Get Cummings

The PM's Chief Advisor running the gauntlet of hate                                                                                                                                        Source: internewscast

Regardless of which side of the fence you find yourself in the 'Cummings must go' campaign, the treatment he and his family have had to endure as glimpsed in this tweet is not British. It is a disgrace. 

Following the example of snowflake no-platformers, get Cummings campaigners have been acting as judge and jury. A witch hunt designed to ensure the departure of the Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister, thus settling old scores after Remainers lost the vote to remain in the EU. 

Allegedly unbiased TV presenters who are paid vast amounts of money by the cash strapped BBC decided that Dominic Cummings' actions when he and his wife were required to self-isolate were reprehensible. The man was guilty regardless of circumstances, timing or his use in the fight against the common enemy, Covid-19

Possibly emboldened by the fact that BBC Breakfast's presenter Naga Munchetty was let off  after she 'breached BBC rules', presenter Emily Maitlis launched into her Newsnight introduction with: "Good evening. Dominic Cummings broke the rules. The country can see that and it is shocked the Government cannot. The longer Ministers and Prime Minister tell us he worked within them the more angry the response to the scandal is likely to be.... He made those who struggled to keep the rules feel like fools and has allowed many more to feel that they can flout them".

 Crackpot Acting LibDem Leader Sir Ed Davey described the breach as "brilliant journalism". The BBC has since said that "an introduction about Dominic Cummings on Tuesday's Newsnight did not meet the required standards of due impartiality".

'Journalists' and MPs following the pack have been lining up to demand the PM's Chief Advisor should either resign or be sacked regardless of his value in combating the Coronavirus. The Church of England's duplicitous bishops have also weighed into the Prime Minister with "lied to, patronised and treated as mugs" although one has to acknowledge their considerable expertise in that area. 

This week we have been celebrating the 80th Anniversary of the rescue of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) from Dunkirk. The coverage of the BBC today is in marked contrast with the desire for victory regardless of the cost in 1940.

The get Cummings campaign has completely lost sight of the need to beat the real enemy, Covid-19.

Sir Keir Starmer has tweeted: "Boris Johnson's unwillingness or inability to do the right thing has left the Government looking untrustworthy and unprincipled. Worst of all he's undermined the public health advice that keeps us all safe, just to keep one aide in his job. Our nation’s health must come first."

Sir Keir is correct. Our nation's health must come first. For that reason MPs, the media and Anglican bishops should stop doing what they accuse Dominic Cummings of having done, putting the country at risk. 

The issue has been flogged to death. 

It is the vendetta that is more likely to undermine the Government's fight against Covid-19 with mischievous suggestions that people should perhaps make their own judgements rather than follow government guidelines.

Postscript [01.06.2020]

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Blasts Bishops over Cummings Controversy

"Controversy is ridiculously overblown, says George Carey

Hysterical, coarsened and divisive nature of debate is creating a dangerous culture war that could harm civic life, he says."

VE Day 75 years on.

VE Day 1945. Prime Minister Winston Churchill with the Royal Family on the Buckingham Palace balcony to celebrate the end of World War 2 in Europe 

Readers who recall the Royal Family and Winston Churchill acknowledging the crowds on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on VE Day in 1945 will have survived WW2 bombings only to be targeted by a more insidious enemy today, the Covid-19 virus.

Official celebrations designed to inject the spirit of joy felt in 1945 have been cancelled. Instead there will be some TV programmes to mark the 75th anniversary of the allied victory. The Queen will address her subjects at 9 pm as did her father King George VI on VE Day.

Life in Britain and around the world had become very different until lockdown imposed dramatic changes in routine in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The concept of the nuclear family has gone. Marriage has largely been replaced by partnerships, civil or informal, previously regarded as living in sin.

Feminism dominates Anglicanism, Christianity is lampooned, churches are closing while other faiths are protected. Political correctness has become an unwelcome burden, often depriving people of the humour that sustained us in times of difficulty

Notions of gender contradict what used to be regarded as patently obvious while the snowflake generation threaten free speech by no-platforming speakers whose views they disagree with.

On the 75th anniversary of VE Day we are at war again but with an unseen enemy. Older folk who experienced bombings in WW2 and the discipline of National Service find themselves at greater risk from the virus but appear better able to cope, staying indoors as told while some, mainly younger people, ignore the advice, risking the lives of others in the process

In May 1940 when Churchill first addressed the House of Commons as Prime Minister he concluded, "You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: victory; victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival." The same spirit is needed today.

I recall sitting around the radio with my mother during WW2 listening to Churchill's speeches spurring the allies to victory and strengthening resolve at home. Uplifting broadcasts provided a welcome tonic for housewives bringing up their families in difficult times when their husbands faced more immediate perils abroad.

News bulletins are once again dominated by war reports. War against the Covid-19 virus but the BBC has changed its position from blanket support of the war effort to a more critical, gloomy picture. For example, viewers are constantly told that the UK has the highest number of Corona-19 virus deaths in Europe before adding, as if barely relevant, that demographic factors paint a different picture.

Some voices are spreading discontent, encouraging popular demands to relax the restrictions that have lessened the spread of infections. Hopefully governments will remain resolute in the face of opposition and not give in to unscientific populist demands.

Matters become more complicated while devolved administrations, anxious to be seen flexing their independent muscles, arrive at their own conclusions even though based on the same central, scientific evidence. When aired by the BBC such views can make them appear to be aligned with the Opposition.

The blog A Grain of Sand poses the question 'Is Aunty Biased', suggesting the BBC, founded on Christian principles, has "swung to an institutional mindset of sceptical liberalism".

I was intrigued the other day to see a reference to the BBC's Director of Content. Googling revealed not just a content director but an army of 39 ideas people ending with the Lead on Comedy Nations and Regions.

Today there is little original comedy to provide laughs compared with WW2 radio content such as ITMA, Workers Playtime, Band Waggon and Hi, Gang!

Instead the BBC supplements its regular news and current affairs slots with frequent repeats and a constant supply of soccer matches/comments/analyses while evening dramas provide a diet mainly of murder and misery.

Nevertheless, 75 years after VE Day, we will not be glued to the wireless worrying about air raid warning sirens. Instead my wife and I will be watching Auntie focus on doom and misery with a gap celebrating Churchill's promise of victory if we were to stand firm.

We did. Pulling together we are here to celebrate victory. 'Victory at all costs'.