Dominic Cummings

The Gallowglaich

7 min readJun 19, 2020

Dominic Cummings

Curriculum Vitae

1971 Dominic Cummings was born in Durham to an oil rig project manager and a teacher.

1994 Graduated from Oxford with first-class degree in ancient and modern history.

1994–97 Worked in Russia on what he terms “various projects”.

1999–2002 Helped to run campaign to keep Britain out of the euro.

2003–07 Helped with campaigns against the EU constitution and the devolution of power to a North East regional assembly.

2007–14 Senior adviser to Michael Gove, with a break in 2010.

2015–16 Ran the Vote Leave campaign for Britain to leave the EU.

2019 Appointed senior adviser to Boris Johnson in Downing Street.

Given Dominic Cummings is not Russian, has no Russian relatives and is so demonstrably brilliant on so many fronts, was he “recruited” before, during or after his ostensibly strange three-year post-graduation stint in Russia? After all, he enrolled for and obtained a first degree in Ancient and Modern History at Exeter College Oxford and demonstrated an interest in all things Russian (including speaking the language). At some stage in his early career he would inevitably have been on at least one agency’s recruitment list. If so, was it MI6, the FSB or conceivably both? Maybe one day, like Rory Stewart, he might go so far as to admit that his career path might “give the appearance” that he worked in these arenas?

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Most Brits will have heard of Dominic Cummings, a familiar character to people from the North of England. Both parents were raised and still live in Durham. His mother is John Laws’ younger sister; their parents were doctors in the Royal Army Medical Corps during the Second World War, based in Egypt. On returning to England, they sent their children to private schools in Durham. His mother went on to university, and then worked as a teacher and behavioural specialist.

Cummings’s paternal grandfather, Laurie, also served in the war. He fought at Monte Cassino. As part of the Durham Light Infantry, he was one of Montgomery’s men. “The fighting men of Durham,” wrote the field marshal, “are splendid soldiers. They have held their positions even when all their officers have been killed and conditions were almost unendurable.” After the war, Laurie Cummings ran a sports shop in Durham city centre for 42 years.

Cummings’s maternal grandparents lived and worked in a coal community called Easington in the north-east of England, where his mother and uncle grew up. Cummings’s grandparents were doctors in Easington. Their patients were the mining families of Durham.

This strange genius like figure who has free rein through government and Downing Street, the undoubted architect of BREXIT, for without his mind and drive, none of it would have happened, of this there can be no doubt.

A little digging shows that after graduating in History from Oxford University, he was almost certainly taken into the care of MI6 following the recommendation of the rabidly right-wing recruiter Prof. Norman Stone, guide and mentor of “Dom” during his tender undergraduate years.

After shuttling back and forth for a few years between Vienna and Samara in Russia, doing who knows what and with and for whom, he supposedly “ran foul of the KGB”, which sounds like an odd reason for returning to Blighty.

References

1. Dominic Cummings Blog: dominiccummings.com/an-index-of-blogs-articles-papers/

2. Word Disk — Dominic Cummings: www.worddisk.com/wiki/Dominic_Cummings/

3. Cummings — Why Leave Won the Referendum: www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=35&v=CDbRxH9Kiy4

4. www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jun/25/norman-stone-obituary

5. John Simkin: Spartacus. “The Political Philosophy of Dominic Cummings”

spartacus-educational.com/spartacus-blogURL129.htm

6. Guardian (2002), “Another Fine Mess”, 28th July 2002.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2002/jul/28/conservatives.politicalnews

7. Conservative Home (2014), “A profile of Dominic Cummings, Friend of Gove and Enemy of Clegg”, 15th May 2014.

www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2014/05/a-profile-of-dominic-cummings-friend-of-gove-and-enemy-of-clegg.html

8. In Facts (2016), “Dominic Cummings Trips up on the Facts”, 21st April 2016.

infacts.org/dominic-cummings-trips-facts/?fbclid=IwAR1_CJD1RTXKUOTBH8FyctpyyXUEeJhfYKC1ouN7zuhdBB5HzD-HYv543DA

9. National Scot (2016), “Pat Kane: Leading Brexiteers are Pining for all of us to Embrace a Life Built on Havoc”, 18th June 2016.

www.thenational.scot/news/14867243.pat-kane-leading-brexiteers-are-pining-for-all-of-us-to-embrace-a-life-built-on-havoc/

10. Spectator (2017), “Dominic Cummings: How the Brexit Referendum was Won”, 9th January 2017.

blogs.spectator.co.uk/2017/01/dominic-cummings-brexit-referendum-won/

11. Katoikos (2017), “The Ideological Psychopaths Behind Trump, Putin and Brexit”, 10th April 2017.

www.katoikos.eu/dialogue/the-ideological-psychopaths-behind-trump-putin-and-brexit.html

infinite-coincidence.com/2017/02/06/steve-bannon-and-other-ideological-psychopaths/

12. Jack of Kent (2017), ““In Some Possible Branches of the Future Leaving Will be an Error” — An Exchange About Brexit with Dominic Cummings”, 4th July 2017.

web.archive.org/web/20180925153319/http://jackofkent.com:80/2017/07/in-some-possible-branches-of-the-future-leaving-will-be-an-error-an-exchange-about-brexit-with-dominic-cummings/

13. Jon Worth (2017), “Dominic Cummings (@odysseanproject) Deletes his Twitter Account — Piecing it Back Together”, 9th October 2017.

jonworth.eu/dominic-cummings-odysseanproject-deletes-twitter-account-piecing-back-together/?fbclid=IwAR3JSAPp4L-VvB22shoEAodkceYOPe33jn6zODZPicCW__eQsT2G_4DqZtc

14. Truepublica (2018), “Facebook Will Become More Powerful Than The NSA In Less Than 10 Years”, 4th January 2018.

truepublica.org.uk/surveillance/facebook-will-become-powerful-nsa-less-10-years/

15. Daily Mail (2018), “How the Data ‘Svengali’ Branded a ‘Career Sociopath’ by David Cameron Gave £4million to Firm Linked with Cambridge Analytica and Delivered Shock Brexit Vote Victory”, 25th March 2018.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5540597/Data-svengali-gave-4million-firm-linked-Cambridge-Analytica-delivered-Brexit-victory.html

16. Guardian (2018), “Cummings is the True Cowardly Face of the Brexiters”, 19th May 2018

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/19/dominic-cummings-is-the-true-cowardly-face-of-the-brexiters

17. Andrew Hickey (2019), “Is Dominic Cummings A Doomsday Cultist?

andrewhickey.info/2019/07/24/the-cummings-of-the-ai-lord/

18. Reaction Life (2019), “Who is Dominic Cummings?”, 2nd August 2019.

reaction.life/who-is-dominic-cummings/

19. Times (2019), “Dominic Cummings Aims a Wrecking Ball at Whitehall”, 2nd August 2019.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/dominic-cummings-aims-a-wrecking-ball-at-whitehall-bnvzw5sv6?region=global

20. Ian R Millard (2019), “Les Eminences Grises…of Dystopia”, 10th August 2019.

ianrmillard.wordpress.com/tag/antony-fisher/

21. Guardian (2019), “Monster or Guru? What Dominic Cummings’ Blog Tells us About Him”, 15th August 2019.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/aug/15/dominic-cummings-blog-political-values

22. Daily Telegraph (2019), “Dominic Cummings was my ‘Loner’ Friend — Now he’s Running the Country”, 7th September 2019.

www.telegraph.co.uk/women/politics/dominic-cummings-loner-friend-now-running-country/

23. Guardian (2019), “The Real Reason we Should Fear the Work of Dominic Cummings”, 7th September 2019.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/sep/07/smash-and-grab-dominic-cummings-democracy

24. Daily Mirror (2019), “Dominic Cummings’ ex-Boss Lifts Lid on Controversial Past of Boris Johnson’s Spin Guru”, 12th September 2019.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/dominic-cummings-ex-boss-lifts-20051677

25. New Statesman (2019), “Dominic Cummings: The Machiavel in Downing Street”, 25th September 2019.

www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2019/09/dominic-cummings-machiavel-downing-street

26. Bureau of Investigative Journalism (2019), “Conflict of Interest Questions over Cummings’ Job at Health Tech Firm”, 11th October 2019.

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2019-10-11/conflict-of-interest-questions-over-dominic-cummings-job-at-health-tech-firm-babylon

27. John Helmer (2019), “Is Dominic Cummings a Sleeper Russian Agent? The British Prime Minister’s Mind Control Expert’s Secret Years in KGB Moscow, 15th October 2019.

johnhelmer.online/is-dominic-cummings-a-sleeper-russian-agent-the-british-prime-ministers-mind-control-experts-secret-years-in-kgb-moscow/

28. New York Times (2019), “The ‘Political Anarchist’ Behind Britain’s Chaos”, 7th September 2019.

www.nytimes.com/2019/09/07/opinion/sunday/dominic-cummings-brexit.html

29. Huffington Post (2019), “Dominic Cummings: Labour Says A Whistleblower Has Raised ‘Serious Concerns’ About PM’s Aide“, 2nd November 2019.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/dominic-cummings-whistleblower_uk_5dbe09b3e4b0576b62a2ebe5

30. Economist (2020), “Cummings v the blob”, 6th February 2020.

www.economist.com/britain/2020/02/06/cummings-v-the-blob

31. Byline Times (2020), “The Coronavirus Crisis: Herd Immunity Infected UK Policy. But Who Was Patient Zero for this Toxic Transatlantic Idea?”, 3rd April 2020

bylinetimes.com/2020/04/03/the-coronavirus-crisis-herd-immunity-has-infected-uk-policy-but-who-was-patient-zero-for-this-toxic-transatlantic-idea/

32. Byline Times (2020), “Dominic Cummings’ Billion-Dollar Brainchild”, 20th May 2020.

bylinetimes.com/2020/05/20/dominic-cummings-billion-dollar-brainchild/

33. Tatler (2020), “Dominic Cummings’s Wife Mary Wakefield has Aristocratic Roots

www.tatler.com/article/who-is-mary-wakefield-dominic-cummings-wife?mnb

34. Economist (2020), “Dominic Cummings and Boris Johnson: United by a Shared Contempt for Rules”, 28th May 2020.

www.economist.com/britain/2020/05/28/dominic-cummings-and-boris-johnson-united-by-a-shared-contempt-for-rules

35. What was Dom doing in Samara” 6th June 2020.

twitter.com/whitlowliz/status/1271196933109854210

Samara Russia

36. RFERL (2018), “KGB General In Cossack’s Clothing: Meet The Man Behind The Whips”, 21st May 2018.

www.rferl.org/a/kgb-general-in-cossack-s-clothing-meet-the-man-behind-the-whips/29240578.html

37. Philip Hanson (1997) “Samara: A Preliminary Profile of a Russian Region and Its Adaptation to the Market Philip Hanson”, Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 49, №3 (May, 1997), pp. 407–429

www.jstor.org/stable/153633?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

38. Forbes (2012), “Hess Oil’s Russian Mob Problem”, 5th June 2012.

www.forbes.com/sites/richardbehar/2012/06/05/hess-oils-russian-mob-problem/#56ec0b2e3f2d

39. Times (2019), “How Dominic Cummings came in from the cold”, 16th November 2019.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/how-dominic-cummings-came-in-from-the-cold-cztv655jj?t=ie

Cummings’ Favourite “Less Wrong” Sites

Less Wrong: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LessWrong: rationalwiki.org/wiki/LessWrong: www.lesswrong.com

Aaranson: www.scottaaronson.com/blog/

arXiv blog: www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/

Centauri Dreams: www.centauri-dreams.org

Godel’s Lost letter and P=NP: rjlipton.wordpress.com

Infoproc: infoproc.blogspot.com