If you are a Conservative voter how do you feel about Dominic Cummings apparent power over Boris Johnson?

[applesnotoranges]

Just that really. When scientific advisors have been sacked for flouting the rules and Boris Johnson comes out and says Dominic Cummings did nothing wrong how do you feel?

My father has been taken into hospital today – not covid related – but my mum is on her own. They have been in isolation since the beginning of lockdown. My instinct is to go and be with my mum as she is 200 miles away and alone.

Betrayed and foolish. And like I will never vote Conservative again. Have emailed my (Conservative ) MP but I don’t expect he will give a toss. If enough of us don’t vote for him next time he might start to care, however so yeah, I’ll wait.

@saucery Not being goady but with the benefit of hindsight- do you wish you had voted differently? Although I have no doubt that there would be entitled rule breakers no matter what flavour of government we have

I am really disappointed and cross about it. Won’t change my vote though.

Which scientific advisor was sacked, OP?

If you mean Ferguson, he stood down from his role on SAGE, but still has his job at Imperial College.

No, I don't regret voting Conservative as I'm very happy with our local MP who has done more since December for our area than the dubious mealy mouthed Labour MP we had the misfortune to have for four years.

I come from a slightly different angle in this. Cummings is the advisor, all this froth about him having control is just that, froth. Boris standing by his advisor is understandable.

DC didn't break any 'rules' he made a foolish decision, I think he should have stepped down but we have yet to see what he has to say about what happened.

Ferguson was just as bad, although he did have the decency to step down but he is still part of the team that influences policy and a new report is out.

The statement this afternoon will be the telling of what will come.

@kaleishorrid no, it’s not goady, I don’t mind. I’m not a habitual Tory voter and in Dec I didn’t see Labour as a credible opposition. They are hopefully becoming one now under Starmer’s leadership. I won’t pretend that I don’t own my 2019 vote.
I think if the Labour Party of December had listened to the same scientific advisers and tried to keep big business sweet then many things in this crisis would have been the same.
The tipping point for me was being gaslighted in the way we were last night so whatever secrets DC has on BJ stay hidden.

Disappointed in the leadership. But (probably irrationally) angry at Labour for not giving me a better alternative in time.

I consider myself a Tory at heart, but when it comes to Johnson v Starmer, I'll have to tick the labour box.

Rory Stuart is my ideal PM.

I just think that this is probably one of worst times for a PM to lose their “advisor” and that Boris is trying to hang on to him.

I also think that the advisor should be seen to be taking the PMs advice on movement in Lockdown.

Ultimately, yes, I think the statement later today will end with Dominic Cummings’ resignation.

I've always voted Tory but next time round I'll be changing my vote if Cummings is still with him. He's done enough damage.

Ultimately, yes, I think the statement later today will end with Dominic Cummings’ resignation.*

I wish that were true but he's not going anywhere. He will cling on for dear life.

I thought political advisers couldn’t make any sort of political public statement ?

But what about the labour MP's that have broken rules? One went to a party recently. Kinnock went to visit his father and sat in the front garden. Another went for a picnic. Another to a funeral where more than 100 people attended. These have been ignored. I know those people didn't have symptoms but it's still things that shouldn't have been done.

The Prime Minister didn’t stand up and tell me a load of bollocks about their actions so I don’t really care about them. They risk assessed and acted accordingly, like many non-politicians across the country.
Stephen Kinnock, for instance, sat in the open air at the end of his parents’ drive. He’s not got a shambling, incoherent glove puppet scared of what he might reveal about him that he shoved onto a podium yesterday to lie to my face.

The conservative voters I know are seething and openly angry on Johnson and the way he has dealt with it all.

But what about the labour MP's that have broken rules?

Were they involved in making the rules ?

Why are posters determined to excuse what DC did at the height of a deadly pandemic.

Stop making excuses. What they did was wrong and they have lied about it and got half the cabinet to say it was okay, therefore undermining the stay at home message. Surely you can see the problem?

Another to a funeral where more than 100 people attended.

Who was that, and when? Funerals with more than a handful of people haven't been allowed since lockdown, surely?

I would have thought the damage to public trust and opinion would mean DC going would be the best thing for the Tory party and the government.
Whether people on this thread think he was reasonable or not, the majority of the country (judging from social media) think he was wrong and should leave.
The damage this does to the trust in the governments advice over C-vid is not worth one advisors job. DC will be ok, the government need to protect their image at this time, especially to their (older & more vulnerable) voters.

The conservative voters I know are seething and openly angry on Johnson and the way he has dealt with it all.

You also have to add in the shy ones that must have quietly "X"d the Tories without fanfare. Harder to know what they think until they vote.

@saraclara I forget the name but it was an Asian MP who attended a big funeral in the Midlands after lock down had begun.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-england-birmingham-52154327

You also have to add in the shy ones that must have quietly "X"d the Tories without fanfare. Harder to know what they think until they vote.
There is the bigger, more serious issue of why that 2016 report was ignored under a Tory government, the report that listed a pandemic as the biggest threat and that said how unprepared we are. Surely, between 2017 and 2019, Tories had enough time to prepare?

In answer to your whataboutery ican, Dominic Cummings was in part responsible for the writing of the lockdown rules. He drove 260 miles with his infected wife to his family, including his elderly parents.
No comparison.

Then went to the woods. Then went to Barnard Castle. Then went back gto London. Then went back to Durham again according to the Mirror & Observer.

Apparently there were 15 people at that funeral, all socially distancing. And the MP apologised. So nothing like Cummings' action (also at the height of lockdown) which he refuses to apologise for @DrDreReturns

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-52154327

@BakedCam

"DC didn't break any rules"

Not even

"Today therefore we are moving forward with our plan. From tomorrow, if you have coronavirus symptoms, however mild – either a new continuous cough or a high temperature – then you should stay at home for at least 7 days to protect others and help slow the spread of the disease."

12 March 2020
www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-statement-on-coronavirus-12-march-2020

How about
"So, first, we need to ask you to ensure that if you or anyone in your household has one of those two symptoms, then you should stay at home for fourteen days."

www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-statement-on-coronavirus-16-march-2020

Or maybe:

"New guidance to stay at home for 14 days if someone in your household has symptoms of COVID-19 is the focus of the next stage of a public awareness campaign launched by Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock today.

The new guidance will set out that individuals will still be asked to self-isolate for 7 days from the onset of COVID-19 symptoms but any individuals in the household will now be asked to self-isolate for 14 days from that moment as well.

If other members of your household develop symptoms, however mild, at any time during the 14 days, they must not leave the home for 7 days from when symptoms started."

www.gov.uk/government/news/new-guidance-for-households-with-possible-covid-19-infection

Or even:

"From this evening I must give the British people a very simple instruction - you must stay at home.

Because the critical thing we must do is stop the disease spreading between households.

That is why people will only be allowed to leave their home for the following very limited purposes:

<strong>shopping for basic necessities, as infrequently as possible</strong>
<strong>one form of exercise a day - for example a run, walk, or cycle - alone or with members of your household;</strong>
<strong>any medical need, to provide care or to help a vulnerable person; and</strong>
<strong>travelling to and from work, but only where this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home.</strong>

That’s all - these are the only reasons you should leave your home.

You should not be meeting friends. If your friends ask you to meet, you should say No.

You should not be meeting family members who do not live in your home."

www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-address-to-the-nation-on-coronavirus-23-march-2020

Those were the rules in the UK. I suppose you must live in some other country. Which country is it?