Dominic Cummings Answers Your Questions | Q&A | Durham Union

Dominic Cummings is the former chief of staff for Prime Minister Boris Johnson and known as the mastermind behind the succes of Vote Leave in the Brexit referendum. Among other things, he now writes for his substack linked below.

In this video, Dominic Cummings answers questions from the Durham Union President and the audience at large.

Dominic Cummings' substack:

This video was filmed on 5th June 2023.

Founded in 1842, the Durham Union Society is Durham University's oldest and largest society. The Union hosts debates, addresses, and socials for all our members, and is the home of free speech and open debate at the university.

[MusicMatters]

Why has this only just been posted now? This was from several weeks before the UK general election.

[overman]

Dominic Cummings is brilliant. If only the Tories did what he said, especially about focusing on management within the civil service and being more like Lee Kuan Yew.

[SamSamSamSamSam]

Kind of a waste of time him giving these talks to a student union, they are way too plonkified these days. He should be doing podcasts etc

Also wtf is this audio quality lol

[spanishjohn]

Cummings should have a meeting with Elon if he hasn't already.

[carpediemcotidiem]

Timestamps (Powered by Merlin AI)
00:06 - Dominic Cummings shares anecdotes and discusses his career in politics.
02:22 - Gove reflects on his unexpected path into politics and insights gained.
06:39 - Cummings critiques government budget transparency and nuclear enterprise decisions.
08:50 - Starmer must address systemic management failures in government.
13:21 - Cummings critiques the decline in talent within public service roles.
15:33 - Cummings discusses systemic failures in PPE procurement during COVID-19.
19:32 - Cummings emphasizes difficulties in bypassing bureaucratic hurdles during pandemic response.
21:24 - Cummings discusses the dysfunction in politics and potential paths to improve Conservative polling.
25:30 - Cummings critiques Farage and the potential rise of Reform Party.
27:32 - Cummings critiques Farage and calls for better political leadership.
31:43 - Cummings critiques the Conservative Party and discusses voting sentiments.
33:58 - Cummings emphasizes belief-driven political actions and strong support for Brexit.
37:57 - Cummings reflects on lessons from the pandemic response.
40:20 - Cummings discusses the complexities of Ukraine's NATO membership and its implications.
44:41 - Critique of UK policy failures amidst global tensions.
46:52 - Dominic Cummings critiques current government procurement processes.
50:59 - Change the people in bureaucracy to drive effective public health improvements.
52:58 - Government needs reform to eliminate non-essential jobs and empower effective leadership.
57:06 - Dominic Cummings discusses the chaos following Boris Johnson's change of strategy during the pandemic.
58:59 - Cummings argues UK EU membership was a mistake from the start.
1:03:41 - Dominic Cummings discusses chaos in government and changes needed post-2020.
1:05:37 - Cummings discusses the impact of personal relationships on political dynamics.
1:09:56 - Dominic Cummings discusses challenges with AI and insights from his experiences in Russia.
1:12:15 - Cummings discusses legitimizing significant changes to the UK government structure.
1:16:35 - Cummings critiques government's media focus and urges political success through practical action.
1:18:32 - Cummings discusses governance changes and election legitimacy in the UK.
1:22:28 - Cummings discusses lessons from East Asia and civil service reforms.
1:24:34 - Government needs entrepreneurial strategies to handle crises effectively.
1:28:46 - Cummings discusses his relationship with civil servants in government.
1:30:45 - Young talent in politics contrasts with systemic issues in senior civil service.

[Clownshow]

Dominic is a smart guy. I think politics needs him, the country needs him! ...I doubt it will happen, but I'd like to see him join Reform.
However, I'm quite sure he is capable of earning a lot more money outside of politics.

[evolassunglasses]

We live under "The Empire of Lies".

[skipabit]

That's Starkey's intro music 😉

[LowKeyTired-qd]

Why are people sitting with their backs to the speakers ??? Seems strange !!!

[evolassunglasses]

We live under oligarchy enforced by a wealthy hypa Liberal Managerial Class.

[ypyp]

Such a loss to the country, as far as I am concerned he was our last hope. We badly needed an intelligent disruptor to flush the dinosaurs output of any input into state power, but they got him first. Woe is us, I’m looking for an opportunity to emigrate for good.

[happychappy]

Wierd seating arrangement. Has he been to specsavers?😊

[OrwellsHousecat]

The bells ringing in the background are symbolic

[evolassunglasses]

Living through a Competency Crisis across the West.

[Nuts-Bolts]

I would like to see an interview with _Graham McArthur_ who has been working out ways to make our leaders more accountable to us by drawing on the very successful Swiss model of government for inspiration. Graham is planing on starting small and in a more manageable way in Wales first before rolling it out across the rest of Britain. His proposals seem realistic and sensible enough to really work. Trouble is that no one is covering Graham’s ideas yet. See what you think and if Reform can eventually adopt these reforms by watching: _Graham McArthur. Campaign for Democracy, an introduction._

[clivebroadhead]

The Labour Government should ask Professor Paul Collier of Oxford University, debrief Cummings to see if it makes sense, or is total bollocks!

[jdg]

Amazing that he's talking about how our dishonest media and MPs engage in political theatre and electoral games instead of actually focusing on improving government, and the questioners ask about the dumb political theatre (you drove somewhere during covid) concocted by the media and MPs to get rid of him because they didn't like the fact that he was actually trying to improve government.

[Scottygthreethousand]

Can someone bookmark the questions? Would be helpful.

[PicturesJester]

Cummings is uncharacteristically reckless in his thinking about Russia. The West keeping it's hands out of the situation would be a bonus for Russia's imperialist pretentions, which are independent of any perceived Western threat.

[tonyhill]

Hi Ian, question if I may Im new to all this, line of sight does this mean I cant take my eyes off the drone at all whilst in flight, as I saw a vid of a policeman distract a flyer then acuse him of taking his eyes off the drone?