The Commons: What Makes a Good Leader in Crisis?

Dominic Cummings - David Rose

Near the end of May, Dominic Cummings, chief advisor to the Prime Minister and a political figurehead, came under fire for breaching government-mandated stay-at-home orders. This overt flouting of the rules has welcomed an environment in Britain marred by distrust and anger toward the government. Cummings is powerful not only as an aide to the PM. According to those who work around the two, he also provides Johnson with “policy direction and operational grip, while commanding more loyalty among a number of key officials and ministers than the prime minister does himself,” – he is key to Johnson’s position and leadership. Hence, Johnson has backed Cummings throughout this lockdown scandal, risking public trust as a result.  

In times of crisis, people look to their leaders as an indication of how to proceed. Beyond rules and regulations passed, the government serves as a mirror for how the public should behave. Leadership is not just what is legislated, but how. Boris Johnson, Keir Starmer, and Dominic Cummings may be Britain’s leaders, but have they truly led the public through COVID-19? 

Trust is the currency of compliance, especially when the government is asking so much of its people. “Stay home, social distance, stay alert” will resonate with the public only if they trust the mouth from which the commands fall. In the era of COVID-19, trust has waned among the British public – the Cummings scandal may have just been the most obvious example of why.

Urgency 

As early as February, Johnson neglected to chair an emergency COVID-19 response meeting, rather leaving his health secretary with the job [1]. Leaving the pandemic response in the hands of only one department until March sent the message that the outbreak was not of top priority for Johnson’s leadership. According to political scientist Arjen Boin, “a rapid recognition of the danger” is key to cultivating trust and preparing a response in situations of national crisis – something Johnson failed to do. 

Not only did this lack of early government involvement create issues for firming up testing strategy, it also allowed people to continue as they had been – not social distancing, not self-isolating, not staying aware. Even once those regulations came into play, questions have arisen as to how much Westminster followed them. After Johnson himself contracted the virus, more began to wonder how and if those around the PM were observing the rules they had developed [2]. 

Clarity 

From early on, Downing St. has struggled to advance clear or well-evidenced advice. Johnson offered hopes of herd immunity and “soft advice” in the place of a unified message, only serving to amplify an atmosphere of confusion and unease [3]. 

In a June 2nd interview with the Guardian’s Rowena Mason, Labour leader Keir Starmer addressed the phenomenon of diminishing public trust. Starmer argued that though Johnson had a large disposal of public trust earlier this year, the Prime Minister’s “lack of competence and focus” had “shamefully squandered” that resource. The Labour leader remarked that “for any policy to be effective, the public needs to have confidence in the motive for its deployment and that it will work. People need to know that measures are implemented properly and for the right reasons”. In the eyes of the opposition, Johnson has not followed a ‘proper’ method nor has he enforced regulations for the right reasons, thus failing to create effective policy and protect the British public.

Collaboration and Unity

Beyond the individual actions of Boris Johnson, Dominic Cummings, or Keir Starmer – Parliament has a responsibility to the people that should transcend interparty politics. In moments of national crisis, energy spent arguing in the House of Commons is energy lost from protecting the public – a fatal misplacement. 

Johnson recognized this back in April, writing to Opposition leaders across the UK and requesting that they help foster a sense of unity. As Britain speeds past 40,000 deaths from COVID-19, declaring the power of a collaborative Parliament is not enough – Johnson needs to actually make it happen. Starmer has tried to follow through, most recently attempting to work with Johnson on establishing a national taskforce to help with the safe reentry into schooling. Unfortunately for the health of the public and Parliament, Johnson continues to react slowly to Starmer’s collaborative advances, raising the question of when the Conservative leader will begin to develop the very unity he called for.

Urgency, clarity, and collaboration are imperative to protecting the public in times of national crisis. For Britons, it would seem that Parliament is struggling on all three fronts – prolonging an issue that could have been under control by now, costing the lives of thousands, and risking the lives of so many more.