THIS week has been dominated by the revelations about Dominic Cummings – but for me it breaks down into two very clear statements.
Did he break the rules? Yes.
Has he been punished for that? No
Large numbers of residents have emailed me (from all over the borough) over the course of this period asking ‘is it okay if...’ when it came to the lockdown rules.
Many did not exactly love the responses that sometimes, because of the guidelines, I had to give.
Most of the time I didn’t love having to give that guidance, either – especially considering the sacrifice this sometimes meant for these residents.
But that was the guidance and it was very clear (particularly if you had symptoms) and I know people understood that.
I also have family within Surrey I could not visit.
I cannot praise those residents enough for following the guidance and, in some cases, under some pretty unpleasant circumstances – some of them at least as serious as the issues allegedly faced by the PM’s senior advisor.
Our MP, Jeremy Hunt, eventually made a statement (printed in full below) and again we can break that down into short points.
Did Mr Hunt think Mr Cummings broke the very clear rules? Yes.
Should there be any consequences? No (and move along, nothing to see here).
We can only conclude from his comments that it is clearly one rule for them, and another for the rest of us down here on the ground.
Reminding us all that his overwhelming desire to one day get the big chair himself means the only side he is on is not yours, or mine, but his own.
* By Cllr Paul Follows, deputy leader, Waverley Borough Council, and Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for South West Surrey (2019)
The full statement made by Mr Hunt regarding Dominic Cummings’ actions read: “Having watched the broadcast, my own view is that what he did was a clear breach of the lockdown rules – coming back into work when he had been with his wife who was ill, driving to Durham instead of staying at home, and visiting Barnard Castle.
“These were clearly mistakes – both in terms of the guidance, which was crystal clear, and in terms of the signal it would potentially give out to others as someone who was at the centre of government.
“But as someone who has been at the centre of media storms with a young family, I know you do make mistakes in these situations. I have made them myself.
“So I am afraid I am not going to add my voice to the list of those calling for him to resign.
“I am also not convinced that politics gains much from the spectacle of scalp-hunting even though I recognise that accountability is central to our democracy and sometimes people do need to resign.”