The positive thing about a reality TV show is that it isn’t real. It might stir up all manner of emotions and significantly alter the lives of the instant (or scrap heap) celebrities but only a few hours engagement for everyone watching. There is next to no emotional real estate involved outside of the TV host but it gives people something to talk about. The negative side is that provides amusement in the literal sense. Break that word up and you have ‘muse’ which means to think, preceded by ‘a’ which adds a ‘not’ at the beginning. A liitle escapism is not a bad thing but too much teaches you to disengage with actual reality — its crazy that we would ever have to qualify what reality is.

The government isn’t just playing this game out to see how the land lies, they are playing for time

I purposely didn’t watch the Dominic Cummings press conference because I knew it would push my buttons. I also avoided discussions over his arguments because that would engage me more than I cared to. The whole thing was reality TV that took all the oxygen out of social media this side of the pond and engaged minds in a staged event that would inevitably create more heat than light. Everyone knew they would be lied to and we know from experience that all you have to inject into the news cycle is a counter narrative — it doesn’t matter if its simply invented — so that rather than dealing with facts the whole thing becomes surrounded in hearsay.

But what is most concerning is that the media, en bloc, have come out against No 10 when there were no qualms about siding with liar Boris in the run up to the general election. Cumming’s transgression is shocking and the PM’s response even worse but the incident is past. National outrage aside, the consequence of sidelining the Conservatives’ blatant lies and misrepresentations during the election campaign was much more profound, especially as it is they who are running this current shit show. As with any reality TV show this is transient and without substance. There was no reason why Mr Cummings should have been given that platform. The real question was about government support for the man — there was no call for a trial. Other figures had fallen for lesser offenses with virtually no questions asked. Why did this man deserve better?

If Dominic Cummings is sacked or resigns what comes next? Because the circus revolves around the chief advisor, when he goes the tent will come down and it will be back to business as usual. That cannot be, because it isn’t about him at all, its about confidence in the government of which there is currently very little. Its not even about government policy or the lockdown rules its about government transparency. Without transparency they get to make up rules that make no sense in relation to reality. Without it the country is leaderless and with a silent, invisible and poorly understood enemy that is disastrous.

The government isn’t just playing this game out to see how the land lies, they are playing for time. Every day of scandal, half truths, disputes and government announcements gives them another day to come up with an exit strategy, not out of lockdown but out of this mess of their own making. All we’ve heard is lies and hyperbole from the time we first heard of the coronavirus. People are speculating that Cummings knows where the bodies are buried which could be why the PM is so relectant to sack him. While this is probably not what’s behind it, there certainly are bodies — why else would there be so much lying and deceipt.

What we do know is that the government have been contracting private firms when statutary bodies would do a much better job. This is partly because those bodies have been so badly depleted by this same government but also because these are the Tory donors and big business that the Tories effectively work for.

While this is a massive kick in the teeth for those who have suffered most from the crisis we must not let the establised media and vested interests capitalise on that anger and grief. If there is to be any consolation for those who have lost loved ones to this cruel virus it must be that their sacrifice was not in vain. That means we must come out of this crisis better than when we went in. That doesn’t revolve around Cummings, Boris or his pathetic cabinet, its about the structures that prop up the rotten political and economic dung heap that this country is being turned into.

The acid test will be what side the papers come down on. If they are with the people we know we are screwed. If a movement comes up on every BBC news bulletin you’ll know its been defeated. When a whole lot of people are massively pissed off and the weight of the police and courts are thrown at them that’s when you can expect to see real change.