Dominic Cummings’s departure is dangerous timing for Boris

Dominic Cummings didn’t angle for this job: Boris Johnson begged him to take it. The Tories faced extinction after the Theresa May debacle. Boris needed purpose, direction and miracles – which Cummings had a track record in supplying. He brought with him into No. 10 both Vote Leave staff and its modus operandi: a fixed focus on purpose, dedication to delivering and not caring too much about what commentators (like me) say. The result: an unexpected Brexit deal followed by an 80-strong Tory majority. The team stayed in place to work on what Johnson thought would be the defining issue of 2020: a Brexit deal. In my Daily Telegraph column today, I write about how the Prime Minister is now thinking what form his government should take given – as is now being reported – Cummings has left No. 10 for good.

This current highly-centralised form of government buckled under the weight of the pandemic.