A lot of people out there have mixed views about Dominic Cummings. Some like or dislike him because of his actions and his post-resignation criticisms of the way that the UK Government initially handled the Coronavirus crisis. Others, especially those of a Remain persuasion, dislike him because of his prominent role in the campaign to leave the European Union. For my own part I’m ambivalent about him. As a ‘leaver’ I respect his role in the Leave campaign and am very interested in his revelations that the initial response to Covid by the UK was a bit of a mess. However he’s not a person who arouses strong feelings one way or another for me.

But, a Dominic Cummings story has emerged recently that does make me think slightly better of the man. The story is both good PR for Mr Cummings and also a good and smart move on his part.

According to a Scottish local newspaper, The Ross-Shire Journal, Mr Cummings and a family party he was with were eating in a local restaurant where there was some internal staff tension about both Mr Cummings himself and the effect of Brexit. One of these effects was alleged by the owner to be xenophobic comments aimed at a French waiter by an elderly couple which the owner believed to be linked to a hatred of foreigners stoked by Brexit. At one point the tensions were so great that staff refused to serve him.

Because of the staff tensions the owner of the restaurant served Mr Cummings himself although he had told his staff that the restaurant did not discriminate on the grounds of political belief. After Mr Cummings party had been to the restaurant on two separate occasions, the owner had a quiet word with Mr Cummings about the staff tensions about him. What happened next is very interesting and to be quite frank for me quite unexpected.

On the third occasion of Mr Cummings visiting the restaurant, he came alone. After dining he had an after hours conversation with the staff in the snug bar about his viewpoints and about politics. It’s important to note that Mr Cummings did this out of his own initiative and on his own time.

The Ross-Shire Journal said:

To appease some of his unhappy staff last week, Mr Urquhart said he would personally serve Mr Cummings while quietly explaining the situation to the Vote Leave mastermind.

It was then that Mr Cummings made his surprising offer to meet staff and discuss the source of their animosity.

He returned alone for a third evening meal on Thursday last week, arriving at 8.20pm for a grilling from Mr Urquhart and several staff in a snug at the rear of the premises.

What followed was over three hours of a “very forthright exchange of opinions”, with the political figure listening “with interest” to views and concerns.

While nobody involved changed opinion, Mr Urquhart said there was “a grudging mutual respect” by the end of the debate.

I have some degree of respect for Mr Cummings choosing to do this. He didn’t have to meet with the hostile staff nor spend three hours debating with them. He could have taken the easy way out and just walked away and many in politics or administration would indeed choose to do this. But he did not. The action of Mr Cummings is noteworthy on two counts. The first is that this action is incredibly good PR for a man who has been somewhat lambasted in the media and by his former colleagues in Government. It most certainly burnishes his image. The second reason why this is noteworthy is that this was the correct and I believe the morally right thing for Mr Cummings to do. Faced with people who were incredibly unhappy with policies that he had had a hand in shaping, rather than retreating, he faced them and debated with them. He may not have changed the staff’s views but he let the staff explain their views to him and he seems to have explained himself and his policies and earned at least some respect from the staff.

I can’t help but think that British politics would be better all round if more politicians or those involved in political life explained themselves better to the people that they govern and listened directly to the views of those that they govern and administer. Although I’m not a die hard fan of Mr Cummings I find that I have to respect him for doing what he did here.

H/T Christopher Snowdon from Twitter