think people are normally too ready to resign over such things.
I think on this subject, when everyone else has had to watch loved ones die over Skype, or have not been allowed to attend funerals, resignation is the only viable option. Calderwood and Ferguson both resigned. It's interesting that Jenrick and Cummings both decided to front it out. It says a lot about the contempt they hold people in, I think.
Offering his resignation would of course put Boris in a no-win situation.
I'm not so sure it would. It would take the pressure off Boris. The trouble is that Boris is, fundamentally, brainless, and so he won't fire his brain.
As I've said further up, a more astute political operator would have cried a few crocodile tears and buggered off to a friendly think tank for 6-12 months. Boris gets to keep his brain on speed dial and gets to look strong. It always worked for Mandelson. Instead Boris looks weak and his government looks conceited.
can't really remember how Jenrick avoided the attention
Jenrick got away with it because of the poo storm about PPE and care homes. The story moved on quickly enough that few noticed just how badly he'd behaved.
I think Cummings is hoping to play the same trick again- people will forget or get bored before he does. It's what my toddler does when she's been caught red-handed being naughty. It might well work on the short term. Certainly playing the long game it'll work, Boris has a big majority and five years until the next election, he really doesn't need to care about polling for at least another 36 months.
