Onwards to victory

Can the power of positive thinking see universities and science through challenging times?

In a recent subscription-only blogpost, Dominic Cummings, former senior adviser to Boris Johnson, described the modus operandi of his ex-boss: “The prime minister who as soon as things get ‘a bit embarrassing’ does the whole ‘let’s take it offline’ shtick before shouting ‘forward to victory’, doing a thumbs-up and pegging it out of the room before anybody can disagree.” That may be a caricature, but for some observers it will have more than a ring of truth.

Readers will recall how the nation was frequently exhorted to think positively about Brexit and just believe a little bit more, in order to overcome all the risks, contradictions and loss of fundamental rights it entailed. ‘Onwards to victory’ rings hollow when your 40-year-old business folds because you can no longer export shellfish to France.