Trip by Cummings ‘undermined trust in the handling of pandemic’
DOMINIC CUMMINGS’ trip to Durham at the height of lockdown while suffering from Covid-19 drastically undermined public trust in the Government’s handling of the pandemic, according to new research.
The analysis, conducted by University College London (UCL), found the actions of the Prime Minister’s chief adviser reduced people’s willingness to follow social distancing rules.
Published in the Lancet, the research analysed 220,000 survey results from 40,000 participants in UCL’s Covid-19 social study between April 24 and June 11.
Lead author Dr Daisy Fancourt, of UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care said: “Public trust in the Government’s ability to manage the pandemic is crucial as it underpins public attitudes and behaviours at a precarious time for public health.”
She added: “Trust in government decisions and actions relating to the management of Covid-19 is a major challenge globally and these data illustrate the negative and lasting consequences that political decisions can have for public trust.”
News of Mr Cummings’ 260mile drive with his wife and child broke on May 22. He travelled from London to Durham during the lockdown to his parents’ home due to concerns over who would look after his son if both he and his wife were incapacitated by coronavirus.
Police said Mr Cummings may have committed a “minor breach” of the regulations by taking a trip to Barnard Castle, but took no further action.
The researchers assessed the impact of his actions by comparing the levels of confidence those living in Scotland and Wales said they had in their devolved governments. There was no comparable drop in confidence in the leaders of Scotland and Wales over this time period.
The researchers found people in England had not regained their confidence in the UK Government, with the gap between those in England and the devolved nations continuing to widen.
It revealed that adherence to lockdown, which was already starting to decline, dropped more rapidly in the following weeks, particularly in England.