COVID-19

Just out of interest Tony. Not talking about his current misdemeanour , what do you think of Dominic Cummings?

 

To paraphrase Christine Keeler - "Well they would, wouldn't they".

 

I certainly bloody hope so. The guy is poison.

It seems that this one isn't going to go away by the looks of it. Every opposition party is demanding his resignation and will keep banging on about 'one rule for us.." until the cows come home. If he lacks support within the Tory party he must be in a pretty precarious position right now.
They are defending him now but the pressure will keep building. With all the other questions about their inept handling of the crisis do they want a cover up scandal rumbling on as well? Hopefully there will come a point when it becomes too big a scandal to keep defending and they chuck him back to obscurity where he belongs.

UK coronavirus live: No 10 accused of trying to cover up Cummings lockdown breach - latest updates

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/may/23/uk-coronavirus-live-boris-johnson-under-pressure-to-sack-dominic-cummings-latest-updates?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard

 

I don't think any of us really know him, certainly not universally liked in cabinet but Boris must see something in him...

 

He is demonised by the left because he was the architect of their demise and the anti Brexiteers hate him because of his Brexit views I think he is wrong on Europe but successful in what he does. But he really needs to go over this

 

yes, like I said above I wonder if Boris might see this as an opportunity to get rid off someone who seems to be universally hated and has maybe outlived his usefulness

 

Problem is,if we sacked every MP for a misdemeanour there would be none left. I'm all for sacking him,I'd sack the lot, but we all know he'd just be conveniently set up another job elsewhere. And some on here wonder why I despair at those in office.

 

Brexit is one issue, but it goes much deeper than that. He is a sabateur who is trying to undermine the tried and trusted institutions of our political system.
He wants to destroy the independence of our judiciary and bring in US-style politically appointed judges who will do the bidding of the government. Likewise he wants a Civil Service that slavishly follows the views of ministers and tells them what they want to hear instead of giving independent advice. His precise role in the bungled response to Covid 19 isn't fully clear, but it's obvious that he has been poking around in scientific committees that are supposed to be independent and he is widely believed to have advocated the catastrophic 'herd immunity' policy that led to late lockdown and many thousands more infections.
The sooner he is out of the picture the better for all of us.

 

If I travelled to see family in Ireland and stayed with them whilst suffering with covid symptoms, I will be okay then?

 

" Cummings and Goings?"

Should be, the scrote had the virus and travelled north from london.
Wont be though, 'coz he is the right-hand/wingnut of Boris and he needs him badly.
Different rules if you are a tory.

 

It’s not really the point whether Downing Street says he was within the guidelines, it’s how the guidelines themselves are being interpreted. and there’s a big grey area.

The guidelines explicitly state that you are not breaking the rules if you travel to provide care, but you ARE breaking the rules if you travel to receive care. Clear cut, broke the rules, right?

Not quite - it also says that if you’re living with children, follow the advice to the best of your ability”.

So are we using this clause as a get out? Can this clause be used to seemingly justify any kind of transgression? It’s certainly unclear, and it seems as though Downing Street can choose to take whichever side it wants to.

 

Either way, it’s not a great message to those who have been treading on eggshells for the past two months.

‘We made the guidelines, and we also know where we can bend them’

 

Has he committed a criminal offence or betrayed his country...?

 

That’s not exactly the point, and I think you know that.

 

Well, it's arguable that he has betrayed his country by being one of the main architects of the catastrophic 'herd immunity' policy which delayed lockdown and caused thousands of British citizens to die unnecessarily. Or doesn't that count? Do you have to be a lefty to be held culpable for the avoidable deaths of British citizens, many of whom lived through the dark days of WW2?

But, that apart, it's not about breaking the law, as you well know. Millions of people have been struggling under government lockdown instructions, including the threat of being stopped by police for 'unnecessary travel'. Many have had to put up will childcare arrangements that were far from ideal because they weren't allowed to travel elsewhere or get help from their families. And the instruction from government was (for once) crystal clear - if a member of your household has the virus you must self isolate for 14 days. Nothing in there about buggering off to the other end of the country to see your folks first.
It's blatantly obvious that he broke the government guidance big time and they have been trying to keep this quiet for weeks. One rule for us and one for their favoured son. This one will run and run until they sack him.

 

So all those that were on Southend beach last weekend and many who will be at the coast over this Bank holiday weekend were not applying the Government guidelines.

 

Dominic Cummings reply :
The PM's top aide Dominic Cummings says he did the "right thing" by travelling 260 miles to be near relatives during the coranavirus lockdown - adding that he did not care what it looked like.

 

The guidelines were different last weekend compared with when Cummings made this trip.

But I wasn’t really defending other people, it’s a bit of a non sequitur.

 

The problem with this is - regardless of the rights and wrongs of this - it’s a tacit endorsement of people’s ability to interpret the rules to their own ends.

In London, the official TfL guidance is to avoid public transport if possible. I don’t have a car, so to go literally anywhere beyond walking distance it is imperative to use public transport. I’ve got no idea where I stand on non-essential travel on public transport - on the one hand, it is not possible to avoid it, on the other, I’m clearly stuck here while everyone else with a car can seemingly travel wherever they like. There’s no one clear reading on this at the minute.

But now I know it’s open to personal interpretation, I’m probably more likely to interpret it in a way that benefits myself.