Carrie Symonds is running the country

[noblegiraffe]

Interesting blogpost from Mary Beard here about the current situation in Downing Street being put down to Carrie Symonds putting her foot down and getting rid of Boris’ advisers (or that he sacked them because they were mean about her).

www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/carrie-symonds-and-the-livia-problem-blog-post-mary-beard/

It’s not uncommon for partners to exert an influence on PM. I’d imagine Ms Symonds will have an opinion esp as she worked In conservative communications

If she got rid of Cummings she’s doing an ok job.

Perhaps things will improve if she is.

Well she can't do a worse job than Boris and Dom, so good luck to her if this is really the case.

I think it's more likely the men wanted rid and they used her as a shield.

But if it's true, it's probably a good thing.

No she’s not. Don’t be silly.

It's as good/bad thing as if Denis Thatcher or Philip May were calling shots

I’m glad Moronic Dummings has gone (aka Dominic Cummings) but it does concern me if this happening because of her. I appreciate people have opinions and I’m sure many past PMs partners and spouses has given their opinion on things but it doesn’t show Boris as the weak muppet we all know he is. Hopefully if Carrie has had any influence a pro EU team will take the helm instead of the idiots who were there to start with.

She had a point though. Boris' inner circle is all men; she pointed that out and pushed for removing some people, then they've been caught making inappropriate comments about her and since Dom has already made mistakes it was time for him to go.

I don't know much about Carrie Symonds, but if she got rid of DC she may prove to have better judgement than Boris.

I'm not sure I'd mind if she was.

As she narrowly escaped becoming a victim of Worboys and has recently become a first time mother I'd take bets on her a) knowing what a woman is and b) knowing why women need single sex spaces.

There are many other issues I'm sure she'd be crap on but these are in my top 5 and underpin my reasons why I didn't vote for the Greens and why I didn't vote at all in the end (not that it would have made any difference, I'm in a safe Tory seat).

There were a few stories in the media last few weeks that were v unflattering if her- that she and Boris were living like students in number 10 with pizza boxes everywhere. Seemed a strange story at time now I suspect DC briefing against her and it probably pissed her off

@Pyewhacket

No she’s not. Don’t be silly.

It’s like you read the thread title but not the blog post up for discussion.

Do we think that Carrie Symonds is likely to have such influence over Boris (who apparently has already cheated on her) that he would ditch his closest adviser that he was willing to destroy his lockdown for (Barnard Castle) rather than sack?

I do think something has happened as allegra Stratton, munira mirza and carrie symonds have all been implicated in cain/Cummings departure
My total speculation is that Cain did something beyond the pale that caused all the women to want him gone, Cummings spat the dummy about him leaving

She had a point though. Boris' inner circle is all men; she pointed that out and pushed for removing some people, then they've been caught making inappropriate comments about her and since Dom has already made mistakes it was time for him to go.

What inappropriate comments were made?

Hopefully Pompeia Paulina is the better analogy.

@Pixxie7

Perhaps things will improve if she is.

this

Cummings was was starting his little campaign to get Gove the PMs job but he overplayed his hand briefing against Carrie and he lost. He was never loyal to Boris and hopefully Boris sees that now.
I hope we see the back of Gove too now odious snake.
Carrie cares about a lot of things that are important like climate change so I would imagine she is largely a positive influence. She is certainly better at comms than Cain.

Mary Beard is right as alway, blame the woman is always the default. At least Carrie Symonds is being blamed for something that is popular in the wider word (Cummings going at last) whereas the way MM is treated is atrocious.

@Splodgetastic

Hopefully Pompeia Paulina is the better analogy.

Or Eleanor of Aquitaine

I almost started a thread on this earlier!

Mary Beard has read my mind, only, not being a classicist, the comparator I jumped to was Lady Macbeth - was talking to DDad earlier, saying "how come Carrie is being cast as the power behind the throne on, as far as I can see, zero hard evidence? Every single news outlet is full of 'it was Carrie wot done it, in the cabinet office, with a red box,' but this is all being asserted by unnamed sources with no details."

I find it most peculiar and very suspicious. Whose agenda does it suit to have her to hand as the fall guy girl? (At the moment, of course, the country is rubbing their collective hands in glee saying "yay, she got rid of the grubby little bastard", but I can't believe this is the end-game we're in.)

@laudemio

Cummings was was starting his little campaign to get Gove the PMs job but he overplayed his hand briefing against Carrie and he lost. He was never loyal to Boris and hopefully Boris sees that now. I hope we see the back of Gove too now odious snake. Carrie cares about a lot of things that are important like climate change so I would imagine she is largely a positive influence. She is certainly better at comms than Cain.

This. My view: Cummings / Gove have just been using Johnson - they needed him to take a fall, then they would position Gove as PM. Cummings was never Johnson's man - he allegedly just had too much on him. But as said above they have over played the hand. I really hope there will be some fallout on Gove on this...

Cummings' exit from Downing Street was stage managed down to the little box of possessions. Deliberately done for attention, which is not the actions of an arrogant man who has just been bested by a woman.

I would suspect that Carrie being behind it is being used as a narrative to hide something else.

Lots of senior, and not so senior Tories, wanted Cummings gone.

Carrie is blamed....go figure.

Oh absolutely Carrie is being used as a smokescreen