Month: May 2020

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a man in possession of Covid-19 symptoms, must stay at home.

I say ”universally” – obviously, with the exception of Downing Street adviser Dominic Cummings who, in an obscure little news story last weekend which you could easily have missed, interpreted it to mean nip back to work, then go home, then travel to Durham, then… Well, you probably know where that (and he) is going don’t you?

I must admit, the story itself when I noticed it on my newsfeed on Saturday morning, didn’t particularly surprise or outrage me. Yet another government figure who thinks they can do what they like, is barely even newsworthy in these cynical times.

What I wasn’t prepared for was all the tweets from senior political figures who weren’t just excusing or supporting, but positively endorsing his actions – to the point where the implication was, anybody who had any kind of issue with them must be some sort of idiot.

So, in case you missed it, the Health Secretary (“It was entirely right… to find childcare for his toddler, when both he and his wife were getting ill”) and the Foreign Secretary (“…an explanation… has been provided: two parents with Coronavirus were anxiously taking care of their young child”) and the Chancellor (“taking care of your wife and young child is justifiable and reasonable”) and the Attorney General (“protecting one’s family is what any good parent does”) and number 10 (“it was essential… to ensure his young child could be properly cared for… His actions were in line with coronavirus guidelines”) and the Leader of the House (“caring for your child is entirely reasonable”) and– well, and whatever role it is that Michael Gove actually fulfils, him too (“caring for your wife and child is not a crime”).

I could not, as Victor Meldrew used to say, believe it! And must admit, spent rather too much time on Twitter moaning and berating to that effect – on the grounds that nobody in their right mind would reach the conclusion they had.

Obviously, it’s risky (or the height of vanity) to assume that everybody thinks the same way you do, but in this case I’m confident that the man on the Clapham omnibus, if given all the facts to look at, and assuming he’s not gone blind from finally being allowed to read Lady Chatterley, would agree that somebody with symptoms of the virus leaving his home to travel halfway across the country, is NOT keeping to the guidelines which say that if you have symptoms of the virus you should stay at home.

One week and a press conference later, we are of course no further forward, and without wanting to use leading or biased language, he has got away with it. Frankly, from the moment when the ranks of ministers popped up to nail their colours to the mast it was clear they couldn’t possibly get rid of Mr Cummings (even if they’d wanted to before then) because it would mean that their judgement was at fault too.

And that’s the aspect which really wound me up about the whole affair. I don’t actually care whether Mr Cummings keeps his job or not, but what it has highlighted is the extremely poor judgement, the questionable decision-making abilities being exercised by the PM, the Chancellor, the Foreign Secretary, the Health Minister, and all the rest of them.

Which would be bad enough in the normal course of things. In these very abnormal times, over the next week or two, based on the decisions and judgements of those people, schools will be opened, and shops, and sporting venues; people will be encouraged to go out and more often and for longer and with more interaction…

In other words, we’ll all be putting our faith and trust, and ultimately that means our lives and our loved ones’ lives, in the hands of people who’ve shown themselves singularly undeserving of, and unsuited to, such a responsibility.

I’m afraid I just can’t see the sense (or sensibility) in that.