Craven favouritism in government

So, M Burbidge thinks that the Prime Minister is to be admired for sticking by his beleaguered employee Dominic Cummings? I too find it outstanding, given the way in which Mr Cummings so blatantly and publicly disobeyed and betrayed him. Am I part of an “organised uproar,” as M Burbidge calls it? No. Along with tens of thousands of others up and down the land, I protested to my local MP all by my little old self.

On 23rd March the Government rules for lockdown told us in writing that we must stay at home, and that we should:-“only leave home if (we) really need to for one of these reasons: • Shopping for things you must have, like food or medicine • For health appointments that cannot be done over the phone • To go to work, but only if there is no way you can do your work from home • To care for a vulnerable person • To do exercise once a day, like going for a walk alone or with someone you live with.”

Night after night, the PM himself, the Health Secretary, and Foreign Secretary appeared on our TV screens, repeating exactly the same phrase, “Stay at home!” The only variation was, “This is not advice. It is an instruction. Stay at home!”

We were further told that “home” meant our “primary home” We must not go and self isolate in other parts of the country, in order to avoid taking Covid-19 with us.

The Prime Minister’s special adviser himself told us that he did indeed leave his primary home and drive 240 miles north to another part of the country to self isolate - because he was afraid that he and his wife might succumb to the virus and they would need child care. That is not one of the 5 authorised reasons.

Six weeks later, the Prime Minister expressly approved Mr Cummings conduct by retrospectively inventing a 6th unauthorised reason - “obeying the natural instincts of a concerned parent.” Countless other parents in this country have been penalised for doing the same kind of thing as Mr Cummings. Many senior people in other administrations have gone within 24 hours of being found to have defied the regulations far less than Mr Cummings did. The last was Labour Whip Rosie Duffield just a week ago.

That is not loyalty to an employee by an employer - it is craven favouritism. Leaders who show that kind of favouritism while making the rest of us lesser mortals toe the line lose the trust and co-operation of the people. As long as the Prime Minister continues to fight tooth and nail to prevent his friend suffering the consequences of his actions, then as the government tries to lay down the next set of rules for coming out of lockdown, those rules will be ignored by huge swathes of the population. In consequence we will suffer a second wave of the virus possibly greater than the first wave.

Yes, I do loathe the fact that Dominic Cummings won the Brexit referendum for Boris, plus the leadership of the Conservative party, plus the last election, but what disgusts and terrifies me is that Boris has sold his soul (such as it was) and this country to his Mephistopheles in exchange for those tawdry glories, and is now completely out of his depth and unable to function without him.

Why am I angry and terrified?

Because it is not Boris or his Mephistophiles who will pay the price in sickness and death. It is the people of this country.

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