Sorry seems to be the hardest word: How Dominic Cummings highlighted Westminster’s elitist nature

Lights, camera, action. Not quite. On Monday afternoon I sat anxiously, cup of tea in hand, eyes fixed to the television screen. Any second now, I thought, Dominic Cummings will address the nation and explain his reasoning for the 264 mile trip from London to Durham. I wasn’t expecting a resignation but I had anticipated a timely arrival and an apology. Once again, the government seemed to let me down.

When seated behind the fold out table, Mr Cummings looked more like he was asking to see my ticket before letting me in to my primary school leavers’ dance than face questions on his whereabouts during lockdown but what can be expected of a man used to being on the other side of a wall of journalists and cameras? Despite his look of vulnerability, Dominic wasn’t going into this blind, unlike his drive to Barnard Castle. It was clear that there had been extensive prepping from 10 Downing Street and Cummings succeeded in his mission; whatever you do, do not say sorry.

Hoping for Cummings to be sacked would’ve been wishful thinking. How could the Prime Minister let his ideas man go? Boris needs him; Cummings provides the brains, Johnson provides the voice. After all, it takes two to tango, and two to try and run a country. As the minutes passed by and we waited for Mr Cummings to appear I tried not to let my mind wander to the idea of him hastily scrawling out a resignation letter but unlike Peter Pan, Boris’ shadow would never leave him.

Even though there has been extreme media scrutiny of his actions, Cummings doesn’t seem to be held to the same level of account as others involved in the political sphere. Dianne Abbotts was forced to apologise for drinking a mojito on public transport. Catherine Calderwood was harassed out of her role as Chief Medical Officer for breaking the same rules as Dominic. The harsh world of politics won’t stop until it gets its way, unless you’re part of Westminster’s untouchable elite- Mr Cummings has been welcomed in to the very group that he has been said to have detested from the beginning. Other members include Boris Johnson after his horrific burka comments and Michael Gove’s regretful but not apologetic nature after his past usage of Class A drugs was revealed. The world of politics has been plagued with lies, fabrication and misinformation and it needs to stop now. We simply cannot allow a group of arrogant, self-entitled men to say and do whatever they please, creating a strict rule book and forcing ordinary citizens to make huge sacrifices whilst they seem to be playing an altogether different game. It doesn’t matter how many red cards are given, they’re never sent off.

Mr Cummings’ story was extremely flawed and I could quite easily pick it apart for days; his sister-in-law and her family live in London, could he not have asked her for help for a few days if he and his wife became incapacitated? Why did he feel it necessary to spend over an hour driving to test his eyesight, putting himself and others on the road at risk? Does he not realise that the guidelines he brought up in Downing Street garden were there to protect vulnerable children in households that might not be safe for them, not for opportunistic government workers to exploit and use for their own best interests? But at the end of the day, that’s not where the root of my anger lies. This hasn’t just exemplified Dominic Cummings’ self-entitled nature or his failure to recognise and apologise for his mistakes. This has brought up a bigger issue; a systemic fault within British politics. It can be added to the ever-growing mountain of stories of the privileged exploiting others for their own gain, an elite group in Westminster who never have to face up to their actions and the political ethos of “What they don’t know won’t hurt them”. Well it does hurt and it’s been hurting for far too long. And a simple apology won’t fix it anymore.

Niamh 30/05/2020