Someone who knows the inner workings of Westminster told me the other day that this is a “government of WhatsApp”. One that communicates via encrypted software - Viber, Signal etc. One that never puts meetings in diaries.

Why is this a concern? Well, obviously it inhibits scrutiny. Emails are not written so cannot be FoI’d. Meetings are not declared, so cannot be scrutinised. Who is lobbying who is unknown. The relationships of power are opaque.

But it also inhibits institutional memory. The governance of pre-2010 Britain was paperwork. From Victorian bureaucracy onwards, we had a record of governance. Historians had a treasure trove of missives.

In 75 years time, when all records of the now are largely public, it will be like Dominic Cummings never existed. His blog will likely be deleted. His emails never written. His WhatsApp never recorded. Archives of the current will be a black hole.

We should demand greater transparency and more formal recording of the business of governance. Not just for accountability today, but for accountability to the institutional memory of this nation.