How Significant is Dominic Cummings?

As British politics moves on from Dominic Cummings, we analyse what he and his tenure represent.

Photo Credit: TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images

One important question is why Johnson chose to stand by his advisor once again. The weight against him is this time more considerable than ever, and Johnson’s position is somewhat weakened since his recent speech after which he was mocked for his indecision and lack of clear leadership. 

There’s no question of why Johnson values Cummings so greatly; he his accredited with being the mastermind some of Boris Johnson’s lifetime achievements, of course most significantly the success of Vote Leave, and few would question Cumming’s ability to create a strong and convincing political campaign. So much so that the political landscape we see these days has been somewhat determined by Cummings - the slogans we have heard and seen so much of are his words - not those of Boris Johnson. Indeed Cummings has been compared to some strong figures, including Thomas Cromwell and Rasputin. This leads us to the question - why are people so zealous when it comes to Cummings? Why does it matter that he broke lockdown?

Well, as mentioned above Cummings is a very intelligent man, but also a very powerful one. As the PM’s chief advisor (a new position created by Johnson for Cummings) he can sit in cabinet meetings and he is no doubt in the room when some of the biggest decisions are made. There is a strong argument to be made that a significant proportion of power lies in his hands, and he in fact created the slogans used by the government during the pandemic, including “Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives”. And while we saw an unprecedented level of unity during lockdown, this unity has fallen away now, and there is an increased perception that if those in power ignore the rules, then the public can do the same. 

Johnson has repeatedly pushed for people to “move on”, but it is not so easy. No doubt we have all seen the vast circulation of Dominic Cummings related memes and comic sketches, especially surrounding his affirmation he was testing his eyesight during his trip to Barnard Castle. By such logic, it is just as reasonable to assess whether one is too drunk to drive, by driving to Barnard Castle.

Not matter how you look at his story, rules have been broken. But the problem is that this is a hugely powerful man, who has a lot of political adversaries, and very little accountability. In the videos featuring journalists quizzing him outside his property, he makes little to no response, and his statement did little to clear things up too. Furthermore, while County Durham Police has said that Cummings could potentially have been fined for his actions, they have also stated they will not be taking retrospective action. So much for the rule of law. 

Right now we need people to continue to follow the rules; as science tells us, we are not out of the woods yet. Our daily death rate is still over 300 (324 yesterday, 29th May), and until Monday can only meet one person at a time. We are still at Level 4 COVID alert level and slight increases to the R rate could jeopardise the progress made over the last few months. 

When I read that from Monday 1st June, up to 6 people can meet in public, I couldn’t suppress my laughter. In the small village in Berkshire in which I am in lockdown, there has been a marked increase in socialising since the Cummings debate kicked off. On Friday evening there was a considerable number of audible parties across the village. People now know that the top brass don’t listen to the rules they set us, and I have listened to plenty peers over Zoom describe Johnson as a puppet, Cummings as a hypocrite, and the government as a failure.