Dominic cummings

Who advises Dominic Cummings?

Dominic Cummings, chief adviser to the Prime Minister, thinks that there is no ‘better book than Thucydides as training for politics’. But what does he ‘teach’? His ‘lessons’ are legion. Herewith some possibilities. In his history of the war between Athens and Sparta (430-404 bc), in which he briefly participated, smart one-liners leap off the page: ‘Humans are dominated by three motives: honour, fear and advantage’; ‘Identity of interests is the surest bond between states and individuals’; ‘Men consider what is pleasant to be honourable and what is advantageous, just’; and so on. Typically of a Greek, Thucydides distinguished sharply between thought and action. Describing a ferocious civil war, he reflected that

Boris has more in common with Corbyn than he thinks

Boris Johnson’s opponents love to accuse him of using the ‘Trump playbook’. Some on the left have become so obsessed with this comparison that they’ve even demanded that the Prime Minister be impeached. But over the past few weeks, Johnson’s behaviour has borne a far closer resemblance to a man he claims to look down on: Jeremy Corbyn. Both men stand on an anti-politics, anti-establishment platform. When Corbyn became leader he promised a ‘kinder, gentler politics’, and eschewed many of the traditions of the Commons. His advisers still believe that he is going to be the man-of-the-people candidate in the looming election, arguing that attacks from the media only bolster

Stop thinking Merkel will save us, Dominic Cummings warns

Is Boris Johnson more likely to get a Brexit deal after his meetings with Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron? The Prime Minister today tried to dampen hopes, saying that while the ‘mood music’ had been ‘very good’ during his meetings with the two leaders this week, it was still going to be hard to persuade the EU to give way. Speaking during a visit to Devon, Johnson said: ‘This is not going to be a cinch, this is not going to be easy. We will have to work very hard to get this thing done.’ Much of the week has been spent trying to work out what various comments and

It’s time to talk about what no deal really means

The main reason Conservative MPs prefer Boris Johnson’s government to Theresa May’s is because of its clarity of message. The government now has direction and purpose. Briefings from Tory HQ, delivered even to those MPs who have managed to get away on holiday, have gone from intermittent and inconsistent to daily and succinct. The message is simple: Brexit will be delivered by 31 October, crime is being tackled and the NHS properly funded. We can expect to hear these messages, or variants thereof, for the next few months. But there is one area where the government seems less sure of itself: what will happen in the event of no deal?

The Spectator Podcast: who are the real far right?

Is Europe overrun by fascists? To read some mainstream coverage of election results in Italy, the government in Austria, and the main opposition party in Germany, you might very well think so. Matteo Salvini, Sebastian Kurz, and the AfD are all among politicians who have been dubbed ‘far right’; and indeed, Britain’s own Jacob Rees-Mogg has had the Nazi label thrown at him, by fellow MP David Lammy, no less. But are these politicians really in a league with Hitler and Mussolini? If not, what is the far right, today? In this week’s cover article, Douglas Murray draws the red lines that should mark the true far right. There is

Where’s Boris?

Before Boris Johnson became Prime Minister there was widespread expectation that his government would be chaotic. It was thought that he would be good at articulating the broad sweep of government policy, but that his administration would quickly sink into turmoil. In the event, the opposite has happened. Three weeks on, the government appears to be running with almost military precision. Preparations for no-deal Brexit seem to be well under control, to the alarm of Philip Hammond, who had thought the task impossible. Yet the Prime Minister himself seems to have gone underground. He is not on holiday — his government is working all hours. But he has not been

Katy Balls

Taking back control

Every Friday at 6 p.m. government aides are summoned to No. 10 Downing Street for a meeting with Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s right-hand man. Here they are plied with alcoholic beverages, updated on the latest government messaging and given instructions for the week ahead. Such meetings seldom happened under the old Theresa May regime: Fridays were a bit of a non-event when ministers were in their constituencies and aides worked hard right up to lunchtime. The new end-of-week meeting register means that is no longer an option. At the most recent meeting, a handful of aides were singled out for good behaviour. Their achievement? Reporting the minister they work for

Dominic Cummings won’t blink over no deal. But will Boris Johnson?

On the day Boris Johnson became Prime Minister, I said his most important appointment was that of Dominic Cummings – who had run the triumphant pro-Brexit, Vote Leave referendum campaign – as his most senior government adviser. It signalled Johnson was not bluffing when he pledged to extract the UK from the EU do or die, no ifs no buts, deal or no deal – because there are few political operators on the planet more ruthless, focused and remorseless than Cummings. I imagine he has OODA tattooed on his bottom (look it up). There has however been a bit of a misunderstanding about precisely what Cummings agreed to do for

The History Boys of Brexit

What do Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Dominic Cummings all have in common? They are Brexiteers, of course. Yet little is it known that they all studied history or classics at university. Add to this list John Redwood, Bill Cash, Daniel Hannan, Owen Paterson and Douglas Carswell — some of the most influential Eurosceptic MPs from the past 30 years. Michael Gove may have studied English literature, but as education secretary he sought to establish a ‘narrative of British progress’ in the history curriculum. Boris has written a biography of Winston Churchill and Nick Timothy has written a biography of Joseph Chamberlain. Even two of the so-called ‘Bad Boys of

Portrait of the Week – 8 August 2019

Home If the government lost a confidence motion when parliament sits again in September, it could call an election for after 31 October, by which time Britain would have left the European Union, according to a briefing attributed to Dominic Cummings, the special adviser to Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister. Opposition MPs plotted to prevent this. Diplomats from the other 27 EU member states were told by EU officials that the United Kingdom wanted to avoid a no-deal Brexit by their agreeing to substantial changes to the draft withdrawal agreement; the officials told them that there was no basis for ‘meaningful discussions’ with Britain. Michael Gove said he was ‘deeply

Who’ll blink first?

On Sunday, Boris Johnson’s cabinet ministers were summoned to a conference call for an update on his Brexit strategy. The EU had not yet indicated any shift in its position, he said, but that should in no way deter the government from its current course. He was confident, he told his cabinet, that if he stuck to his guns the EU would move eventually. This, then, is the new government’s position. The Prime Minister told ministers that he does not think no deal is the most likely outcome — but if the government is not prepared for it, nothing will change. Is he right? Will the EU blink first? Many

The imitation game

Imagine looking at a photo of a stranger and feeling in response, quite naturally, the sort of happy affection you might feel towards a spouse. Well, it’s weird. In July this year, when Benedict Cumberbatch was filming Channel 4’s upcoming Brexit film (Brexit: The Uncivil War) a friend sent me some photos by text message, tabloid snaps from the set. Benedict plays my husband Dominic Cummings, director of the Leave campaign, and the shots were long-lens and hazy: Ben/Dom pushing his son on a swing; Ben/Dom kissing his wife. The real son-of-Dom and I were halfway through our Rice Krispies when the photos came through and I remember how taken

Why Dominic Cummings’ 2nd referendum warning ought to worry No 10

Dominic Cummings has set the cat among the pigeons this afternoon by leaking a Parliamentary report into fake news ahead of its official publication on Sunday. The Vote Leave official alleges that the report ‘knowingly/incompetently makes false claims’ on supposed misuses of data during the referendum campaign. Expect further reaction to this over the weekend. However, the part of the blog that has got people talking in Westminster most avidly today relates to his comments on calls for a second referendum. Following increased chatter in recent weeks from Remain-ers over the need for a second vote on Brexit – whether on the terms of the final deal or leaving the

Dominic Cummings: how the Brexit referendum was won

Politics is gambling for high stakes with other people’s money… Politics is a job that can be compared with navigation in uncharted waters. One has no idea how the weather or the currents will be or what storms one is in for. In politics, there is the added fact that one is largely dependent on the decisions of others, decisions on which one was counting and which then do not materialise; one’s actions are never completely one’s own. And if the friends on whose support one is relying change their minds, which is something that one cannot vouch for, the whole plan miscarries… One’s enemies one can count on – but

My husband’s ‘gay affair’ with Gove

A few weeks ago I discovered that while he should have been focused on the fight of his life during the referendum campaign, David Cameron was instead obsessing over whether or not his justice secretary, Michael Gove, had had an affair with my husband, Dom Cummings, campaign director of Vote Leave. The story was in the Mail on Sunday, who eked it out across two consecutive issues. On week one it kept Dom and Michael’s names under wraps (for ethical reasons, it said) but revealed the source of the thrilling bit of gossip to be an aide of Cameron’s called Gavin Williamson (now Chief Whip). Williamson had, said the MoS,

The day that Brexit camped in my kitchen

On Thursday last week, as the baby and I were moving in our usual slow circles around the house, from changing station to feeding station to the place of dreaded midday nap, my husband, Dom, called to say he and all his colleagues were coming over. Dom is employed by Vote Leave, the group campaigning for us to get out of the European Union. He’d been hard at work, he said, sharing his concerns about Turkey with the media, when water had begun to gush from the ceiling. Was this a desperate move by No. 10, intent on sabotage? Nope, said Dom, but we can’t stay here so I’ve invited

Watch: Vote Leave’s Dom Cummings is grilled by Andrew Tyrie – ‘this sounds like Aladdin’s cave to me’

Popcorn at the ready! Today Vote Leave’s Dominic Cummings has been hauled before the Treasury committee to answer questions on ‘the economic and financial costs and benefits of UK’s EU membership’. To begin this, Cummings — who has been described by former colleagues as a Tory Che Guevara — was grilled by the committee’s chair Andrew Tyrie. The tone was set from the start: DC: “I’ve got another meeting at four, so I’ll have to be out of here before that.” AT: “I don’t think you’ve got the hang of these proceedings. We ask the questions and you stay and answer them.” DC: “I’m just telling you when I’ll be leaving.” AT:

British Polling Council slurs Vote Leave director in email gaffe

Oh dear. Thanks to today’s technological advances, it’s never been easier to stay in touch with contacts. However, one member of the British Polling Council discovered today that this is not always a good thing. Vote Leave’s Dominic Cummings complained to the BPC about the Confederation of British Industry’s EU survey, which was conducted by YouGov. After receiving the email complaint, staff discussed his claims, but failed to notice that Cummings was cc’d into the conversation. In the email, Nick Moon wrote that ‘at first glance the odious Cummings might be onto something’ before admitting that the ‘survey looks pretty dodgy’. Given that the BPC — which regulates all UK polling — ought to

The Remain and Leave campaigns go head-to-head for the first time — here’s what happened

We might not know what deal David Cameron will bring back from his renegotiation with Europe but now we know what the two campaigns will look like. Their leading lights went head-to-head at the Spectator debate this evening and it was a fascinating insight into how they plan to fight. Dominic Cummings, the co-director of the Vote Leave campaign, argued that a vote to leave the EU would force a rethink of the entire European project, Britain would gain £20 billion to invest and we’d have ‘far more influence around the world’ thanks to the opportunity for Britain to finally represent itself on global bodies. But Cummings’ strongest argument was

Exclusive: Vote Leave campaign rejects merger with Arron Banks’s Leave.EU

Is the infighting between the two campaigns for Britain to leave the EU drawing to a close? Coffee House understands that Arron Banks, the Ukip donor and founder of the Leave.EU campaign, has been in talks with Vote Leave, the other Brexit group run by Dominic Cummings and Matthew Elliott, about how the campaigns can work together better in the name of leaving the EU. Sources close to Arron Banks have told Coffee House that he is open to the idea of merging with ‘Vote Leave’ and taking a lower profile role in the EU referendum — acknowledging that the infighting is harming the Eurosceptic cause. The Leave.EU campaign say