And to think I was genuinely conflicted about exercising for longer than an hour!

I think that’s what we’re all thinking variations on this, right now.

Like most people I’ve not seen my parents for nearly two months. Mrs Binners mum is in the hospital with a fractured hip after a fall last week. Neither she or her dad can go and visit her which is causing a lot of upset for everyone

And Dominic Cummings thinks he can do what he likes, can he?

Apparently so.

What makes me feel particularly murderous towards him is the arrogant manner in which he dismisses it, as if nobody should dare have the audacity to question anything he does.

Line them up against a wall, shoot the lot of them. We could kickstart the economy by selling tickets as pay per view event. I’ll chuck in £50 to see it, I’ll pay £5k to participate.

Anyone else?

Right now, I’d quite happily go full Tarantino on him with a blowtorch and a pair of pliers

The Labour Health Ministers’ decision to sit in a park eating chips was not

Jesus wept.

The state of this.

My kids haven’t seen any grandparents this year. Zoom and FaceTime only. We’re only the “little people” though. Different rules for some. Still… Cummings will have people ranting about the “elites”, and using that when getting us falling in behind the common folk like Johnson and Mogg before you know it…

And now I really want chip shop chips again…

I don’t have anything to add to what’s already been said, but this has made me more angry than all the other cock ups from this government. I’m speechless

WWSTW do – Cummings in an elevator

Cummings went to Durham school, from their website;

Our unofficial motto at Durham School is ‘Confidence for Life’. We believe this confidence grows from having a clear set of guiding principles: – Moral Integrity, Ambition, Respect and Kindness.

I think he missed that lesson…

The spectator has gone in hard Spectator

The reason they can’t lose Cummings is twofold

Johnson is a walking policy vacuum, he’s barely coping with a weekly PMQs session , without Cummings to the his shoes he’d be stuffed.

the other problem is that the minute Cummings goes, the next question Johnson is asked is when he knew & why he didn’t sack him sooner & Johnson has no plausible excuse, Starmer will mail him on it.

The cabinet & the rest of his MPs all know this, Johnson & Cummings were ill for 2 weeks & the government were paralysed with indecision

It wouldn’t bring down the government or even Johnson immediately, but it would be a serious blow

With brexit talk collapse.just weeks away & attempts to reopen country already looking desperately behind schedule

WWSTW do – Cummings in an elevator

A tad messy but ultimately fair. Personally a 9mm to the back of the head – I’d not waste that much energy.

Looking at the mood on here, beginning to think that this is one of of those occasions where the government has totally misread the public’s strength of opinion.

Suspect it will linger, even if Dom doesn’t go.

Won’t play well in the marginals where the ‘them and us’ perception of the Tories was briefly overlooked in December.

Maybe a bit of an Iraq moment for the Tories…

Linked to my post above…

Also find it amusing to think of the situation where Dom’s mega-pollsters and analysts have to report back to him that the appalling opinion polls in marginals and key demographics are a result of the person instigating those very polls 😉

Also from the Spectator, a contradiction perhaps…?

The spectator has gone in hard Spectator

That’s actually quite a well articulated piece.

And the Spectator… Wow.

Looking at the mood on here, beginning to think that this is one of of those occasions where the government has totally misread the public’s strength of opinion.

Out of curiosity, I read the comments in The Sun earlier (who initially pushed the story out of sight). It was not going down well even there. People are furious and rightly so.

mehr – thanks for link to Spectator article – that is quite something!

@mehr Which is interesting, as Cummings’ wife is the commissioning editor.

The suspicion remains that somewhere, deep in their hearts, the cabinet’s collective reaction to this scandal – for such it is – is predicated on a still darker appreciation of an unwelcome political reality. Namely that the Prime Minister, whatever his other talents, is not actually up to the job of running the country in a moment such as this. I suspect they know this too and this leads them to a situation in which they decline to concede anything for fear that a single concession might topple the entire rickety edifice.

😮

The reason they can’t lose Cummings is twofold

Johnson is a walking policy vacuum, he’s barely coping with a weekly PMQs session , without Cummings to the his shoes he’d be stuffed.

This. Asking Boris to sack DC is like asking Emu to sack Rod Hull.

It might linger on a bit, there’ll be some distraction politics but in many respects this might just work out OK for the Government. Asking things about death rates in care homes, lack of PPE for NHS staff, why lockdown was late in coming and any of the other numerous ways the Government have **** this up right from the start has now been replaced by
“will you ask DC to resign?” (No)
“will DC be fired?” (No)
and similar questions. It’s bought them soem breathing space from the rest of the lorry crash that’s summed up everything so far by pointing out the car crash happening a junction up the motorway.

My MP is that utter, utter cock rees-mogg, I wonder what response he would give if I email him?
Posted 1 hour ago

From the look of him, auto reply telling you to send any correspondence on parchment, written by quill, sealed with wax and delivered by your valet. Nanny will read it to him during bath time.

The next PMQs are certainly going to be interesting.

Suspect it will linger, even if Dom doesn’t go.

I hope he doesn’t. He’s become the symbol of everything that’s wrong with this arrogant and incompetent government. The longer he’s around the more they’ll be damanged. It’s a simple equation that he’s not immune to though, and he’ll be gone the moment the balance tips from being an asset to a liability.

As Kryton pointed out, the Speccie are hedging their bets – one pro-Cummings article, one anti.

Looking at the mood on here, beginning to think that this is one of of those occasions where the government has totally misread the public’s strength of opinion.

I just took one for the team and had a look at the comments on the Daily M**l. I sorted by ‘most recommended’, sifted down through well over a hundred and couldn’t find one even remotely supportive of Cummings or the govt as a whole.

, I’ll pay £5k to participate.

Which side does 5k get you on? I’ll go 7.5k but only for the less bullety side

Asking Boris to sack DC is like asking Emu to sack Rod Hull.

😆

I admire the positivity of some on near, but I state again what I said on page 1, Cummings is going nowhere, at least not until Brexit is done.
This will be ignored, swept away and dismissed.

ratherbeintobago – you beat me to it.
Of the two Spekkie articles, the Alex Massie one carries more weight as he is the Scottish editor; Melanie McDonagh who penned the other is a ‘contributor’.
As cummings wife, Mary Wakefield, is a commissioning editor there could be an ‘interesting’ discussion between her and Massie.
Did she commission McDonagh’s piece?
As for cummings future after his departure – a bit like steve bannon, washing around the political fringes?
Does Starmer think he’s won the lottery? johnson’s ineptitude and lying; now this.

That spectator article is not going in hard in any way – key paragraph:

It doesn’t even matter if what he did was appropriate or sensible or a reasonable means by which an awkward or complicated situation might best be managed. All that could be true and it wouldn’t change a thing. Perception is sometimes more important and here the perception is that there is one set of rules for government insiders and another, quite different, set of rules for everyone else. That is not just the perception, either, for it appears to be the reality too and will remain so, and be understood as such, for as long as Dominic Cummings remains in post. You may sympathise with his predicament – an unwell wife, a small child – all you like and it doesn’t change a thing.

I frickin hate the Spectator from its meally mouthed name right down to its lickspittle staff and if fence sitting was an olympic sport it would have an unbroken run of gold.

A leopard never changes its spots

It’ll never be dismissed, some of the sacrifices people have made are crazy

Not everyone got furloughed or still worked and drove 10+ miles a day to ride a bike

it’s not a sacking offence it’s a criminal offence

The criminal bit is arguable. All hangs on how you define “reasonable” in “no person may leave the place where they are living without reasonable excuse.”

@frankconway Not sure if Starmer think he’s won the lottery, but between the ineptitude of HMG and his predecessor, the bar is low.

@winston That still looks pretty damning, point they’re making is the perception matters and as long as he’s in post, the perception is bad.

Just seen on Twitter he went to Durham to visit parents a second time.

If this is true about a 2nd trip….

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/dominic-cummings-ignored-coronavirus-lockdown-22075857.amp?

(I reckon that Binners will be payin out…)

🙂

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/may/23/new-witnesses-cast-doubt-on-dominic-cummingss-lockdown-claims

Choose your pastry TJ…. 🙂

If he doesn’t go now it will break Johnson’s government

From the guardian…

A week earlier Cummings was seen by another witness in Barnard Castle on Easter Day, 30 miles away from Durham, the investigation found. The town, which takes its name from the English Heritage site at its centre, is a popular destination for days out.

He’s a lying ****. The Tories are lying ****.

All those ministers that threw what little credibility they had left under the bus to defend him today, must be fuming that the mirror/guardian were sitting on more allegations 😂😂😂

HOC virtual vote of no confidence in government on Tues, anyone?

All those ministers that threw what little credibility they had left under the bus to defend him today, must be fuming that the mirror/guardian were sitting on more allegations

they gave them the rope the chair, and watched on in utter disbelief !!!!! as the senior members of the cabinet put the noose wrong their necks !

From the above, I doubt he was ever ill. So what exactly was he doing?