Cummings and goings

In recent months I have tried to steer away from politics and focus on economics. But as a line from the fictionalised memoir The Tattooist of Auschwitz recently reminded me, anyone “who lectures on taxation and interest rates can’t help but get involved in the politics of his country.” So it was that two years after Boris Johnson was elected as leader of the Conservative Party I watched this week’s BBC interview with Dominic Cummings, architect of the Brexit campaign and until December Johnson’s chief of staff, which lifted the lid on life in Downing Street (a short summary for non-UK based viewers can be found here on YouTube). It was many things – compulsive viewing; exculpatory; self-justifying; incoherent and despite Cummings’ denials, clearly motivated by revenge. But most of all it shone a light into the tawdry workings of British politics in recent years and acts as a reminder of how far standards of governance have fallen.

The context of the interview was also interesting. The BBC, and particularly its political editor Laura Kuenssberg, has come in for significant criticism in recent years that it has given the government an easy ride over its many policy failings. In this case Kuenssberg asked some very direct questions, although as many people pointed out, she has not given the same grilling to anyone still in government (though largely because they refuse to submit to such scrutiny). For all that, the interview was highly illuminating and raises questions for anyone with an interest in good governance.

The lies that they told

I will start with Cummings’s observations on Brexit, having pointed out for the last five years that he headed a campaign that wilfully lied to the electorate. He admitted that “on questions such as whether Brexit is a good idea, no-one on earth knows.” This from a man who led a campaign to persuade the electorate that it was! He went further to suggest that “it is perfectly reasonable to suggest that Brexit was a mistake.” As an insight into Cummings’ character, this speaks volumes. His efforts to try and appear thoughtful and rational contradict some of the policies he has long espoused and confirm David Cameron’s judgement that he is a “career psychopath.”

Cummings also denied lying about the costs of membership (the infamous £350 million per week claim), arguing that it was designed to set a trap for his political opponents and dismissed claims that it misled people into voting for Brexit. He further dismissed claims that he used Turkey’s willingness to join the EU to persuade the electorate that the UK was about to be swamped with huge numbers of immigrants. But in the immortal words of Mandy Rice-Davies almost 60 years ago “he would, wouldn’t he.” Cummings did implicitly admit that he did not present the information in its true context (aka he lied) but he justified doing so in order to get people to talk about the issues.

This is both disingenuous and dangerous – dangerous because it has set a precedent for people in public life to make all sort of false claims “in order to generate debate.” But if such lies are not called out, such statements tend to become accepted as truth by those prepared to propagate the falsehoods. Until recently I always thought that George Orwell’s 1984 was a satirical novel warning us of the consequences of totalitarianism (“Ignorance Is Strength”). I now realise that it has become an instruction manual for zealots intent on pursuing their particular interests.

How not to run a government

Given the character of the man, it says a lot about Boris Johnson’s style of leadership that Cummings was appointed the prime minister’s chief of staff. Cummings has little time for Johnson’s ability to lead (although this is undoubtedly coloured by his December sacking) but he clearly thought that Johnson was the only politician capable of “getting Brexit done.” Another insight into Cummings’ character was his response when asked why he took on the role. He told Kuenssberg that he did so only under certain conditions and seemed genuinely baffled when she asked whether he was motivated by any sense of public duty. There was very much a sense that Cummings used the role to pursue his own agenda rather than that of the country. Under the UK’s constitutional arrangements this is highly dangerous. Outside election periods, it is very difficult to call the prime minister to account and they have near-total carte blanche to do whatever they think necessary in order to pursue a particular policy. Giving someone like Cummings the protection of the prime minister’s office is like giving sticks of dynamite and a box of matches to a toddler.

The whole interview exposed the lack of strategy from the current government and the underhand tactics that it used to achieve the one goal that it had – that of getting Brexit done. Outside of this policy, the government seems to be largely rudderless and Cummings gave more insight into its dreadful handling of the pandemic with his central claim being that the prime minister put “his own political interests ahead of people’s lives.” Whilst Cummings' motivation can be called into question, he at least served a purpose by directing the spotlight towards the vacuum at the heart of government.

A deep-seated problem

All this matters because, as I have pointed out numerous times, well-run economies tend to deliver the best outcomes for their citizens. Whilst economics tries to be value neutral, it is hard to accept that the values demonstrated by the British government’s actions in recent years represent a good platform to deliver the best economic outcomes. An excellent post by Professor Geoff Mulgan highlighted that the government is representative of a narrow clique whose interests do not necessarily coincide with those of the wider electorate. Two of his main points bear repeating. The first is that this group does not really understand economics and thus does not grasp the implications of many of their policy slogans. A second point is that this clique “doesn’t really do ideas. It’s much better at commentary and critique than prescription.” 

A second critique was offered by the journalist, broadcaster and clergyman Giles Fraser, who notes that previous Conservative governments were at least guided by some form of moral compass. Even the pro-market Thatcher government, which was widely criticised for its apparent indifference to the social hardship caused by some of its policies, was deeply rooted in a moral view of the world (see, for example, this 1978 article by Margaret Thatcher in the Daily Telegraph). I will come back to the subject of economics and morality another time, but suffice to say a government that continues to make missteps which, (to reuse my all-time favourite political quote from fictional spin doctor Malcolm Tucker) are “the result of a political class, which has given up on morality and simply pursues popularity at all costs”, suggests we are sliding down a very slippery slope.

Last word

Although I do not like a lot of what Cummings stands for, I do understand his position. He sees an ossified political system which is ripe for reform and is prepared to do anything in his power to effect change. But hitching his campaigning zeal to the personal ambition of a Boris Johnson has resulted in a hollowing out of Britain’s political culture. More worrying still is that the vast majority of the electorate do not seem to care. Like him or loathe him, however, I urge people to watch the Cummings interview and make their own minds up as to whether the social, political and economic course upon which Britain is embarking is one that they are comfortable with.