Boris Johnson remains the man to bring down his own government

Brief moments in politics can have deep resonances. When Ann Widdecombe and her UKIP colleagues turned their backs during a performance of the European anthem (Beethoven and Schiller’s Ode to Joy) last year, I wept with sadness for their negation of so much that I hold dear.

When Dominic Cummings responded to journalists asking about how his actions would appear to the British public with ‘It’s not about what you guys think’, I felt intense foreboding that a senior government figure would express such a deep disregard for the importance of a free press as the servant of the public.

We live in worrying times.

Tom Empson

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Royston

In his May 17 speech to the nation, the prime minister acknowledged people ‘will feel frustrated with some of the new rules’. Failure to dismiss Dominic Cummings was a provocation to every person disgruntled with or disbelieving the necessity of continuing restrictions, to cite this precedent as approval for their own breaches, leaving the police and others to deal with the consequences.

Meanwhile, we as citizens obedient to the ‘rules’ as we understand them and putting the health and safety of others as well as ourselves first, continue to be denied direct contact with our family members.

But, of course, the ‘rules’ were made for us to observe and were for others to exert their privilege to breach.

Chris Clode

Brynteg

At least now it’s quite clear what happened during the Johnson/Cummings marathon meeting last Sunday. This was all about coming up with a plausible explanation for his actions to sell to us, the intellectually challenged, those incapable of realising just how flexible the instruction to ‘stay at home’ really was.

The results did not convince me, nor, I suspect, millions of others. Arrogance, hypocrisy, self-importance, narcissism.

Phil Green

It is said the person most likely to bring down Boris Johnson is Boris Johnson. Cheers Boris !

Patrick Maskell

Bexhill

We all feel a visceral revulsion towards Dominic Cummings. But, at some point we have to address why so little examination is being made of the man who lied us into Brexit and messed up the pandemic response and who is supposed to be in charge… Boris Johnson.

At present Johnson is not weighing up whether to support his advisor – he is weighing his personal popularity against whether he can find someone else to run the country for him if Dom goes.

Cummings is not Iago to Johnson’s Othello, he’s Lady Macbeth to Johnson’s blasted heath….

Amanda Baker

Edinburgh

As a retired lecturer, I am used to the feeble excuses made by students for not handing in homework, assignments, etc. I may be gullible, but even I can see through it. The key thing, as I see it, is that Mr Johnson is ‘frit’. If Cummings goes, the wheels come off Johnson’s wagon. If Johnson continues to stand cravenly by him, it is clear that Cummings is the puppet-master, and Johnson has no authority as the prime minister. Johnson’s whole bid for power was all a jolly Etonian jape. Now he is out of his depth.

James Irvine

Skipton

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