A government adviser doing a press conference, i certainly can't remember anything like that happening before.
Westminster Politics
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) was joined by comedian Ali Woods to look back at the best and worst moments of a rollercoaster season with the annual United Hour Awards.
Has Ten Hag been sacked yet? We're not sure and we hope not, but it's looking more likely as the days pass.
Who should replace him and why is it taking so long to make a decision?
cummings to make statement and take questions this afternoon ,so no resignation then and use kid for sympathy as if he is the only one with circumstances,try doing it on benefits .
I can see him making a passionate story about him needing to see his family, followed by the public saying they would have done the same.
Alistair Campbell?
I wrote yesterday that given UK is now an unprecedented clusterfcuk covid19 zone, its citizens have the right to be uniquely angry and frustrated by its Government's mishandling of the crisis. Cummings has become the lightening rod for that emotion. Labour and opposition need to capitalise on this and ensure Cummings becomes the most hated man in UK.Doubt Boris is the one telling him what to do rather than the other way round.
More likely it'll be with only approved journalists and approved questions, and he'll carry on playing the autism card. Although even then it's really hard to see how that wont backfire. People have let loved ones die without seeing them. THere really is no excuse he can use where the primary reaction wont be anger.
He's asking people to accept that the nearest possible place he could find child care was literally more or less the furthest possible place away he could travel to...and that somehow driving 260 miles whilst carrying an illness so severe you couldn't look after your own children wasn't completely irresponsible in itself
This interview will make his position even worse. Even if he refuses to resign and somehow survives the next few weeks of harassment and condemnation, I cant see how he can continue as Boris's chief enforcer when so many of his Brexit constituents will always feel hatred for him.
Agreed. It's damage limitation mode now, don't think he can say anything that won't lead to negativity.
'Trouble is, this doesn't seem to be the truth. He'd better be a damn good actor...
Will be interesting watching a psychopath pretend to be contrite.
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Twitter bots spread the autism line with there being nothing firm to confirm it is the case. Boris Johnson said there was a medical issue he couldn't discuss yesterday after the rumours started, but seems twitter bots are trying to garner sympathy for Cummings and nip it in the bud.
Thanks but not me mate. Just quoting someone from Twitter.
they didn't
Ah, ok. Glad it's not you, but feel for the other guy.
By-the-by, perhaps, but...
'Ahead of Dominic Cummings’ public statement this afternoon, a number of people are flagging the government’s Code of Conduct for Special Advisers which states they must not take “public part in political controversy”.
Point 14 states:
Special advisers must not take public part in political controversy, through any form of statement whether in speeches or letters to the press, or in books, social media, articles or leaflets.
They must observe discretion and express comment with moderation, avoiding personal attacks, and would not normally speak in public for their Minister or the Department.'
'Ahead of Dominic Cummings’ public statement this afternoon, a number of people are flagging the government’s Code of Conduct for Special Advisers which states they must not take “public part in political controversy”.
Point 14 states:
Special advisers must not take public part in political controversy, through any form of statement whether in speeches or letters to the press, or in books, social media, articles or leaflets.
They must observe discretion and express comment with moderation, avoiding personal attacks, and would not normally speak in public for their Minister or the Department.'
This isn’t news. It’s obvious to anyone that Cummings is the brains behind the PM and Boris is just the electable face.
Place your bets. 10/1 on Cummings resigning, being made a peer during the chaos that Brexit brings and then being selected to head some oversight committee.
That was my first thought but i can't remember any during his time under Blair but I'm probably wrong. He made plenty of media appearances but not on his own behalf. Journalists across twitter seem bemused by it. Thing is they all quite rightly hate him so unless it's a resignation speech then this can't go well.
I'm expecting it'll be a Trump like attack on the media he'll make a non-apology, accuse fake news and say his family are suffering from the media hounding.
He should just go because his job is already done and he'll get reappointed before the next GE like nothing happened anyway. That's how this is supposed to work but he clearly has too much pride to be defeated.
It's just the Prime Minister giving a press conference, he's just decided not to wear his usual sock puppet this time
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He's going to distract us by finally ANNOUNCING POGBA. Or Sneidjer.
It backfired then since most folk are turning it around and pointing out that the last thing you should do with a child with autism (depending where on the spectrum his child is) is take them out of their known environment and screw up their routine. If the kid was already diagnosed at 4 then it would suggest severe autism. It's shite one way or the other
Very true, he wrote, or spoke at, many official Labour Government press conferences, and a whole host of informal 'pint-of-lager-and-packet of crisps' type press briefings... and he was very successful at it too, better than the 'Prince of Darkness' Peter Mandelson... but Campbell didn't become a Baron like Mandelson, both were capable of 'getting down and dirty' when necessary.
Good grief, they're removing their own posts on government websites, posts containing lockdown guidance that now embarrasses them in light of the Cummings/Johnson debacle.
Has there ever been a more shifty, make-it-up-on-the-fly British government than this? And 'shifty' is too kind and inappropriate a word really.
Has there ever been a more shifty, make-it-up-on-the-fly British government than this? And 'shifty' is too kind and inappropriate a word really.
Cummings taking questions is interesting given his often combative and disdainful relationship with journalists and the fact that coming across as sympathetic isn't exactly his forte. Wonder what tone exactly he's going to look to strike? Hope the journos are on their game.
Also wonder whose idea it is? Does he actually want to publicly respond or is he being pushed out front to try and save himself because nobody else wants to do it?
Also wonder whose idea it is? Does he actually want to publicly respond or is he being pushed out front to try and save himself because nobody else wants to do it?
I wouldn't be surprised if they've handpicked journos to ask simple questions he can bat away/play up the father instincts angle.
Every PM has their 'henchmen/woman' Wilson -Lady Faulkner; Thatcher -Ingram; Blair-Campbell; Brown -Balls; Cameron -Coulson; Boris-Cummings whats new about that, only Cameron lost his!
If he's anything like his employers - and he surely is - then he'll resent being questioned in both senses of that word. He isn't anti-elitist in his attitude of superiority, that's for sure.
Seriously?! That's shocking!
As for Cummings doing a press conference, isn't he a massive asshole with an incredibly short fuse? Putting him in front of the press seems extremely stupid.
It's also tricky given the current accusations that he's the one real power in the government. Giving his own press conference doesn't exactly play against that notion.
"And now we go on to the questions if anyone has any - from the Telegraph, The Sun and InfoWars only please."
Thanks... hope he's taking notes!
Is there evidence of this?
Probably, but I'm too lazy to find it.
Trump-esque is my prediction.
Think I’ve said this before but he was at the wedding of one of my best friends. His wife was a university pal of the bride. So weird. He had more hair then. Still a weaselly looking fecker.
its 'news' in that foreign media is now using this fact to mock Boris.
I was thinking the same, this is sabotage of the finest order or incredible naivety/daftness on part of the government.
Indeed.
Do you know what. I have written to my MP four times in the last few weeks asking him to respond on a specific issue.
Four times.
And has he had the decency to respond.
NO.
Not even an acknowledgement of my requests.
That is what you get when you elect a Tory MP.
Until of course they want your vote.
It's either going to be a carefully orchestrated press Q&A session or he's that desperate because Boris and co have been so utterly useless at defending him. At this point unless he reveals it was all a cover up and he was actually on his own working for MI6 taking down an evil terrorist organisation with the help of the IMF, and Tom Cruise himself provides video evidence of them both hanging off of a nuclear missile trying to stop it from detonating, this story isn't going to go away.