Is BoJo purposely backing DC to cause outrage?

[ellaandthebella]

I have been wondering about this but it might just be the conspiracist in me. Boris Johnson must know that backing Dominic Cummings will cause a lot of people to be angry and thinking there is one set of rules for them and another for everyone else, so why should they stay away from their families if others don't have to. I have seen on here and on social media lots of people saying well if DC does it then I am going to go and see people.

In that way if there is another peak of the virus then BoJo can say 'well I told everyone not to mix but they did it anyway, and it had nothing to do with government advice.'

What are your thoughts?

[nasalspray]

Boris is the puppet. D.C. is the hand.

[Ohchristmastreeohchristmastree]

I had heard a rumour that it was to get people back out and herd immunity.
Personally I didn’t believe it until yesterday‘s press conference. DC is meant to be a genius and from what I saw yesterday at the car crash interview didn’t add up. He came up with awful excuses on par with Prince Andrews interview and it did make me wonder if this was done purposely to rile people up and make them want to break lockdown.
I for one am not changing what I’m doing (staying home) but worry some people will be (going out).

[17million]

just when I thought MN posters could not get any more 'hysterical' and hard of thinking - here is yet another thread destroying that vague hope.
Honestly - just listen to yourselves - everything you hear/read on social media or hear a rumour of via your leftie newspaper rags is not necessarily the truth.
The media have certainly misled an awful lot of very gullible people.

[Inoneminute]

I don't think he could get away with blaming the public for not following the rules when there would be such clear causation for that. He should have sacked the man, exactly to show the people how important the rules are, if that's what he wants people to think.

I do think we've got to a point where people (including me) are a bit too keen to stay indoors though and "something" has to be done to persuade people to get back to normal. I doubt it was planned but I do think it could be part of the reason it's been allowed to run. Yes people would have been forced to return as the money ran out but that would have been much more difficult for the government than having people decide to do it themselves.

Genuine question, what's the difference between a virus and a disease? Can't "the" virus be both?

[Irnbroothenoo]

He’s backing him because he didn’t break the rules. Starmer backed his 4 MPs when they clearly did so why not Boris?

[Bluntness100]

Nah, Boris does not wish to say “I told you so” he’s not twelve. And he’s opening everything Up.

He does however wish to ease lock down and was getting a lot of push back from the unions, media, and other politicians, as such this does play exactly into what the government wishes. Because last week everyone was screaming it’s not safe, now everyone is screaming I’m going out. Which is a total win.

I don’t think it was planned this way, but it’s a result for the government. They wanted people back to work and the unions to back down, furlough to end, and pretty much now they have it. You can’t be screaming I’ll go out when I want but I don’t want to go to work.

[Inoneminute]

I don't think the resemblance to Prince Andrew's interview points to anything more than that they both genuinely believed that people would be fine once they'd put their side of the story. Both completely unaccustomed to being "wrong" and thought the public would be on their side if only they cleared up all the misunderstanding caused by the press.

[Nishky]

I detected a hint of throwing DC to the wolves to be honest

I think you may have a point there

[FourTeaFallOut]

Surely if he is such a genius as to plan the about turn on public opinion on returning to work, schools and shops they would have done a modicum of research and seen most people who will now break the rules just want to see their friends and family and that doesn't generate any tax revenue?

[SmileyFaceSadFace]

DC = Machiavellian ‘genius’ = gets ‘caught’ = public outrage = ‘ if he can do ‘x’ so can I’ = herd immunity

This popped into my head yesterday when an intelligent, level headed, mid 50s, couple I know posted a photo on FB of them breaking lockdown rules saying if DC can do it so can we.

So even if it wasn't intended to have that affect on the public, it looks like it will.

[AMostExcellentStick]

I don't think DC has anything in particular on BJ, apart from BJ's general inadequacy. All he wants is to be a popular prime minister, he is not committed to any policy apart from what's going to play well that day. DC got him Brexit and got him in to Downing St, now he's terrified that without him he'll have no idea what to do.

I'm not sure I believe the whole thing was constructed to get people out and about - but if they genuinely wanted people to follow the rules then this is the exact opposite of what they should be doing. So I would go along with this being them taking advantage of an opportunity to get people out and about, whilst maintaining plausible deniability.

[Pipandmum]

The press briefings are just pr exercises so the public is kept 'informed'. They do not need to be done by the PM.
He did speak on Sunday as he knew this had exploded, but you could tell he was growing in fury when the press did not back down and kept returning to the issue. I'm sure his next conversation with Cummings was quite something, and he told him he had to go face the public himself.
He did wrong. But move on and concentrate on the bigger picture.

[TheLashKingOfScotland]

It's distracting from the Sunday Times' article listing Boris' mistakes and it's allowing Boris and DC to see how much they can gaslight the public and still have loyalists defend them and it's taking attention away from funneling the public's data into private companies.
The Tories who don't want their party to become synonymous with a Trumpian level of disdain for the truth, need to seriously consider aligning with the other parties and moving to a vote of no confidence. They need to oust Boris and DC. They are trashing the very basic principles of democracy.

[LizzieSiddal]

Have people forgotten that BJ has been sacked several times for lying. Or that DC’s campaign for Leave broke Electoral law?

These people open their mouths and lies fly out. They don’t care what we think, they’ve got away with it before and they will continue to do so.

The only positive for me is that next time BJ makes a “mistake”, he will be out on his ear, because his back benchers have let him get away with it this time but they won’t again. They are already angry with his handling of the pandemic. The figures speak for themselves, He can’t lie out of that.

[LizzieSiddal]

He did wrong. But move on and concentrate on the bigger picture.

No

[KitMarlowesCodpieceOfThigh]

Inoneminute

The virus and the disease aren't one and the same. The virus is the pathogen. The disease is the body's response to that pathogen. It's actually a really important distinction with this particular pathogen - the virus doesn't always cause disease, which is one of the major reasons for lockdown (asymptomatic carriers are harbouring the virus but not suffering from the disease).

[Inoneminute]

Thank you

[effingterrified]

Yes, OP - of course you're right.

While everyone is fuming over Cummings, no-one is talking about the fact that Johnson then announced the effecrive ending of the lockdown in mid-June - even though the 5 tests have blatantly not been met and doing this will clearly lead to a second wave.

Johnson and Cummings have made no secret of the fact they favour the 'herd immunity' strategy aka culling the old and vulnerable.

They realised it wasn't going to fly with the British public though and so were forced into imposing a lockdown - but have done it as half-arsedly as possibly to ensure that Britain has the highest death rate in Europe.

They were stuck as polls showed the British were reluctant to end lockdown.

So they engineer pissing off the UK public as much as possible with their hypocrisy, to persuade as many people as possible to abandon lockdown early.

And get to bury the news about ending lockdown without bothering to meet their 5 tests on the same day.

Trebles all round. Spaffing-tastic.

[EvilPea]

I wondered if it was a way of making sure Tories were voted out so they didn’t have to sort the financial and mental health issues

[effingterrified]

There is no election so they can't get voted out.

But Johnson could get removed I suppose by his party. But no sign of that currently.

[DippyAvocado]

I don't think it's a deliberate herd immunity by stealth policy or that DC knows too many secrets. I think BJ just knows that he can't manage without him. He's stuffed the cabinet with a load of incompetents who are there simply because they will be loyal to him and they support Brexit. He can't bring in any of the few vaguely competent Tory MPs who are left because he can't trust that they will support him. He needs DC and that's the only reason he's still there.

I heard on the radio yesterday that DC has been described at WM as "the only brain in the building". Although he hasn't shown much evidence of a brain with his driving and eyesight shenanigans.

[unchienandalusia]

@bluntness100


You can’t be screaming I’ll go out when I want but I don’t want to go to work.

This. Wonder when people are going to bloody realise.

[B1rdbra1n]

He's stuffed the cabinet with a load of incompetents who are there simply because they will be loyal to him and they support Brexit. He can't bring in any of the few vaguely competent Tory MPs who are left because he can't trust that they will support him. He needs DC and that's the only reason he's still there.He's stuffed the cabinet with a load of incompetents who are there simply because they will be loyal to him and they support Brexit. He can't bring in any of the few vaguely competent Tory MPs who are left because he can't trust that they will support him. He needs DC and that's the only reason he's still there
I agree with this and in this respect he is in part like Trump.

[TheAlphaandtheOmega]

The lockdown isn't ending though, I bet the dentist or hairdresser won't be open and the government is paying people not to work until October, it will just be shops opening and meeting more people outside, that is still lockdown, it certainly isn't normal life as it was

[B1rdbra1n]

But the dentist has got to keep up the payments on his Mercedes😲