Anti-elitism? The irony of the Cummings story

Dominic Cummings has betrayed the very people in the North East who put their faith in his campaign to win the election in 2019. Coronavirus has exposed the regional inequalities that our government has enabled over the last ten years – from regional health inequalities to systemic social inequality, the North East of England where I live has suffered disproportionately during this pandemic.

However, our region has been forced into the media spotlight this week – not drawing attention to the impact of this crisis on the area, but due to the actions of the Prime Minister’s chief adviser. Unable to follow the advice given by his own boss, it seems that Cummings thinks he is above the law, or that the rules do not apply to him. The privileges enjoyed by Cummings are far removed from the experiences of most ordinary working people in this country.

Whilst the media attention and widespread condemnation of his actions have been welcome, what has been lacking is recognition that those who voted Conservative for the first time in the North East have been betrayed. Communities such as North West Durham, Bishop Auckland and Sedgefield made that switch because they wanted clear national leadership, politicians they could trust and a government who would put them first – plus an end to the parliamentary impasse that had consumed British politics for three years.

Yet on this occasion, the will of the people has been completely ignored by Boris Johnson. His handling of this crisis has resulted in the UK suffering the highest excess death rate in the world, and it is probably the government response to the Cummings story in particular that has caused his personal approval rating to drop by 20 points this week.

Our Prime Minister has chosen to defend an unelected adviser who decided that the rules in place did not apply to him. He travelled 260 miles to an area of the UK that has now had the highest infection rate in the country, and three boroughs within it that have the highest death rate recorded nationally.

It was Johnson that people chose to be our Prime Minister last year, but it was Cummings who devised the campaign and strategy. It was Cummings’ vision that advocated an end to political elitism and the political establishment – to platform the people’s voices first and listen to them above all else.

Those who once defended the efforts of Johnson and his inner circle are now quickly losing faith in the government, however – including many of those who voted Tory for the first time last year, and members of my own family who live and work in the North East. One relative even got in touch with me to say her protest vote against Labour in December was a waste, and that she never should have trusted a Tory.

The irony of this crisis is the supposed anti-elitist agenda promoted by Cummings. He ran a campaign that won an election last year to be a ‘people’s government’, but it is clear that those currently in 10 Downing Street are solely intent on protecting their own interests. For these reasons, we are not “all in this together” in the fight against coronavirus.