Dominic Cummings speech at IPPR - The Hollow Men (2014)

Please note: this is a video from our livestream in 2014 which is why the quality varies.
The former adviser to Michael Gove and now Special Adviser to the Prime Minister discussed his experiences at the Department for Education, his view of how Westminster and Whitehall need to change, and a frank assessment of Team Cameron - its priorities, personalities and dysfunction
Find out more about the Institute for Public Policy Research:
Website: www.ippr.org
Research: www.ippr.org/research
Twitter: / ippr

[@erickeane4560]

I work in the private sector. I got sent into the public sector for 6 weeks to review their procedures and "change" their system. A waste of time. What I saw was/is so terrible, it is difficult to communicate. The people working there have no idea how terrible things are because it's all they know - they have no awareness. I remember looking at my payslip that month, seeing the amount of tax I pay and nearly shedding tears. I'll never get over the experience.

[@farzanamughal5933]

Could you try and communicate it a little bit. Give an example please

[@cathreynolds4457]

Now we understand why Boris needs him. Dominic Cummings far outstrips most people intellectually by far. He is so spot on with his observations. Unfortunately, he will be ousted by the establishment sooner or later. Maybe that's why he can walk away so easily. At least he cares enough to try.

[@Muck006]

@#1CunningStunt Rofl ... yeah ... a) keep on throwing buzzwords around ... b) the current system REALLY DOESNT WORK and needs a reset.

[@ARCANEmateCLAN]

And it has happened. A great shame for this country and an end to my support of the Johnson administration. It was a tragedy that coronavirus had to hit right at the moment when Dom had a chance to improve things.

[@ARCANEmateCLAN]

@#1CunningStunt No, the reason for leaving the EU is that it's bureaucratic structure is too stagnant to respond quickly to change, especially given the types of people who have control (politicians with no understanding of the real world, technology, statistics, game theory etc) . Notice how during the pandemic, the EU was all but forgotten and member states returned to exclusively state-level policymaking - this shows the EU is poorly equipped to handle future disturbances like AGI. The main purpose of democracy is to ensure a peaceful succession of power between regimes. The current system does very little to deliver on the actual whims of the public, while also failing dreadfully to establish any long term policy plans to maximise the future potential of the country. What we see instead are short term, ineffective but highly publicised policy measures that have absolutely no coordination to a dedicated long term plan. A country that cannot plan for its future and anticipate change is as ignorant and unconscious as a baby, living in a perpetual present reality, with no understanding of cause and effect. We need to become a conscious civilisation, like we used to be, and that starts by appointing individuals to power who have the knowledge and skill sets required to plan and implement coordinated, intelligent, long term policy measures - these individuals are not well represented by our current MPs, who tend to be Oxford PPE graduates with minimal diversity in thought or education.

[@geofsharp658]

@@ARCANEmateCLAN your name says everything anyone would need to know about you. “Idiot”

[@CharlieVane21]

Fascinating that he said David Cameron and Ed Miliband would be gone within 18 months. How right he was.

[@Energyflash1979]

Ed Miliband party leader from 2010 to 2015 David Cameron party leader from 2005 to 2016

[@nevermind824]

@@Energyflash1979 this was in 2014...

[@RuleRsofTheGame]

@@Energyflash1979 He was speaking in reference to the 2015 GE.

[@RTR1879]

He was the engineer of Cameron's demise.

[@SisterJanet]

@@RTR1879 Debatable. Cameron pretty much engineered his own demise without anyone's help.

[@NinaAndCoco]

This guy is brilliant. My vote was for him. I will pay much more attention to politics now he's in No.10. For the first time, I have faith things will be better.

[@b.m.whindle9195]

The more you dive in the shadier he gets, I recommend you dig deep.

[@brynleytalbot778]

Great that someone without a voter mandate pulls the strings of power. It's suspicious when someone without accountability takes authority behind the seat of power. Democracy may well be in its death throes. Or our modern interpretation of it bastardised beyond comprehension.

[@hieroglyph321]

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

[@beachlife2968]

The more i research this guy the nore impressed i am by him. A very intelligent man who we should thank for brexit being delivered.

[@TonyFisherPuzzles]

@@brynleytalbot778 Idiot, too thick to even understand what he does.

[@drif1060]

This guy sees in depth with 360° vision. He's not pc, he's got integrity and he's completely focused. Mostly though he recognises the need for change and embraces it. Glad to have him on our side

[@drif1060]

@Nobby Heads Fair comment

[@HighKingoftheElves]

A tragedy to see how it turned out

[@surviver24]

Who else just scrambled here over the past days to find out anything possible about about the man who will run the country for the next 5 years?

[@HondoTrailside]

Not me, I just think he is interesting. I don't believe he is in power. He is purely a utility to those who are in power. Even George Bush eventually moved Cheney to arms length. It would be cool if Cummings were able to do something. So far his appeal is really what his stats allow him to do in winning elections. He is a historian and has to hire quants. I don't see him as irreplaceable. His ideas on organizations are going to run into what bureaucracies are really designed to do, keep people like him outside of the gates. I don't know of any example where a person like him has moved a bureaucracy to where it was like a distributed market system, without bloodshed. And even then it only was moved to be someone else's bureaucracy.

[@henridobbs2423]

Find him fascinating

[@67philipo]

Me

[@IvanTre]

Just read his blog.

[@CharlieVane21]

Read his blog. Lots of good stuff in there

[@fisher1907]

This guy is a legend. Highly intelligent. So glad we have someone who finally wants to shake up the system.

[@stoufer2000]

lol Eugenics

[@outsidespac3]

And as Boris Johnson's chief advisor he's definitely shaking up the system a lot! By contributing to the further deepening of pre-existing inequalities and allowing coronavirus to rip through the population

[@hanniffydinn6019]

Leftists will still destroy him, it’s already started, people think he’s evil for breaking dumb covid rules. He’s not accounted for how evil leftists are.

[@fisher1907]

Hanniffy Dinn I know that man gets a character assassination for taking his kids to his mums. Whilst Diane Abbott is on record for saying Mao done more good than harm and also in the past campaigned for pedophilia to be an excepted liberal sexuality.

[@hanniffydinn6019]

Tommy Fish it’s all planned mate. It’s no accident, the leftists own the media. They’ll be tapping his phones spying on him, trying to find anything to destroy him in the public eye.

[@williamravenscroft7299]

It's impressive how many events have been prophesied in this video

[@zippy_uk1046]

Fantastic discussion. Let's see where this goes in 2020.

[@narendra62]

@Yama Satru It's a bit like the Olympic team GB. Get the support structure and incentives right and watch the success.

[@davidskeeterskeeter1835]

Dominic running the country,,Thankfully 👏👏👏👍👍🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@MrRajti]

He went to Barnard Castle lol

[@pldvs]

One of the best, and certainly one of the most relevant videos on KZbin. Why has no one seen this?

[@aidangale9022]

I know. terrifying.

[@SAHBfan]

No celebrity host. No naked bosoms. No prize money, no flashing lights, no politically correct but offensive jokes. Just someone outlining his ideas, who know has the ear of a prime minister with a huge majority. What is interesting about that?

[@pldvs]

@@SAHBfan I suspect the audience for this kind of stuff is bigger than we think. Maybe the cull will spark a wider debate.

[@hanniffydinn6019]

U tube is for cat videos.

[@davidhussell8581]

My goodness, a man with a broad understanding of science, mathematical analysis, system theory and yet understands politics - in short he is likely to be competent ! Give this man every opportunity to succeed.

[@hieroglyph321]

Please. You're impressed by a few big words and concepts and think he has all the answers. You're a sheep. Enjoy getting fleeced.

[@hieroglyph321]

"10 to the power 80 is approximately the number of atoms in the universe" - LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL Yep, you're a fool.

[@markv559]

@@hieroglyph321 That number is about right.

[@tylerdurden3722]

@@hieroglyph321 lol...he uses normal words 🤔...am I just a bit smarter than average? Or are you dumber?

[@mickcorbett6724]

Cretins like you truly annoy me. The man is a shit head. He spouts vacuous nonsense. Boris Johnson is a puppet to this man’s stupid, dangerous crap.

[@brianmonaghan7516]

36:08 "if I ever get control of number 10" chuckles???

[@markcroft1303]

I loved that, they are not chuckling now. They are sitting up and taking notice

[@cmmndrblu]

36:08 not getting control of no. 10 now Dom

[@spanglishfantastico]

He is saying the first thing he would do, "if I ever get control of number 10" is to create a way for people who haven't been elected to become ministers, right? I mean, democracy is awful, but it is still the best thing we have, surely?

[@spanglishfantastico]

@#1CunningStunt it's not even hidden. He talks about beneficial crises

[@beetlegin]

Fascinating - this explains a lot !

[@deathguarddavegoogley2022]

As someone who, just over a decade ago, was a middle manager in the public sector - this guy is talking sense.

[@JaySmurkzTV]

I get his style splits opinions but this is one of the best, succinct analysis of UK politics ever. Truly great from Cummings.

[@stumac869]

His insight into the problems of the civil service is spot on and many of the issues highlighted will only get worse because of hiring policies.

[@stoufer2000]

Cummings hired a eugenicist. Not seen that in the civil service for a few years

[@stoufer2000]

@Donald Scott if he wasn't hired, how come he resigned? What context makes eugenics acceptable?

[@nevillechapman9761]

@Donald Scott yeah he thought outside the box. Not outside the box of PCness Outside the box of rationalism.

[@terrid6349]

Sadly HR in public sector are obsessed by diversity and we are getting far more in senior roles that are not white and male. This means the best are leaving as working for someone far less able than yourself is terrible.

[@nevillechapman9761]

@@terrid6349 think you're wrong there mate. When has white and male been any sort of way to judge ability.

[@yeahboi7107]

This video aged well

[@danh5637]

@Futures I don't think thats very damaging. He's essentially right, I think there is a sea change with people like Boris and Gove. Boris did a fantastic job of running London eons better than the current fuckwit who seems hell bent on not just destroying London but dragging as much of western culture into the gutter behind him.

[@laughingachilles]

@Futures Do you read the articles you link or only the headlines? Cummings went on to say that Boris had come to realise how important it was to deliver on what he has promised the poorest people. You don't have to care about a certain group to do what is right for them and the country. The article you linked clearly states that Boris is putting the money into the NHS and is trying to speed up the money Theresa may promised so it's effects can be seen on the frontlines. I notice the article doesn't seem to mention the exact details of this speech by Cummings, other than saying it was at a conference in 2017. I find this suspicious as it may be a nice bit of quote mining which in context may suggest something rather different. For example if he made this point and went on to say the Conservatives need to change and Boris understands this, then it puts a rather different complexion on the quote doesn't it. I suggest you learn to think for yourself rather than just swallowing what a journalist writes.

[@laughingachilles]

@Futures My assumptions were correct as you simply quoted an article who's headline is rather at odds with the full story. Cummings seems to be turning the Conservatives into a party which can capitalize on the commonalities between the rich and poor, rather like Disraeli did many years ago. You also failed to respond to the point I made about someone seeing the merit in helping a group they do not actually care about. I agree that every party all the way back to Blair has failed to properly invest in the NHS, and of course it was Labour who took the PFI scheme introduced by Thatcher and massively expanded it, putting billions in the poclets of some very wealthy people and ultimately costing the tax payer more than it should have. However the largest problem has been the sheer volume of people we have allowed into the country. You can invest all the money you like but when the country see's a population increase of millions within 20 years, well the infrastructure just cannot handle it. I would be interested to know in which department you work. If you think the situation is so awful then why not blow the whistle? Grab every document you can and publish it. That would be doing a wonderful public service.

[@streaky81]

@Futures "the so called additional money for the NHS is like so much political talk empty waffle" - this is true of any money for the NHS, if you 10x the budget it'll still be empty waffle. The more money you throw at the NHS it invents entirely new ways of pissing it away, that's not a slight on doctors, nurses, or even the management even; it's a reality of the system. It needs fundamental reform is the reality. Giving the NHS money without forcing it to work better is pissing in the wind. The only way we've been able to get it to work properly in the past is by holding back funding.

[@streaky81]

@Futures We haven't had a targets-driven culture at a national level for years in the UK. There are a lot of performance indicators but that's something else entirely. Think we have to give the government time to get bedded in before we pass judgement, personally.

[@eminem2]

I am so pleasantly surprised to find that in number 10 we now have a scientific, sceptic mind, talking about practice and theory of statistics, maths, economics, successful management structures and real discerning competency in multiple domains of problem solving.

[@eminem2]

@Nobby Heads yes, it's going perfect, I'm quite happy. It's ideal. Brilliant in fact. What a great opportunity to pit people against government and tech them more about who does what and how and who thinks they are above the law, it's a great social experiment to observe. Guy is an ass, who wants to be effective, that's a great thing to have had, because the general public can learn about asses, clever asses and clever ass behaviour, dumb puke Boris Johnson and hopefully society will become intolerant of politicians with double standards and cover ups. All of this, let's admit, isn't possible without an effective dishonourable nutcase in charge of the prime minister who fails publicly. Also on a separate note, better have scientific clever ass than dumb ass ;)

[@harmonicresonanceproject]

Future's looking brighter by the day

[@markbanner6473]

Some people are saying they voted for Dom, not Boris. Fair enough. But credit to Boris for employing him however.

[@j0nnyism]

They’d feel pretty cheated if boris decided to sack him then

[@gt4les]

Any of your friends or relatives died during the push for "herd immunity"?

[@markbanner6473]

@@gt4les Who's push for herd immunity? That was put out there by the CSO after he was asked a question. He put it on the table that was it along with many other things. It was never a policy.

[@markbanner6473]

@Nobby Heads You seem absolutely certain. Were you in the room at the time?

[@RoastyPotato]

I voted labour in the last election, and was dismayed by the result at the time... partly because of the stories I’d heard about Cummings relating to brexit and cambridge analytica. Was blown away by how far ahead his thinking is in his blog, and this talk really hammers it home. I really hope he can get even 10% of his plans done. Would have voted conservative for the first time in my life if I knew I was voting for this man. Finally a man who understands the management of complex systems!

[@robertkong8576]

Dominic, please come and sort out the NHS.

[@brucemagee551]

You mean privatise it?

[@brynleytalbot778]

Euro Doubt Privatisation means profits. How can a bankrupt public service provide a profit? If there's a profit in there it's poor existing management that's to blame and disastrous policies made for political benefits. The total depoliticisation of essential services must be the primary objective of government but it relies on tugging the electorates heartstrings every time an election comes. It's efficiency that's the key to a better and cheaper public service. But politics ruins that process so private enterprise free of those chains would do better. It's not a good idea to hand a profit away when the issue is political machinations that have endured for decades and ripped the heart out of our services.

[@williampjohnston53]

Very interesting and eye opening.

[@jodalinkus5538]

Great presentation humongous depth on not so deep topics. Convinced he would find running a think tank of his own far more fulfilling instead of dealing with challenges posed by political cycles.

[@classicalenglishliberal9575]

"In the most dysfunctional organisations signalling that work is being done becomes a better strategy for career advancement than actually doing work" Peter Thiel Is this not the perfect description of government?

[@brynleytalbot778]

Hierarchies are the most dysfunctional indicator in organisations. The more they increase the more Peter Thiel's statement applies. The bigger they are the easier it is to hide incompetence and advance away from decisions leaving others to pick up the chaos. Once high enough up you construct support networks below you to conceal your incompetence based on reciprocal support for theirs. Most organisations are dysfunctional by design. I doubt any exist based on the pure principle of benefitting all to an equitable degree other than those in their infancy where mutuality of benefit drives expansion and success. At some growth point dysfunctional is simply a sign of expansion beyond ability and often goes uncorrected because size covers incompetency. So perhaps governments unconstrained expansion into everything makes it the dysfunctional organisation you feel it is.

[@tbrasc0]

Shit... I was ready to disagree with everything Dominic Cummings suggests... But I can't. In a post Brexit world if he can realise what he suggests the UK might make something positive out of it. The funding formula in schools is a disaster for many though.

[@Muck006]

The problem of bureaucrats he states for Whitehall exists for EVERY bureaucracy on the planet. The reason is actually simple: in the beginning you start with few rules, some ideals and great motivation. This gets bogged down more and more and more by new rules which are being added because POLITICIANS WANT TO BE SEEN AS DOING SOMETHING! Thus, instead of "not fixing what isnt broken" they start to FIDDLE ... I have been collecting material on the grooming gangs since january and there have been about ZERO bureaucrats/police who have been punished for failing to protect the girls! Only ONE Councilor "immediately stepped down" after the scandal was released in his city.

[@lawrenceandersonburley2734]

Agree. I am surprised at myself but the man has qualities. The unresolved problem though is democracy. I think Dom Cum has very little time for it

[@tbrasc0]

@@lawrenceandersonburley2734 his contempt for it shines like a beacon.

[@MrDavidJMa]

Organisations always fail when they lose sight of their core business. This applies to government too - except that the failure has no consequences! It just trundles on regardless.

[@thespeckler1]

Bit like the banks then..

[@courtneyhackshaw3420]

Well you can get voted out but its not like politics has a free market type system of parties to choose from.

[@user-ks1hp2pb5g]

@@courtneyhackshaw3420 I mean there are different political parties to choose from but when you talk about the "free market". It firstly is such an abstraction & secondly more importantly it NEVER has actually existed. You name the market & it will not conform ontologically to being defined as a "free market". Simply because markets especially within the confines of Capitalism tends towards monopolies, the finance sector was a prime example of this. The 'Too big to fail' idea was an example of this. Financial institutions becoming monopolies & too big, to the point where their failure would result in financial calamity for the entire system. It required gov stepping in to save it.

[@daisyhobbs7500]

@james mcbride true but we're just going to go with the flow. Corbyn's been `dealt with`, Royal family/Queen appears to be looking to cut back, esp Randy Andy, USA can have the actress (huh!) Markel back & Harry & the kid, MSM have had their `Remain` hopes dashed, right now & with The Boris as our front man & Cummings being the brains - UK is looking like it's heading in the right -Brexit- direction. Just gotta allow Dominic to sort out that awful woman Sturgeon of ScotNats by increasing the size of each constituency so they don`t have such an overinflated representation in Westminster and nothing else to do but bother us the English in Westminster. In Scotland one constituency equals, 20 sheep, couple of old sheep dogs & a few village people - who are entitled to one whole Member of Parliament - it's crazy!!!

[@brynleytalbot778]

shirwan Finally someone who see the free market as just another guise for monopolies. The theoretical basis seems to point to Darwin's selection of the fittest but this fitted genetics but not the messy human influence on business and manipulation by social influence within closed networks. A free market gives the illusion of free entry by a fitter provider but is actually a lie. In politics it's evident that one set of values promoted in slightly more appealing ways wins elections and gains power. Hence New Labours rise to power on Conservative values. If that's the future then democracy doesn't exist other than in an ideological sense because power is only attainable by mimicking each other. That's the result of Cummings influence on this election. He's destroyed democracy and now wants to destroy its systems. Hardly a sane idea.

[@seanpennatgmail]

Classic Dom.

[@junkbucket50]

This is great! If he does 1/3 of these things then he will be the man responsible saving British democracy

[@Somersetman100]

a number of top businessmen have come into politics saying they know how to run things, and make a mess of things.

[@attlee2010]

As he points out, the system is designed to fail regardless of who is on top

[@michaelhicks3030]

Even small, lean, technology based companies can be consumed by management who talk about things being done whilst neglecting doing their job. There's a law that says half the work of an organisation is done by the square root of the number of its staff. With the one company I worked for in mind, the 5 staff that fit this description only 1 still works for the company. These were the people that kept the company running and extended the technology all to be removed in favour of the talkers.

[@Muck006]

You need to have an open mind to "see the problem" ... and BUSINESSMEN are just as bad as LAWYERS ... and IDEOLOGUES like Labour.

[@Muck006]

@@michaelhicks3030 I once proclaimed that "the law of inertia also applies to bureaucracies" ... and the larger they get the slower they can react to something. That was maybe 15-20 years ago ... before I even woke up to reality ...

[@WeAreWafc]

This is so Classic Dom

[@colettemurphy3293]

He is a genius!! Once he sorts out Parliament and the civil service, he can be put in charge of the NHS. He will get it sorted in five years. Come on Dom! You know you want to!

[@j0nnyism]

May as well make him king of the world. Oh no sorry that’s the job his mate boris wants

[@colettemurphy3293]

His mate Boris is doing a grand job! Just watch this space!

[@colettemurphy3293]

@Nobby Heads yes the comment, has aged well. He is still doing an excellent job!

[@iddods2117]

Shame he didn't apply this to his time I. Government. Decentralisation during the covid crisis would have saved lives.

[@danh5637]

I suspect David Cameron must feel an absolute tit for dismissing and insulting Cummings. By god Dom has mopped the floor with call me Dave multiple times now.

[@TheBloodsuger150]

Simply by doing it illegally...

[@dulls8475]

@@TheBloodsuger150 Please tell us how so we can go to the police.....

[@TheBloodsuger150]

dulls where have you been living, google “leave campaign broke the law” and try not to live in such an echo chamber next time.

[@dulls8475]

@@TheBloodsuger150 Was he charged?

[@TheBloodsuger150]

dulls the punishment was a trivial fine, but the fact that he won it illegally is unambiguous. How could you not know that?

[@joefish6546]

Things get super interesting about 27 minutes in

[@kenrotheram]

The TV shows ‘Yes Minister’ and ‘Yes Prime Minister’ were so entertaining and everyone knew there was an element of truth in those stories. It seems that they were illustrating examples of intricate political machinations and how the Civil Service worked to prevent change. The issues of the past still exist. For example the 11 plus examination is seen to be unfair to many voters in London and the Home Counties. In a One Nation Conservative Party this could change and selection for vocational/academic courses would seem to be more fair at 15. This happens in Finland where grammars were abolished and continuous assessment every term was used to help pupils to aim high and realise their potential. Would the Civil Service put obstacles in the way of any reform of our antiquated educational system? Secondary moderns could be converted into Vocational schools to teach pupils at 15 and promote the applied sciences and encourage pupils to train in various industrial skills before employment or starting their own business.

[@chattonlad9382]

kenrotheram, Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister didn't have an element of truth, it was the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, as discovered many years later.

[@kenrotheram]

Chattonlad I must open my box set again.

[@chattonlad9382]

@@kenrotheram Somewhere on youtube there's a documentary about the source of their information, it's pure gold.

[@kenrotheram]

Chattonlad A similar series could be done on Ofsted which actually prejudges schools based on SATs. What a waste of money. In Finland they have a curriculum check for 10%.of schools at the end of primary (English) and 15 (Maths). Teachers rarely leave the profession. If results are poor then inspectors visit and discuss how continual assessment is working and how extra money might help. The Head in Finland interviews teachers each term to discuss pupil progress and any involvement in national curriculum initiatives. He knows each teacher well. In the UK the Head probably only knows some of his/her staff by sight in a large comprehensive. There is no middle management (Heads of Department) in Finland. There little point in wasting money on a huge Civil Service bureaucracy. Investigations show that SATS don’t drive up results at first. It seems that teachers need to drill pupils for months on the new type of questions and the results are better the following year. We seem to protect a system which promotes cramming rather than switching to continuous assessment each term which puts knowledge into long term memory..It works for Finland and Estonia - See the PISA rankings.

[@brynleytalbot778]

kenrotheram The educational system does need reform but across the entire sector. Education should return to the basics and higher levels of the fundamental basics. It's there to educate not supply business ready employees. It's the responsibility of business to impart skill sets to their employees not for education to supply them free of charge to them. Basics have decreased as educational ideologies took over. Our systems led the world till political interference ruined them. Labour tried to eliminate grammar schools. Conservatives did eliminate polytechnics. Both crushed good systems. Then the fiasco of student loans to exponentially increase graduate numbers into non existent graduate positions. The bell curve of intelligence isn't going to be skewed by political intervention. It's fairly fixed. Constant testing isn't beneficial. Good teachers focused on class equality of opportunity eliminate the need for constant tests. Are teachers as good as they once were? Do they have the time to engage adequately? Have the data obsessed, like Cummings, robbed us of real efficacy? Educators are there to educate. It's obvious education has been subjected to political ideology for far too long. And business owners have manipulated it to their short term goals. Both need to leave the field to those who understand it and hopefully love imparting knowledge to a willing engaged audience. Learning is for life, not some career goal, which is something we've lost sight of. No wonder we're descending the league tables of the world.

[@bigballetlover]

Gosh - at last a man who knows what he's talking about.

[@fuckfannyfiddlefart]

Who killed granddad.

[@alhazed]

He'll go the way of Bannon..watch

[@steffanhoffmann8937]

When was that? He's a shiseter ......fraud! He's not elected by the people. He's an appointment by a PM who should have sacked him after he broke his own Covid-19 advice to stay put!

[@cargumdeu]

@@steffanhoffmann8937 i think your confusing the facts with those of Prof Ferguson, the man behind the model and the advice, who not only broke his own advice but cuckolded his friend in doing so. Cummings took the sensible course of shielding his autistic son by taking up his family's offer of a safe place to self-isolate - which, with the press camped outside his front door every morning, clearly wasnt London. Youre the fraud, Cummings on the other hand is The Real Thing, and will keep his position and his honour intact. The press are acting like a wolf pack, have cooked up this whole shitstorm out of spite. Spite for a man who doesnt court them just as he doesnt court the civil service flunkeys he talks about here. Not that the likes of you would have had the patience to sit through it, youre on safe ground attacking the man rather than his message.

[@bigballetlover]

At the government’s daily press conference on 24 March, England’s deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries spoke of the “exceptional circumstance” of an unwell adult unable to care for a young child. “A small child clearly is a vulnerable individual, so in this case, although we are encouraging everybody to stay in their own households - that’s the unit with the same risk of exposure - clearly if you have adults who are unable to look after a small child, that is an exceptional circumstance,” Dr Harries said. He didn't break the advice.

[@henridobbs2423]

Yeaaaaaaaaaah boiiii we back at it again.

[@terrid6349]

Interesting to watch this in light of what’s in the press at the moment in him hiring those with cognitive diversity.

[@ModelRailway]

Terri D You’re not wrong there! The brain is the most diverse and complex system on the planet .... that’s proper diversity. (Not skin colour, disability etc ... although diversity in all the variables is a good thing in my opinion). But everyone has strengths and weaknesses ... and cognitive diversity when out together, can be a wonderful thing to harness the strengths. However, the most important thing is to recognise those strengths and weaknesses ... so that you can either learn to improve the weaknesses, or use others to work together. However, cognitive capacity is often limited, especially in modern times due to the complexity of the world we live in, especially with social media ... and that creates less cognitive capacity to recognise ... and to become efficient, creates an urge to become more simplistic ... stereotypical ... and diversity often reduces! The most obvious arena where this can be seen is Politics .... where quite simply, as DC says/implies ... most/all MPs are much more comfortable at thinking and talking ... and really crap at listening and understanding. Examples: You’ll never get a straight answer from a Politician! DC totally ‘gets’ it ... but as the consequence, the weakness is the ‘sales’ pitch ... hence needs public front-man .... but together, a potentially powerful combination!

[@PROCESAL3]

As much as there are elements of his thinking I dislike, I feel he is absolutely right in his analysis of MPs and Ministers.

[@PROCESAL3]

@The505Guys I wanted to avoid using the verb "to think" after the noun "thinking". I used "feel" because it is often employed as a synonym of "to think". You are right to point out that this common usage is not accurate, although I doubt my comment caused any confusion among native English speakers.

[@zippy_uk1046]

Francios Mitterrand said scientific and skilled people were "mere technicians" were as politicians were the true artists. In 2020 there can be nothing further than the truth. Notably, Margaret Thatcher was a trained scientist (chemistry). She was the last PM I can recall with a scientific training - 30 years ago. This speech is a really key contribution.

[@Muck006]

a) Maggie Thatcher did A LOT OF THINGS WRONG ... knighted Jimmy Savile and Cyril Smith DESPITE PEDO WARNINGS, created the "public order act 1986" ... the first step for the current hate-speech laws (Tony Blair just took her law and applied it to electronic communications), ... b) my country of Germany is currently being ruled by a physicist called Angela Merkel and EVERYTHING she did was wrong. She even allowed our own "nuclear desaster" (in a nuclear waste dump) to happen ... by signing off a terrible law while she was minister for ecology under Helmut Kohl ...

[@angelakadeer1565]

It became blatently obvious over the last three years, that a lot of MP s are thick and should never be in charge of anything. That's why we should only have people in parliament ,that have a proven record of successfully running a business.

[@RuleRsofTheGame]

We have a system filled with politicians who know how to play the game well enough to serve themselves. But are at the same time shit at playing the game they're paid to play, serving their constituents and country well.

[@brynleytalbot778]

Why do you believe business leaders are any more competent than politicians? They both have the same manipulative intent to win at all costs and reap the majority benefit. It's facile to think that business people are any more suited to politics than ordinary people. Given the sycophantic nature of selection by the party they're probably more able to be selected and this is evident in the Conservative Party, their natural stomping ground of self interest. If politicians viewed government as a career rather than something to do after running a business that guaranteed a gong if successful, or access to networks after service that would financially benefit their business interests, then I'd see your point. We seem to give successful business people a cult celebrity status. If they're grandiose superior above the rest of us then they're perfect companions to politicians in their narcissistic personality traits. Success in running a business doesn't equal success in running the country. It's a fools paradise to make that leap. The skill set is vastly different. And that's why so much management in companies is unfit for purpose. I agree wholeheartedly that MPs should be apprenticed into the role before they get elected so they're suitable for the positions they'll hold. But I don't believe business people have those skills because they ran successful enterprises. There are many incompetent business owners but competent workers conceal their insufficiency to maintain their livelihoods. Thick people succeed too, often on the backs of bright employees. Alan Sugar comes to mind with his brilliance of employing bright people who couldn't see beyond large salaries that were insignificant to the return he got. Don't be deluded by success into thinking they're bright. Often they're simply survival oriented just like politicians come the election.

[@sixmagpies]

Oh, come on. Isn't that just a tiny bit naive? Surely many excellent people have no aspiration to wealth whatsoever? Even Churchill spent his entire life struggling with money, and would surely have been pauperised had he not been so prolific.

[@lb8965]

So we should have a Parliament full of business men or women right?

[@danjones9999]

Anyone that can take questions from three people at once who all have a long point to make and multiple questions to ask, and answer them all succinctly is a genius in my book!

[@hieroglyph321]

LOOOL .... you mean someone who can hold a conversation? You should up your standards! Good luck!

[@marcellowoodford4048]

A Total Maverick! Cummings For Prime Minister!

[@bobbest1611]

30-39:00 solutions. general, vague, only specific about firing 1/2 of the civil service and reducing cabinet size (finally something i agree with).

[@karlp8484]

As described by Max Weber in the 19th Century, there's nothing intrinsically wrong with Beaurocracy. It can be very efficient (that was the whole point) because it operates like a machine. You input stuff, crank the handle and you get a fast predictable output. And provided the mechanism is well designed, you can process a lot of complex things. Problem is we don't live in 1870 anymore. Changes come thicker and faster. Prussian Minister Presidents had a lot of direct power (much more than a modern cabinet minister) and if they didn't like something they could break up the machine and build a better one any time they liked. Of course, they had a boss - the Emperor- but he was usually only interested in goals and outcomes. Typically what the ministers told him were the goals and outcomes, but they usually were on the same page anyway.

[@marcoantonio078]

Until now, i have been staunch labour party member, slowly though i am thinking that if dominic cummings gets his way it has the potential to transform/revolutionise british politics. The slovenly behemoth that is westminster/whitehall is incredibly outdated and slow to move. This problem is only further exacerbated by a society that moves at a faster pace than ever. Dominic cummings is indeed a brilliant mind. But his ideas are very simple, straightforward and on point. Due largely to the fact he he has remained in steadfast in his beliefs and remains somewhat detached from those dyed in the wool career politicians that westminster is stuffed to the gills with.

[@funguseater40]

I always said that history would look back on Dominic as being a Genius. The UK media generally slated him any chance they got. Brilliant mind

[@latecia1]

Yea we surely do -DDDDDDDDD

[@mickcorbett6724]

funguseater40 what a fuckin cretin you are😡

[@ianhumphries6748]

Absolute genius this guy.

[@oddjob4877]

I’ve always mistakenly thought that Cummins was an evil mastermind. I’ve changed my view - he’s a genius.

[@ARCANEmateCLAN]

It's frustrating to see the media portray him as a villain. Then again, the same is true for most people who speak the truth openly.

[@SuckMyCurry]

@@ARCANEmateCLAN They always struggle with someone who tries to see things empirically. It's harder to pin them into a "right" or "left" camp.

[@tommortimer9222]

He's very clever but what he's not saying is the political impact of the changes he'd make to these structures. Who is going to do well out of the old checks and balances being destroyed to make way for the problem solving abilities of free markets?

[@nevillechapman9761]

Shit We've a theorist that hasn't ran anything in charge. I've worked in large organisations where individuals like this convince the people actually in charge that they have all the answers. Never ends well.

[@DrAAAli]

Britain wake up, listen and support DC

[@zippy_uk1046]

No basic project management skills in Whitehall - no surprise there.

[@djphineart]

Irony is UK project management certification and orthodoxy comes from - large public projects... think that through.

[@zippy_uk1046]

@@djphineart Modern project management dates from the second world war - D-Day and the like.

[@Muck006]

Lack of project management skill isnt the problem ... DOGMATIC adherence to RULES is ... AND the "networking" where one bad apple protects the next bad apple. Managing a project shouldnt be a problem ... for anyone who is able to "make a to-do-list".

[@mjsullivan5607]

Was interesting that Alistair Cambell called him an evil genius.

[@AC-SlaUkr]

MJ Sullivan He should know.

[@richtea615]

High praise, from him.

[@stevepacker8286]

I don't think Cummings' advice so far have resulted in unnecessary and ongoing conflict and pointless loss of so many lives

[@domzbu]

Evil only because he didn’t agree with him. And “evil” coming from campbell is extreme pot kettle

[@ModelRailway]

steve packer It may/may not have now .... the minutes from SAGE might reveal that.

[@johne3125]

36:17 - They all laughed, they had no idea...

[@jw8559]

This guy’s mega. 35 minutes in, agree with everything. This is what the UK needs.

[@lon3don]

Please Please Please, read between the lines.

[@jw8559]

@@lon3don what are you reading between the lines?

[@lon3don]

@@jw8559 good question. To reform government and the civil service as he would intend would need to be done with great sensitivity. Cummings has proved he has none of this. For a minister to resign because of the demands of a political advisor for him to dismiss staff that he has chosen and trusts, is very much a case of the tail wagging the dog. This is just one example of many.

[@Andy-kj5et]

Wanted to find out more about this guy....makes sense what he says here. Now he has the power, will he be able to make it happen ?

[@theevertonman2018]

Can someone explain to me when he says ‘peasants melting down metal in order to hit steel targets’ what is the metaphor for?

[@andrewmitchell8002]

Not a metaphor - a reference to quack science and it's disastrous consequences during Mao's Great Leap Forward: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backyard_furnace

[@tedtombling2770]

Mr Lucky Lee... I agree (with you).

[@hodgheg]

Why on earth is this guy so detested by the media where he's presented as a sinister hate figure? He seems to me to be extremely intelligent and imaginative and motivated by nothing more than a wish to improve the system of government in practical and innovative ways. Now that he's Boris's head honcho and in a position to actually do something, the BBC etc clearly regard him as evil incarnate! Presumably the civil service are terrified of what he could do to their cushy numbers and are briefing against him to anyone who'll listen.

[@hodgheg]

@@inquiring8059 As I said, he's being briefed against by people with a lot to lose to anyone who'll listen. They hope people like you will listen and somehow conclude that a man who took his wife to his parent's house to be looked after as she was showing symptoms, is 'totally immoral'. Strange how hatred can distort people's thinking.

[@hodgheg]

@@inquiring8059 Ah. Someone who knows all about me without ever meeting me. I've never met you either (I hope) but judging by the grammatical errors and generally aggressive and dogmatic tone I'd guess at either a Russian troll or Corbyn fan. Good luck with that.

[@user-qp5xi1vk9b]

Dominic Cummings is spot on with his analysis of civil service processes and good for him to expose the shameful non blame culture........ Sometimes people's performance is shit and they should suffer the consequences and it's usually some twat working half an hour a week but moaning the loudest 🎭

[@scapingby]

it's because he's accumulated alot of enemies over the years. Politicians and the Media are very close and they feed off eachother. When the Media say "my sources", they're almost always Ministers and MP's. Dominic led the campaign to keep us outside the Euro currency and succeeded. A campaign to exit the EU and succeeded. The campaign to get Boris elected and succeeded.... There's alot of people now who are screaming into their hands.

[@davidcarey9135]

This is exactly the same as how government operates in Australia, although the issues he talks about are magnified by a centralised soviet-style capital city in Canberra with very little private sector.

[@hamhead8650]

I voted for Dom not boris

[@markbanner6473]

Credit to Boris for employing him however.

[@j0nnyism]

You better hope he doesn’t do a Dave and sack him then

[@smoothjamm]

This aged well

[@vuk1419]

how do you feel now after corona, loosing value of pounds, economic crises due stupid pandemic and corona acts?

[@CASPB]

Fascinating 👍👍

[@chound6168]

Great Videos

[@velobob4299]

I am not a number! I've had to come back and amend this, i've listened again and it turns out i'm a peasant ( 18 mins in ) Funny thing is DC describes his current role,and how bad that would be for government.

[@HondoTrailside]

He says that bureaucrats often don't look to see how problems have been solved elsewhere. What they do do is look at regulatory barriers that have been erected elsewhere and adopt them. In Canada where there are multiple levels of government, there are also multiple opportunities for a lighter freer approach to regulation because the population is so spread out and peaceful. We claim to be defined by not being Americans, but we regulate by imposing the rules from south of the border (there are cases where this will not work and we skip it) and then adding even more layers by, for instance, looking at other provinces and making a given provincial rule a combination of every rule that has ever been implemented at a higher level and in other provinces The result is that the more remote, collegial, small your provincial footprint is, the heavier the regulatory burden. Of course various projects have not come up in certain provinces so you may escape this rule pile-on for a while, but the tendency for bureaucrats to impose failure from other jurisdictions is something they are good at because the approach covers their asses, and makes them seem like they are doing something and should not be made redundant.

[@msteen26]

I have been astonished to discover that in re the NHS (universally admired, once, but copied by no-one) that UK has made no effort at all to look at what works in EU countries, eg France and Austria, and copy the elements that would work in UK.

[@daisyhobbs7500]

Bureaucrats seem to be the same the world over, don't they? `arse covering` - I bet there is even a module on it in their uni courses. There was (in all but name), in social services....

[@daisyhobbs7500]

@@msteen26 Huh yes, I wonder though if we were starting again, would we want to use the same model? That could be Dominic's next project! How old is he? Does he have enough career years left?

[@msteen26]

@@daisyhobbs7500We wouldn't start with this model now. The European project began in 1950, when things looked different eg many were hungry. DM will be relentless, since that is his character. He is maybe a little autistic, like Greta Thunberg, though not so young. We will see.

[@daisyhobbs7500]

That must be infuriating. If I've understood it right it sounds like 'cut & paste' laws ,& regs in the hope they've not missed anything out. A bit like the way we've just imported EU regs & laws which seem to have, in some cases just been overlaid onto our existing, often already adequate laws! But we have so many political bodies taking bribes from EU to do their bidding over here. Awful, awful corrupt system which is awash with other country's money! Can't wait to be free from the cunning crooked lot.

[@zippy_uk1046]

The "app-i-fication" of government should be a top priority.

[@Muck006]

No ... a) you will still have to do paperwork so you might as well do it all on paper, b) apps dont work when the power is down, c) digital storage media dont last as long as paper ... Stop fetishising new technology ... its NOT the saviour ... especially if THE MINDSET BEHIND IT IS THE SAME!

[@gogilesgo]

36:20. Beautiful. Already seeing this with Zac Goldsmith going into cabinet via the Lords

[@neilfoxlee7419]

And more recently (and significantly) Lord Frost...

[@stevepacker8286]

He appears to be talking about Boris at 9 onwards! Hopefully he'll steer him away from narcissism.

[@j0nnyism]

That’s like trying to pull an 18 stone pig by the tail from it’s slops

[@sharonramsey715]

So what did Dominic Cummings learn, he learned that Carrie had more power over Boris than he did. I wonder how that played in his hollow man view. Back to the black board Dominic.

[@chonnerone2964]

Fascinating stuff. I am really optimistic about Brexit and this Boris government. The media portray Cummings as some kind of villain but he's anything but. Are we going to see our country pull up the anchor, change direction, cast off a few stragglers, and full steam ahead in the right direction? I hope so.

[@karmapolice6888]

Futures - you can see in this video he likes to exaggerate to make points. That video where he made the ‘poor people’ point was talking about the historic problem the Tory party have on perception, and that some (not all) MPs may not care about poor people. I’ve only started looking into this guy after election but listen to some of his comments in this video: bloated pay in the private sector, lack of regulation in financial markets, our best talents in maths and physics going into high frequency trading because of perverse incentives. If these comments were pulled out and put on the Guardian you would think Corbyn said them himself. It seems this guy has very strong views on how to make the UK a better, fairer place.

[@chonnerone2964]

@Futures Are you a native English speaker? You realise, he is pointing out that many Tories don't care about the poor or the NHS but that he is advising Tories like Gove and Johnson to care! I care about the poor but I believe in hand ups, not hand outs.

[@chonnerone2964]

@Scott Walker So would you have preferred the real Totalitarianism of the European Union instead? Tip toeing forward on it's toxic agenda. No thank you, I prefer GB like most Britons.

[@hanniffydinn6019]

Futures nobody intelligent believes anything in the guardian you spastic!

[@lon3don]

BS

[@Fionan95]

26:00 fantastic point

[@garylewis6657]

I noticed earlier how ridiculous Barnier and Varadkar looked: it was almost as if they were talking to a UK that just isn't listening, anymore. Classic Dom. That guy.

[@bmarkyt132]

Watching this I feel safe the country is in the right hands. He gets what needs to be done. Great stuff.

[@YouTubemessedupmyhandle]

The perfect demonstration of why a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

[@therub2191]

Enlighten us oh wise one

[@williamwimbourne856]

Really interesting.

[@robg71]

It reminds Me of What Milton Friedman once said. "If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand."

[@karlp8484]

There is an opportunity now to make efficiency improvements now that Brexit is real. The imperative to get things right the first time is now very real, and hopefully getting the right people in the right roles is apparent. The moral equivalent of war (I think someone else said that a long time ago). I personally think public sector waste and inertia is at least the third biggest problem (that is: huge) that the UK and other countries in the West face.

[@livetwice7702]

Karl P agreed have you used the NHS recently ....

[@brynleytalbot778]

Karl P The public sector needs reforming to match its private sector counterpart in efficiency but not to generate profit, the reason it gets privatised, but to decrease its cost base through efficiency which is best achieved by eliminating swathes of management trying to make it like the private sector. Pensions must be addressed along with pay scales. It's fine to benefit one way but not both ways which seems the public sector way. Also a balanced approach to worker engagement in roles needs to be reviewed so that excess employees are discouraged and that fluctuating requirements can be met through private enterprise involvement. It's a balanced approach, public and private, that's required to make it totally efficient. Properly managed it could bring services up to the levels required. Another solution would be for the public sector to offer private paid services from its over staffing to ensure there is no waste. For cash strapped councils this could be a lifeline.

[@karlp8484]

@@brynleytalbot778 I see the Public Service as potentially being a relatively elite branch of the economy (small in terms of overall national employment) but orchestrating a myriad of contracts on behalf of the government/public. Typically these are called Service Level Agreements. If KPIs/performance measures are included in these agreements, the "private" contractors only see one avenue to make money. *Perform* Or get penalised and/or lose the contract to some other eager contractor. It is the main priority of the government (national or local) to establish what the objectives and targets are. And put them into the KPIs/performance measures. If *they* stuff up, the contractor should be compensated on an agreed schedule of rates/contract termination payment basis and not be left twisting in the breeze just because a bunch of councillors can't assign internal blame.

[@Pathofplenty]

Labour should have watched this 6 years ago. I.e. the recent result was totally predictable. In fact they simply doubled down through union pressure. Ha.

[@Muck006]

They dont care about facts ... and run on 100% FEELINGS-BASED programs.

[@psyskeptic9979]

At one point he talks about cutting administrative jobs massively in admin, HR, civil service, Whitehall, etc. I have some sympathy for some things he says, but as an academic I have experienced the misery of clever idiots like him cutting admin staff who were already overworked, and the ones who were left just had a miserable time doing the work of two people. It just made for a miserable place for me to work too, and I moved. Cummings here is being what he is complaining about: over managing and getting paid well for it. There is no empiricism, and only theory: did he talk to administrators in Whitehall, and collect data about whether 1/10 of the staff would be able to manage? or did he decide not to test his theory? Don't get me wrong, I actually like this guy and some of his ideas.

[@ModelRailway]

Psy Skeptic Agree ... I think karma has caught up with him this time. Excellent theorist and campaigner, clearly intelligent and many strengths ... but everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Interesting during his conference that he admitted that he had made mistakes during the pandemic response so far ...

[@xyork]

@@ModelRailway It's realistic and honest of him to admit to mistakes. Who does't make mistakes? Yes, a great advisor to Boris and karma doesn't come into it so long as there is sufficient (party wide) determination to fight the machine.

[@73BigMC]

Sounds like the problem in your organisation is that they didn't also cut the academics.

[@psyskeptic9979]

@@73BigMC they froze hiring on academics as they hired clever idiot managers like you at larger salaries, and I encourage you to gather evidence for your theories (eg class sizes, etc, etc)

[@psyskeptic9979]

@@73BigMC what a f*ing mean spirited anonymous comment. If you have a mirror in your house: look into it.

[@anthonymoody4477]

My God! I have seen the future of the UK, and it was spoken four years ago. What a genius. I knew that Whitehall was bad, having read the very interesting book "Who Governs Britain", but I didn't realise it was that bad. Listening to him describe Whitehall is the equivalent of hearing a description of - - - - wait for it, the EU and Brussels. Now we know why Boris trusts hm, and we also know what will happen. Cannot wait to see the 'blood on the streets' and meaningful change brought about.

[@MidnightRambler]

This guy should get a knighthood

[@atozer2547]

Straight after Farage gets one.

[@wouldbegood]

9:00 I would argue people are punished too harshly and often disproportionately (relative to experience) so don't admit mistakes early enough to prevent and corrrect errors and catastrophes. Learning takes time and a lack of forgiveness compounds these issues. Pesonalities and CVs can become too big to fail and that is one of the largest obstacles for successful organisation as is the case with markets.

[@richardheley3524]

Thank you Dominic. Very interesting conversation. Recommend this to others...listen.

[@bobbest1611]

29:00 prime minister harold wilson was saying the same thing back in the 1960s.

[@organisespace9347]

Amol Rajan brought me here ;-)

[@yakulespikey]

The idea of politicians versus problem solvers is nothing new. Introvert/extrovert - politics attract extroverts for sure, a bit of a no brainer. He has insider knowledge and is very honest which is refreshing and interesting.

[@rachel-rb4bp]

I like this man he wants to organise and get things done this is good - I hope that he shakes them all up and makes them work

[@RealDukeOfEarl]

KZbin algorithm is getting cleverer, judging by the way these N year old vids keep popping up like this, with lots of hours old comments.

[@oisin372]

The video originally was only titled 'Hollow Men', I found the video a few months ago and messaged the channel to advise them to put his name in the video title, resulting in about 20k views in the past couple of months. The algorithm is still not all that smart.

[@RealDukeOfEarl]

@@oisin372 it seems in this case you are the algorithm's intelligent sidekick, my good man.

[@westaylor-rendal4955]

These intellectual discussions were ahead of their time. People are only just beginning to catch up.

[@daisyhobbs7500]

Agree but it's very useful to be reminded, so vividly, isn't it?

[@markrobinson1897]

It always baffles me that people despise this man. Nobody ever asked Cummings if he was Leave or Remain. Cummings is a mercenary.He is paid to do a job and he did it. Maybe he is a sociopath. It doesn't mean that he was wrong. It doesn't matter what he believed in.remain or leave. He opened a channel for the silent to be heard

[@angelabuck5491]

do`h hope you have no children nor grandchildren_ coz section 4 - I WAS JUST FOLLOWING ORDER`S me gov

[@TAG-DOMINATOR]

We are lucky to have a great man like him in Britain.

[@mikeyk212]

The most powerful man in the UK. And a good thing too. Wearing a tie as well.

[@birdoffire983]

"Ideas change"--well.....the idea of staying at home during a lockdown......changed.

[@Baelish-fx7ew]

Media 🐑

[@therub2191]

....tumbleweed....

[@therub2191]

@Nobby Heads oh dear...

[@therub2191]

@Nobby Heads nope... but you've wound someone up by the sounds of it

[@therub2191]

@Nobby Heads free speech is a beautiful thing, even if it means saying a man smells of poo and wee, instead of forming a credible argument 😆

[@HondoTrailside]

The purpose of politics is not to make the right decisions. The purpose is for the leaders to maintain the consent of the people to be governed. You can see how damaging the loss of that consent can be in extreme cases. But it has also been evident in the UK over Brexit which has spun of in a number of unusual directions with the loss of political alliances, through to threats aver leaving the Kingdom. I love listening to Cummings particularly that long appearance he made before a parliamentary committee. But I am not sure that all these speculations on organizations are serious, as opposed to being just his calling card.

[@larrye3602]

Now he has the opportunity to rout Whitehall of the self service and the HR clergy. I wish him well!

[@thespeckler1]

Smart man.

[@heliotropezzz333]

but not practical

[@thespeckler1]

@@heliotropezzz333 I don't think his role in the government is practicality, it's more of a necessity with the state the civil service is in. A complete overhaul is necessary.

[@heliotropezzz333]

@@thespeckler1 The civil service is in the state it's in because the Tories messed it up and also destroyed morale. Overhaul away and create more mess. If you bring in people from outside (which happens already) they always want to be paid more than the civil servants so there's a cost to that and they don't tend to stay long. If you end the idea of a permanent civil service that will do nothing to improve the memory of the organisation but you know, it's going to happen isn't it? The political leadership on Brexit has been appalling and I imagine has had the civil servants tearing their hair out. It's not surprising if they are not prepared to stay until midnight to sort out yet more unnecessary mess, over and over and over again.

[@thespeckler1]

@@heliotropezzz333 I'm more for getting rid of most of them, small government is what is needed, remainers in prominent positions have damaged this country and it's reputation, wankers like Olly Robins had too much power and were accountable to no one, this has to change.

[@heliotropezzz333]

@@thespeckler1 Small government . Ha ha ha ha . What you mean like Trump's? Ha ha ha ha. What accountability will you have if you privatise the civil service? Companies will take their profit and skedaddle.

[@ally11488]

A highly efficient technocracy where if you don't shape up, you're shipped out. Cue a catastrophic epidemic in mental health related work issues.

[@ally11488]

@Jamie L Which Cummings is ill-equipped to organise.

[@kevinstoneham1245]

I was really hoping he would talk about Digital & Technology.

[@lon3don]

About which he probably has very little knowledge.

[@samteedum]

Andrew Haldane 1:14:24 worth checking out

[@namerelevant2499]

One of the great speeches of history.

[@lon3don]

After Adolf's

[@Naturelover2]

World goal to lead in education

[@lon3don]

Step 1, Leave the EU, Step 2, go back to Step 1.

[@diabl2master]

Not true that can do maths and further maths a-level without learning what the normal distribution is. They won't teach you the central limit theorem until later, but you'll learn what the normal distribution is.