Dominic Cummings Says Don't Pay Campaign Could Be HUGE

Boris Johnson’s Aides Plotted to Oust Him as PM, Dominic Cummings Claims

Dominic Cummings suggested to Laura Kuenssberg that a new political party should be set up to ‘kill’ off the Conservatives. Photograph: Jeff Overs/BBC/PA
THE GUARDIAN: BBC interview reveals people decided Johnson was unfit to be PM within weeks of 2019 election victory

Boris Johnson’s closest aides decided he was unfit to be prime minister within weeks of his 2019 election victory and began plotting to oust him, Dominic Cummings has claimed.

In his first TV interview since quitting as one of the most senior advisers in No 10, Cummings levelled repeated criticism of his former boss, saying aides feared Johnson had no plan to run the country and was only obsessed with “stupid” infrastructure projects.

He accused the prime minister’s wife, Carrie, of trying to “appoint complete clowns to certain key jobs”, claiming she wanted to be “pulling the strings” at the heart of government instead of the old Vote Leave team, and suggested a new political party be set up to “kill” off the Conservatives. » | Aubrey Allegretti, Political correspondent | Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Dominic Cummings pulls back the curtain and declares his genius »

I have myself been saying this for a very long time! I have been stating that the Conservatives need to be replaced by a progressive, business-friendly party. My line was that the Tories need to go the way of the Whigs: into oblivion!

I have never been a big fan of Dominic Cummings, but I must say that reading this, makes the man more appealing to me.

I used to be a dyed-in-the-wool Conservative voter. That was until Cameron had the less-than-bright idea of calling a referendum on our membership of the European Union, which we all know led to the fiasco of Brexit. Because of Brexit, I shall never cast my vote for the Conservatives again. And as a result of Brexit, I have become disenfranchised.

Boris Johnson—I prefer to give him the disparaging nomenclature, BoJo, because it makes him sound like the clown he truly is—was never a committed Brexiteer; rather, it was a convenient way for him to become prime minister. Even as a child, Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson wanted to be “king of the world.” Needless to say, that position is, and never has been, vacant! So he had to settle for what he considered to be second-best: he had to become the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom instead. Brexit was the tool he used to get the keys to Number 10.

There’s one big problem with that, though: Brexit has rendered the once very united United Kingdom into a rather fractious disUnited Kingdom. And the Tories have caused this problem by projecting the rift that was once chronic and unhealing in their party onto the United Kingdom itself; so, the party’s problem has now become the nation's problem. Cameron’s idiocy has caused this as have the greed and fossil-like nature of the top echelons within the Conservative Party itself.

Yes! Dominic Cummings is spot-on when he says that the Conservatives need to be “killed off” and replaced by a new party. Yes! Yes! Yes! The Conservatives need to go find the dodo and keep it company!

This country needs a progressive, business-friendly, pro-European party, one that will allow business to flourish but ensure a modicum of equality for all. The wealth gap in this country is as unfair as it is immoral. There is something radically wrong and mis-managed about a country in which people poor enough to have to use food banks to help put food on the table for their children have to co-exist with squillionaires. Such a juxtaposition of extremes is obscene. A scenario brought about by the policies of the Tories. Yes, we need a party that is very business-friendly; but no, we don't need obscenities like this! – © Mark

Boris Johnson a Pundit Who Stumbled into Politics, Says Cummings

THE GUARDIAN: Former aide says in Substack Q&A that No 10 is now ‘just a branch of the entertainment industry’

Downing Street under Boris Johnson is “a branch of the entertainment industry” and nothing will get done in terms of serious policy focus until he leaves, Dominic Cummings has said in his latest blast at his former boss.

In a question and answer session with paid subscribers to his Substack newsletter, Johnson’s former chief adviser described the prime minister as “a pundit who stumbled into politics and acts like that 99% of the time”.

Giving evidence to MPs last month, Cummings criticised Johnson as completely unfit to be prime minister, describing him as media obsessed and “like a shopping trolley smashing from one side of the aisle to the other”. » | Peter Walker, Political correspondent | Monday, June 21, 2021

Boris Johnson ‘Like Out of-Control Shopping Trolley’, Dominic Cummings Tells MPs

THE GUARDIAN: Former aide says media-obsessed prime minister made constant U-turns and ignored advice of officials

Dominic Cummings has laid bare the “surreal” chaos in Downing Street in March last year as the government grappled with the Covid pandemic, portraying the prime minister as obsessed with the media and making constant U-turns, “like a shopping trolley smashing from one side of the aisle to the other”.

During an extraordinary evidence session to MPs at Westminster on Wednesday, Boris Johnson’s former chief aide targeted the prime minister for personal criticism, saying Johnson regretted the first lockdown and held out against imposing later restrictions, despite the advice of many people inside Downing Street, and that overall, “tens of thousands of people died who didn’t need to die”.

He claimed the prime minister had repeatedly said in respect of the first lockdown, “I should have been the mayor of Jaws and kept the beaches open,” and confirmed reports that in October, Johnson said he would see “bodies pile high” rather than order a third lockdown.

Cummings described the general situation in Downing Steet as “an out-of-control movie”. »| Heather Stewart and Peter Walker | Wednesday, May 26, 2021

The Dominic Cummings circus is an indictment of the entire governing class »

Cummings brought to life what many already knew about Johnson’s failures »

Sabisky Row: Dominic Cummings Criticised over 'Designer Babies' post

THE GUARDIAN: PM’s aide dragged further into row over decision to hire adviser with eugenicist views

Boris Johnson’s senior aide Dominic Cummings has been dragged further into the row over No 10’s decision to hire an adviser with eugenicist views after it emerged that he suggested in his own writings that the NHS should cover the cost of selecting babies to have higher IQs.

In a blogpost covering his views on the future of “designer babies”, Cummings said he believed rich would-be parents would inevitably select embryos with “the highest prediction for IQ” and floated the idea that “a national health system should fund everybody to do this” to avoid an unfair advantage for the wealthy.

Experts criticised Cummings’s theories about genetics, saying they were unworkable, unethical and amounted to eugenics, two days after Andrew Sabisky resigned as a No 10 contractor over his past claims that black Americans on average had lower IQs than white people. » | Rowena Mason and Ian Sample | Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Dominic Cummings Tells Brexiters: Election Is Tighter Than It Looks

THE GUARDIAN: No 10 adviser issues ‘bat signal’ asking Vote Leave supporters to persuade friends to vote Tory

Boris Johnson’s adviser Dominic Cummings has told Brexit supporters that the general election is “much tighter” than polls might suggest and urged them to persuade their friends to vote Tory.

Cummings has worked closely alongside Johnson from the moment he entered No 10, though he has taken a back seat during the election campaign. With little more than a fortnight to go until polling day, he used his blog to send up what he called a “bat signal” to Vote Leave supporters, warning them Brexit is at risk.

“You will see many polls in the coming days. Some will say Boris will win. Trust me, as someone who has worked on lots of campaigns, things are MUCH tighter than they seem and there is a very real possibility of a hung parliament,” he said. “Without a majority, the nightmare continues. ALL other MPs will gang together to stop Brexit and give EU citizens the vote. It’s that simple.” » | Heather Stewart, Political editor | Wednesdday, November 27, 2019

'Culture of Fear' Claims as Javid Confronts PM over Adviser's Sacking

THE GUARDIAN: Dominic Cummings tells advisers he’s ‘pissed off’ about briefings on pay and gender balance – report

A furious Sajid Javid confronted Boris Johnson on Friday and demanded an explanation of why his media adviser was sacked without his knowledge, amid claims that a deep “culture of fear” has taken hold within the government.

Sonia Khan, Javid’s media adviser, was escorted from No 10 by an armed police officer after a meeting with Johnson’s top strategist, Dominic Cummings, in which she was accused of being dishonest about her contact with the former chancellor Philip Hammond and one of his ex-advisers, who have been trying to block a no-deal Brexit.

Khan is the second adviser working for the chancellor to be sacked by No 10. She is also the fourth young woman in a month to be axed from the prime minister’s network of advisers and senior staffers. » | Kate Proctor, Political correspondent | Friday, August 30, 2019

Brexit Enforcer Cummings’ Farm Took €235,000 in EU Handouts

THE OBSERVER: Boris Johnson aide accused of hypocrisy over payments

Boris Johnson’s controversial enforcer, Dominic Cummings, an architect of Brexit and a fierce critic of Brussels, is co-owner of a farm that has received €250,000 (£235,000) in EU farming subsidies, the Observer can reveal.

The revelation is a potential embarrassment for the mastermind behind Johnson’s push to leave the EU by 31 October. Since being appointed as Johnson’s chief adviser, Cummings has presented the battle to leave the EU as one between the people and the politicians. He positions himself as an outsider who wants to demolish elites, end the “absurd subsidies” paid out by the EU and liberate the UK from its arcane rules and regulations.

But his critics say the revelation that Cummings has benefited from the system he intends to smash underscores how many British farmers are reliant on EU money that would evaporate if the UK leaves. » | Jamie Doward and Josh Sandiford | Saturday, August 10, 2019

New Rebel Bid to Halt No-deal Brexit amid Fury at PM’s Enforcer

THE GUARDIAN: Alarm is mounting about Dominic Cummings and his willingness to defy parliament

Rebel MPs are working on a plan to thwart Boris Johnson pursuing a no-deal Brexit on 31 October that involves forcing parliament to sit through the autumn recess, amid growing outrage about the power and influence of his controversial aide, Dominic Cummings.

The cross-party group of MPs is looking at legislative options with mounting urgency because of the hardline tactics of Cummings, who one Conservative insider described as running a “reign of terror” in No 10 aimed at achieving Brexit on 31 October at any cost.

Three MPs have told the Guardian that one method under discussion is for members to amend the motion needed for parliament to break for party conferences in mid-September. This could give MPs another three weeks of sitting time to stop a no-deal and potentially open the door for days to be set aside for rebels to control parliamentary business. The ultimate aim would be to pass a bill forcing the government to request an extension to article 50 from Brussels. » | Rowena Mason and Jessica Elgot | Thursday, August 8, 2019