Dominic Cummings facts for kids

Dominic Mckenzie Cummings (born 25 November 1971) is a British political expert. He worked as a top adviser to the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He held this important job from July 2019 until he left in November 2020.

Before this, from 2007 to 2014, he was a special helper to Michael Gove. This included when Gove was in charge of education. Cummings left when Gove got a new role in the government. From 2015 to 2016, Cummings was the main person in charge of Vote Leave. This group successfully campaigned for Britain to leave the European Union, known as Brexit.

When Boris Johnson became Prime Minister in July 2019, Cummings became his Chief Adviser. Cummings had some disagreements with Sajid Javid, who was the person in charge of the country's money (the Chancellor). These disagreements led to Javid leaving his job in February 2020. This happened because Javid did not want to fire his own helpers, as Cummings had asked.

In May 2020, there was a lot of talk about Cummings. Reports said he traveled to his parents' farm in Durham during the COVID-19 lockdowns. He was also showing signs of being sick with COVID-19. Many politicians from the Conservative Party asked him to resign. Other political parties also criticized him for not following the rules. Cummings held a press conference to explain his trip. Prime Minister Johnson supported him, saying Cummings acted "responsibly, legally and with integrity". The police in Durham said he did not break any rules by traveling from London to Durham. They said a small rule might have been broken when he drove to Barnard Castle. This event made some people trust the government less during the pandemic.

After leaving his job in November 2020, Cummings has often spoken out. He has criticized how the British government handled the COVID-19 pandemic. He has also criticized Boris Johnson's leadership.

Early Life and Education

Dominic Cummings was born in Durham on 25 November 1971. His father, Robert, was a farmer and also worked on oil rigs. His mother, Morag, became a teacher. His uncle was a well-known judge, Sir John Laws.

Cummings went to a private school called Durham School. Later, he studied at Exeter College, Oxford University. He finished his studies in 1994 with top grades in history. One of his old teachers said he was "fizzing with ideas". He was always questioning common ideas. In his younger days, he also worked at a nightclub in Durham that his uncle owned.

After university, Cummings lived in Russia until 1997. He shared a flat with an economist named Liam Halligan. He tried to start an airline connecting a city in Russia to Vienna, Austria. This project was not successful. Cummings left Russia in 1997. He has since said he thinks Russia is a "primordially abnormal country". He called it an "intrinsic mafia society".

Political Work and Campaigns

From 1999 to 2002, Cummings worked for a group called Business for Sterling. This group was against the UK joining the euro currency. Then, for eight months in 2002, he was a strategy director for Iain Duncan Smith. Duncan Smith was the leader of the Conservative Party. Cummings wanted to make the party more modern. He soon left because he felt they were not making big enough changes. He called Duncan Smith "incompetent".

In 2003, Cummings started a group called the New Frontiers Foundation. This group believed in free markets and was against the UK being too close to the European Union. The group published papers that argued against the UK having "ever-closer union" with the EU. They also suggested getting rid of all trade taxes and changing the United Nations. The Foundation also wanted to change or even get rid of the BBC as a public broadcaster. They believed the BBC was against Conservatives. This group closed in 2005.

Cummings was also important in the North East Says No (NESNO) campaign in 2004. This campaign successfully stopped a new regional government in North-East England. He used popular methods in this campaign. For example, he argued against the new government by saying it would mean less money for the NHS. He even toured the area with a huge white elephant prop. After this campaign, Cummings moved to his father's farm.

In 2006, Cummings was in charge of the website for The Spectator magazine. He republished a controversial cartoon of Muhammed. This was the first time a British news group had published it. It was removed after the magazine's publisher stepped in.

Working for Michael Gove (2007–2014)

Cummings worked for Conservative politician Michael Gove from 2007 to 2014. From 2011 to 2014, he was a special adviser and Chief of Staff to Gove. This was when Gove was in charge of the Department for Education. Cummings wrote a long essay about changing Britain into a "meritocratic technopolis". A journalist from The Guardian called it "either mad, bad or brilliant".

Cummings was known for being very direct at the Department for Education. He and Michael Gove often spoke out against what they called the "blob". This was their name for senior civil servants and teachers who they felt stopped their plans for change. Cummings also spoke openly about other politicians. He called Nick Clegg's ideas for free school meals "dreamed up on the back of a cigarette packet". He called David Davis "thick as mince" and "lazy as a toad".

In 2012, a senior female civil servant received money after a bullying case. This case was against Cummings and another person on Michael Gove's team.

While working for Gove, Cummings got a warning from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). This was for using private Gmail accounts for government work. The ICO found an email where Cummings said he would only answer emails from Gmail accounts he knew. Cummings said this was about a party conference, not government work.

In 2014, Cummings left his job as a special adviser. He said he might try to open a free school. He had also volunteered and worked for a charity that helps free schools.

Campaign to Leave the European Union (2015–2019)

Cummings became the campaign director for Vote Leave in October 2015. He was a key planner for the campaign. He is credited with creating the slogan, "Take back control". He also helped spread the idea that leaving the EU could free up £350 million a week for the NHS. His campaign plan focused on talking about immigration and business. It also mentioned the power of the European Union's Court of Justice.

In February 2016, Cummings and Vote Leave CEO Matthew Elliott left the board of Vote Leave. This was after reports of disagreements within the group. The vote in June 2016 resulted in 51.9% of people voting to leave the European Union. Cummings was praised as one of the main people behind the campaign's success.

In March 2019, a committee in Parliament said Cummings should be criticized. This was because he did not appear before them to answer questions about false news during the referendum.

In July 2017, a lawyer asked Cummings on Twitter if anything would make him wish Leave had not won. Cummings replied, "Lots! I said before REF was dumb idea, other things should have been tried 1st."

Chief Adviser to Boris Johnson (2019–2020)

On 24 July 2019, Cummings was appointed as a senior adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He was seen as the main person in charge of Johnson's team.

When he was appointed, The Guardian reported that Cummings had said in 2017: "People think... 'The Tory party is run by people who basically don't care about people like me'". He also said that "Tory MPs largely do not care about these poorer people. They don't care about the NHS."

The Daily Telegraph wrote about Cummings's past rivalry with Nigel Farage. Farage had said, "He has never liked me. He can't stand the ERG."

Cummings was accused of being unfair when it was reported that a farm he partly owned received £235,000 in EU farming money. Cummings had previously called such payments "absurd".

In November 2019, a person who used to work for the government raised questions about Cummings's time in Russia. The Sunday Times reported that some government business was being kept from Cummings.

Cummings temporarily left his job when Parliament was closed for the 2019 general election. He was briefly brought back to help the government during widespread flooding.

After the election, Cummings asked for people interested in working in government to contact him. He wanted to hire data scientists and software developers. He said he wanted to make his own job "largely redundant" within a year. This led to some new hires, but some also resigned due to past controversial views.

Cummings often had a difficult relationship with the media. Some thought he wanted to fight with news outlets like the BBC. However, some of his plans, like boycotting certain TV shows, did not last long.

Sonia Khan's Dismissal

In August 2019, Cummings fired Sonia Khan. She was a special adviser to the Treasury. He did this without the permission of Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid. This happened during preparations to temporarily close Parliament. Cummings believed Khan had not been honest about talking to her old boss, Philip Hammond. Hammond was against a "no-deal Brexit". Reports said Cummings looked at her phones and then had an armed officer escort her out. Former attorney general Dominic Grieve said this was wrong.

Khan later took legal action for unfair dismissal. She said Cummings was key to her claim of unfair treatment. A financial agreement was reached in November 2020, so the case did not go to court.

Relationship with Sajid Javid

Sajid Javid was very angry with Johnson about Khan's dismissal. In November 2019, Johnson promised to keep Javid as Chancellor after the 2019 election.

Before a government reshuffle in February 2020, there were rumors. Some suggested a new economic department might be created. This would reduce the power of the Treasury. Rishi Sunak was seen as loyal to Johnson and favored by Cummings.

On 13 February 2020, Javid resigned as Chancellor. This happened after a meeting with the Prime Minister. Johnson said Javid could keep his job only if he fired all his advisers. They would be replaced by people chosen by Cummings. Javid said that "no self-respecting minister would accept those terms".

Javid's resignation was a surprise. It showed that Johnson chose Cummings over Javid. Some experts said this risked harming the government. They felt that good government needs ministers, especially the Chancellor, to be able to disagree with bad ideas.

COVID-19 Pandemic

In March 2020, a newspaper reported that Cummings had said the government's plan for COVID-19 was "herd immunity". This meant letting many people get sick to protect the economy. He was reported to have said, "if that means some pensioners die, too bad". Downing Street said this report was "a highly defamatory fabrication". In April, it was reported that Cummings attended meetings of SAGE. This group advises the government on its COVID-19 response. Some people at a SAGE meeting said Cummings pushed for a faster lockdown.

A news investigation in May 2020 reported that police had spoken to Cummings. This was about him breaking lockdown rules by being in Durham. This caused a lot of criticism. The government had told people to stay home unless it was absolutely necessary. On 25 May, Cummings made a public statement. He explained his actions:

• On 27 March 2020, his wife felt ill. They thought she might have COVID-19.
• They were worried they would be too sick to care for their four-year-old son.
• He said he drove to Durham that night to stay at a house on his parents' farm. This was 264 miles from London.
• He said lockdown rules allowed travel for childcare. He believed his trip was allowed.
• On 28 March, he woke up with clear COVID-19 symptoms. He was very sick for days.
• On 2 April, his son got sick and went to the hospital. Cummings was too ill to go.
• On 12 April, he felt well enough to return to London.
• He said he drove his family to Barnard Castle (30 miles away). This was to check if he could drive safely, as his wife worried his eyesight was affected. They returned to London the next day.

Many people and the media were doubtful about Cummings's statement. The trip to Barnard Castle was on his wife's birthday. There were also reports of the family being seen in Durham on 19 April. Cummings said they were not there and were already in London.

Durham police said Cummings's father had contacted them, not the other way around. They had discussed security. Many politicians called for Cummings to resign. Boris Johnson defended Cummings. He said Cummings had acted "responsibly, legally and with integrity".

On 25 May 2020, the Durham police commissioner asked for an investigation. Cummings held a press conference that day. He said, "There is no regulation covering the situation I found myself in".

On 28 May, Durham Police said Cummings did not break the law by traveling from London to Durham. They said a small rule might have been broken at Barnard Castle. But because social distancing rules were followed, no action would be taken. They also said there was not enough proof he returned to Durham on 19 April.

A poll after his press conference showed that 71% of people thought Cummings broke the rules. 59% thought he should resign. Many Conservative politicians also criticized him. Some called for him to resign or be fired. One politician, Jeremy Hunt, said Cummings made "clearly mistakes". He said these mistakes risked making people ignore public health advice. He pointed to three possible rule breaks: returning to work briefly, traveling to Durham instead of staying home, and visiting Barnard Castle. A study in 2020 said these events hurt public trust in the government's pandemic response.

In July 2021, The Guardian reported that Cummings had invited a former colleague's company to work for the government. This company received a £580,000 contract for opinion polling without other companies being able to bid.

Leaving Downing Street

The BBC reported on 13 November 2020 that Cummings was expected to leave Downing Street by the end of 2020. This followed the decision of his close colleague, Lee Cain, to step down. Cummings said he had not threatened to resign over Cain's departure. He said he had planned to make his role "largely redundant" by the end of the year.

On 14 November, The Times reported that Johnson had told Cummings to leave. He was seen leaving Number 10 with a storage box. The Times said Edward Lister would take his place for a short time. Some people said Cummings left "without leaving much trace". The Economist said Cummings had "wasted the greatest opportunity of his life."

New Political Party

In May 2024, there were reports that Cummings was planning a new political party. This party might replace the Conservative Party if it struggles after the 2024 general election.

Political Ideas

Cummings has said his political views are "not Tory (Conservative), libertarian, 'populist' or anything else". In January 2016, before the EU referendum, Cummings said:

Extremists are on the rise in Europe... It is increasingly important that Britain offers an example of civilised, democratic, liberal self-government.

At a conference in 2017, Cummings said he believed the EU was causing extremism. He felt this was because people lacked control over things like the economy and immigration. He said a main reason he wanted to leave the EU was to "drain the poison of a lot of political debates". He believed groups like UKIP and Nigel Farage would lose their power once immigration policy was controlled by the UK.

Cummings has often criticized the political system in London. He feels it has ignored the concerns of many voters, especially in Northern England. He believes both the Conservatives and Labour have "taken for granted" these voters.

Cummings has said he has never been a member of a political party. He was ranked second on a list of the "Top 100 Most Influential Conservatives of 2019". Although often seen as being on the right side of politics, he has criticized the European Research Group. He called them "useful idiots" for the argument to stay in the EU. He tried to keep Nigel Farage away from the official Vote Leave campaign. He thought Farage's presence would not help win over undecided voters.

Cummings has criticized former US President Donald Trump. He said Trump "demonstrated no interest in actually controlling the government". He also said Trump could not "execute at scale and speed". He encouraged the Republican Party to choose someone else for the 2024 US presidential election.

Personal Life

In December 2011, Cummings married Mary Wakefield. She is the sister of his friend Jack Wakefield. Mary Wakefield has worked at The Spectator magazine for many years. She is the daughter of Sir Humphry Wakefield, 2nd Baronet.

In 2016, they had a son named Cedd. He was named after an Anglo-Saxon saint.

Cummings is said to be very interested in historical figures like Otto von Bismarck and scientists like Richard Feynman. He also likes military strategists like Sun Tzu and John Boyd. Journalists have written that he is interested in Russia and speaks Russian. He is also fascinated by the writer Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Depictions in Media

Dominic Cummings has been shown in several TV shows and plays:

• In 2019, Benedict Cumberbatch played him in the Channel 4 drama Brexit: The Uncivil War.
• In the 2020 TV show Spitting Image, Cummings was shown as a strange alien puppet.
• In September 2022, Simon Paisley Day played him in the miniseries This England.
• In February 2023, Chris Porter played Cummings in a play called DOM: The Play.

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In Spanish: Dominic Cummings para niños