

Oh, ok. I'm a member of my local mutual support group, zero going on. Maybe a couple of requests for help a week which are quickly picked up by people desperate to do something useful, but nothing beyond that, and no real opportunity for communication with the group beyond that as it's an email list (I've dropped a cake off at the guy who's running the list's house and chatted to him on the doorstep a couple of times though).

Don't see much of the neighbours and they mostly don't want to chat when I do.

The pompous moralising that periodically crops up on here that we should be doing something more constructive with our time is pretty irritating tbh.

 

[mauvais]

Same here. Our mutual aid thing is a FB group with loads of members but nothing going on.

 

[teuchter]

How is she emerging into london lockdown when they drove back from Durham?

You finish your durham quarantine, then you drive back, then you re-emerge because by then you are in London. You choose not to mention that you have been in Durham but why would you? There is a slightly complicated thing about public messaging where it makes sense not to advertise that you have been doing stuff that you consider to have been within your interpretation of the rules, but which it would not be helpful if everyone decided they could do it in a looser definition of 'exceptional circumstances'. I know that is to some extent 'one rule for us' but it's also the reality of how public health messaging works.