Disclaimer: The views expressed within this article are entirely the author’s own and are not attributable to Wessex Scene as a whole.
Ever since the news of Dominic Cumming’s 260-mile trip from London to Durham in March broke, people have been clamouring for him to get the sack.
While the rest of the country was in lockdown, it seemed perfectly acceptable for him to travel to his parents’ house in Durham, despite this going against the Government’s ‘Stay Home’ message, which he reportedly helped draft.
In travelling this distance, he also directly flouted the lockdown rules which stated that anyone with symptoms should self-isolate for two weeks. When he made the drive, his wife was experiencing symptoms of the virus, and shortly after he also contracted the virus.
His justification for travelling was that he needed back up childcare in case he fell ill, alongside his wife, offering no apology for his actions and stating that he believed they were justified at a press conference in late May.
Even more bizarrely, in April, he drove with his wife and child to Barnard Castle, allegedly to test his eyesight. Since when has getting behind the wheel of a car ever been a way to test your eyesight?
“I went for a drive to see if my eyesight was ok” #dominiccummings pic.twitter.com/2J1p7e3Jza
— Beth (@beth_99x) May 25, 2020
If he was truly concerned about his eyesight, surely, he wouldn’t risk potentially putting himself, his family and other people in danger to check it?
The way it has been handled by No10 has also prompted fury from the public. He has been supported by the PM and other senior government ministers. This is despite one of the government’s senior scientific advisors and Scotland’s chief medical officer having to step down after breaking lockdown rules.
Why is it one rule for him and one rule for everyone else? Why should he be immune to the rules?
A Labour MP, John Ashworth, reflected the feelings of many when he tweeted: ‘It really is one rule for him and his elite friends and another for the rest of us.’
Specsavers' new advert pic.twitter.com/wTCmj9amdv
— Idil Sukan (@idilsukan) May 25, 2020
How can the government expect us to continue to follow the rules when they allow their own advisors to break them? Cummings has made a mockery of the very rules he helped write and caused the public to lose trust in the government. It is doubtful that this trust will ever be recovered, even if Cummings is forced to resign. However, that looks increasingly unlikely.
