Should Have Gone To SPAD-Savers

Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

Institute for Government

News, Politics, Government

4.6 • 252 Ratings

🗓️ 29 May 2020

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Could the Government ever have controlled the fallout from Dominic Cummings’ breach of COVID travel rules, and is it too late now? Why is Boris Johnson so bound to his key advisor? And with SPADs more centrally vetted than ever, do a majority of No.10 staff owe more personal loyalty to Dominic Cummings than to the Prime Minister? Special guest Tim Montgomerie joins us to discuss a defining week for the Johnson government. Plus: might the UK change its mind on an extension with the EU after all? “Dominic Cummings is a genius – but nobody’s perfect.” – Tim Montgomerie “One surefire way to shut down debate inside government was to say ‘Dom doesn’t like that’. I’ve always feared that the Reign of Terror would lead to a Reign of Error.” – Tim Montgomerie Presented by Bronwen Maddox with Hanna White, Jill Rutter and Georgina Wright. Audio production by Alex Rees. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Inside Briefing, the podcast from the Institute for Government.
0:14.7	I'm Bronwyn Maddox. There's really only been one story this week. Dominic Cummings' trip to Durham during lockdown, followed
0:21.5	by his trip to Barnar Castle, has been a revelation which has cut through to people across the
0:25.9	country. And beyond, it's hard for politicians to get known outside the UK, but the Prime
0:30.5	Minister's advisor has managed it. I'm looking here at headlines, Scandalo Cummings in La Republica,
0:36.4	LeMont, talking about no regrets, no excuses.
0:38.3	The New York Times, very punctually the toxic aid of Boris Johnson.
0:43.3	Meanwhile, approval of the government has dropped sharply.
0:46.3	One minister has resigned. Conservative MPs are adding their names to a list,
0:50.3	calling for Dominic Cummings to go.
0:52.3	But at the time of recording, he is still there.
0:55.5	So what does this round mean for the government's coronavirus strategy? That strategy is going to
1:00.2	rely even more heavily next week on persuading the public to follow the rules as the government
1:04.9	rolls out its test and trace system. What does Johnson's determination to keep Cummings
1:09.6	and Downing Street say about him and his government?
1:12.6	What does Cummings power say about the role of special advisors? We're going to talk about all that
1:18.3	today, as well as look at the subject which used to be Cummings' pride and joy, his prime focus, Brexit.
1:24.0	If the EU and the UK want more time to sort out their future arrangements, what options are there?
1:29.0	We've got a new report out and we'll talk to its author.
1:31.9	So I'm delighted to be joined today by Hannah White, our deputy director, by Jill Rutter, our senior
1:37.2	fellow and by Tim Montgomery, political columnist.
1:39.9	Tim, really good to have you here.
	...

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