Cummings saga highlights importance of accountability

The child-rearing proverb that says “children should be seen and not heard” is a thing of the past. However, this maxim still holds true for a different group: Political advisers. They are there to advise in the background and help leaders set the agenda. They themselves should not become the story.

In that context, the events that have unfolded over the past few days in the UK are extraordinary. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s right-hand man Dominic Cummings has commandeered the front pages of tabloids and broadsheets alike. The controversy is over his behavior during lockdown. While Cummings helped come up with the slogan “Stay home. Protect the NHS (the UK’s National Health Service). Save lives,” he blatantly ignored this advice.

On Friday, the Daily Mirror and the Guardian newspapers revealed that Cummings had driven 260 miles from London to his parents’ farm in the northeast in an attempt to seek childcare for his four-year-old son because his wife had shown coronavirus disease (COVID-19) symptoms. Later, he undertook a 60-mile round trip to a beauty spot.

The UK guidelines ordered people to self-isolate as soon as they or anyone in their household displayed symptoms of the disease. Failing to do so would result in fines. The rules also called for the elderly — in which category Cummings’ parents fall — to self-isolate and not see their children or grandchildren.

Cummings and his boss Johnson justified the trip as a father wanting to ensure childcare for his son, for which there was latitude in the lockdown regulations — in their interpretation.

On Monday, Cummings gave an unprecedented, more than an hour-long press conference in the garden of 10 Downing Street. This venue is very rarely used for media briefings and is usually reserved for key events such as the announcement of the coalition government between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in 2010.

To make matters worse, Cummings justified his day trip to Barnard Castle as a way of testing his eyesight to see whether he was fit enough to drive back to London. By then, he had also displayed coronavirus symptoms, which had apparently affected his eyesight. What stood out during Cummings’ interview, the prime minister’s defense of his adviser and in senior Cabinet members’ comments was a total lack of contrition.

The media was and is on a feeding frenzy. And people up and down the country are appalled by what they see as a Downing Street elite being able to freely interpret laws, while they have to strictly adhere to them. This is a country where more than 37,000 people have died from COVID-19 so far, and where so many families have had to make huge sacrifices. On Tuesday, a poll for the Daily Mail showed 66 percent of UK nationals and 55 percent of Tory supporters think Cummings should leave his post.

As of Wednesday morning, the prime minister was hanging on to his chief adviser, even though some 40 Conservative MPs had demanded his sacking and one junior minister had resigned in protest.

Cummings has been an indispensable companion to Johnson. It was he who orchestrated the successful Brexit campaign and he was also the key strategist behind Johnson’s overwhelming election victory last December. Nobody does slogans like Cummings. “Take back control” and “Get Brexit done” are two examples that led to resounding success at the ballot box. Johnson also does not do detail and Cummings is a master at it. In other words, the prime minister probably feels that he both owes and needs his adviser.

This may read like something out of a political thriller, but it is not. These are unprecedented times and what the British government’s lockdown measures demanded of the public was a big ask.

At the best of times, democracies are about governing for the people and being accountable to them. During elections, democratic governments live and die by the sword of public opinion. Therefore, the citizens demand that leaders and their advisers stand up to scrutiny, especially in times of crisis. “Do as I say, not as I do” does not work.

Citizens demand that leaders and their advisers stand up to scrutiny. ‘Do as I say, not as I do’ does not work.

Cornelia Meyer

It is a pity that the Cummings story, which is not truly important all things considered, is taking attention away from the real problems the country faces: The pandemic, health care and the economy. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s press secretary Alastair Campbell is thought to have believed that any senior government minister who dominated the front pages for more than a handful of days had to go.

Let us hope that the country and the government can quickly revert to the issues that really matter during a time of hardship that is unprecedented in recent times.

• Cornelia Meyer is a business consultant, macro-economist and energy expert. Twitter: @MeyerResources