Dominic Cummings is building a political army and his first recruiting station is the University of Oxford. In the hallowed debating chamber of the Oxford Union on Thursday night, the former chief adviser to Boris Johnson called on the university’s bright young minds to join him in an attempt to take power. “Once this election is over we will build a new party and we will take power in 2028,” he thundered.
“Most people here are young. The current system is imploding before your eyes. Don’t become a management consultant or work for the Labour Party or any of these rotten institutions,” he warned, in a talk that mixed deep pessimism with blue-sky thinking about the possibilities of technological innovation.
“A new world will be built over the next 20 years and you should be thinking about how to build the replacement for these institutions and not aspire to be editor of The Times or jobs that people in this building used to aspire to.” Cummings, who masterminded the Brexit vote and is credited with winning Johnson the 2019 election, read history at Oxford in the early Nineties.
In December The Sunday Times reported that Cummings has held meetings with prime minister Rishi Sunak about a possible return to the heart of government. Cummings wrote on his blog that he had presented the PM with specific terms on which he would return to Number 10. These included responsibility for reforming defence procurement and pandemic prevention strategies.
"The PM decided against the deal I proposed. He wanted instead that I work secretly on politics and communication in return for a promise that I could come to No 10 and sort out my priorities after the election," Cummings wrote on his Substack, "I declined."
