Cummings and his marginally successful coup
Have you ever contributed to a group project where one member pours their heart and soul into its contents? However, upon completion they admit they aren’t too keen on the final result. Well, that is exactly what Dominic Cummings has just done, despite being the driving force behind the PM’s initial Brexit campaign.
We have Dominic Cummings to thank for Boris Johnson’s original “get Brexit done” campaign that won him the election. However, during an interview with BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg, Cummings admitted that Brexit could have been “a mistake”.
Cummings said that his team had “taken over” the Conservative party in order to “try and bend it to something that’s different”. His coup sought to “disrupt” the UK’s power structures, which let’s be honest, is just as vague as the initial reasons for leaving the EU.
“I think anyone who says they’re sure about questions like that has got a screw loose, whether you’re on the Remain side or our side,” he told the BBC when asked whether he thought Brexit was a good idea.
“In Vote Leave we didn’t think that we’re definitely right and Remainers are all idiots or traitors.”
He later said that the “We send the EU £350m a week” slogan painted on the Vote Leave bus was a ploy to drive the “Remain campaign crazy”. Though said slogan was based on a “true figure”, it did not take into account the numerous other exchanges between the UK and Brussels.
“Yeah … the point of using that really was to try and er, to try and drive the Remain campaign and the people running it crazy.
“It helped everyone discuss what is the balance sheet? What’s the true balance sheet?
“The reason why that figure worked and the reason why it drove everyone crazy and the reason why people are still talking about it now is that we were using true figures.”
Dominic Cummings just admitted a ‘network’ of a dozen or so people literally conspired to take over the country, and were, for a period of time, successful.
— Mikey Smith (@mikeysmith) July 20, 2021
Despite having just admitted to deliberately divisive tactics, Cummings rebukes the idea that his team stirred up division among the people.
“We did provoke but… the provocation was a by-product.
“The core thing was we were trying to solve the problem and show people we were trying to solve the problem.
“Was that provocative? Yes. Did we lean into that in various ways to try and disorientate the people on the other side? Yes. But, you know, that’s politics.
“There wasn’t some Kumbaya happy way, in which everyone could just sit down and go ‘Well let’s just do a friendly deal and compromise and blah blah blah’.”
If Dominic Cummings said his name was Dominic Cummings I'd struggle to believe him. This sounds for all the world like an attempt to deflect the blame for the disastrous Brexit his lies delivered. https://t.co/dTv1ProZpN
— Jo Maugham (@JolyonMaugham) July 20, 2021
