The resignation of Dominic Raab

The Deputy Prime Minister resigned yesterday because a lawyer found against him on two of the eight allegations made. He had promised to resign if there was any finding against and kept his word.

He did not however go quietly or in apologetic mode. Instead he has invited us to have a more general debate about relations between senior civil servants and Ministers. He argues the bar for bullying has now been set so low Ministers will find it difficult to get things done or get the government’s will implemented.

He claims that on one occasion when negotiating over Gibraltar he felt a senior official was not following government wishes. On another occasion in the Justice Ministry in a budget meeting he did not feel he was getting the facts he needed to make good decisions. How far should a Minister be able to go in what they say in such circumstances? Is accusing a senior official of poor work in private going too far?

169 Comments

  1. None+of+the+above
    April 22, 2023

    I read the report last night unlike some of the so called Journalists on TV. You would think from the many comments, that Mr Raab had been berating Junior CSs, not a bit of it. Apparently he was expressing his disappointment to Senior CSs who, I would have thought, had a bit of backbone and integrity. Also, are we now to assume that the ego of a CS negotiator is more important than Cabinet opinion or Gibraltar’s Sovereignty?
    Give me strength.

    1. turboterrier
      April 22, 2023

      N O T A
      It does not bode well for the electorate.

      The CS mafia should start looking over their shoulders that is if the Executive Management also looks at the problems within with open minds. They too have not come out of this debacle with much credibility

      1. Peter
        April 22, 2023

        You can be a bully and a Brexiteer just as you can be a bully and a Remainer. John Bercow is an example of the latter.

        Raab himself did not attempt to fight the verdict. He claims the bar is too low and he was targeted for his views. Some claims against him were dismissed but others were upheld.

        All this is a separate issue from poorly performing civil servants. A mechanism is required address this. They should not be able to shuffle around to different posts until retirement. The same applies to quangocrats. They should not be reemployed in similar roles after being fired from one failing NHS trust or local authority.

        1. Ed M
          April 22, 2023

          The number 1 job of the Tory Party right now is to figure out how to bring in higher calibre people into the party to lead the party – and the country – for the future.

          Lastly, a strong man / leader is a man who LEADS by example, energy and humour. A weak man / man playing at being a leader is one who tries to intimidate other / blames others / makes excuses.

    2. Ian+wragg
      April 22, 2023

      Anyone expecting civil Serpents to do their job is guilty of bullying.
      All pro Brexit MOs have been arranged by the civil service and the House of Frauds is employing the same tactic to thwart Brexit.
      You’ve had over 13 years to sort this out but your too hung up on net zero and diversity and inclusion

      You read what you sow.

      1. Sharon
        April 22, 2023

        Ian

        You’re right! Each of these ‘bully’ MPs have all been Brexiteers – funny coincidence that! Some have said, will suella Braverman be their next target?

      2. Ashley
        April 22, 2023

        Indeed too hung up on net zero and diversity and inclusion. But worse still they are also obsessed with taxing everyone to death and beyond with IHT, tying ever one up with red tape, rigging markets (energy, healthcare, housing, education, banking, refuse collection, water
 currency debasement, soft loans for millions of worthless degree and endless government waste too.

    3. Sir+Joe+Soap
      April 22, 2023

      In my experience it’s senior civil servants who regard themselves as knowledgeable masters and manipulators rather than servants. It’s all a long game of chess to them. They have time on their side and taking a knight is so much more satisfying than a pawn. The minister, though ironically the real politician, just wants to get things done.

    4. British Patriot
      April 22, 2023

      You have to laugh at the stupidity of those Tory politicians who concede all the Left’s arguments and then express surprise when the result is that they are targeted. By conceding that the PM must have an ‘ethics adviser’ (did Churchill or Thatcher have one?) or that civil service complaints must be ‘independently investigated’, ministers have made the rope by which they can now be hanged. Frankly it serves them right. I have nothing but contempt for those Tory politicians who are too weak to stand up to the Left and all its values. Just say that the ELECTED ministers are the MASTERS and the civil servants their SERVANTS and if the latter are not happy with this then the solution is for them to resign. No accusation of ‘bullying’ (ooh, diddums) should ever be considered.

      I have also said many times that the government needs to change the rules so that ministers can fire any civil servant they are not satisfied with, and hire officials on the basis of them being people whose politics can be trusted – just as happens in the US. But no, the stupid, stupid Conservatives don’t listen to me and continue to allow civil servants to rule the roost. Well then, this problem will just continue. You will NEVER get a decent servive from the executive if you cannot control its staffing. You were warned but you didn’t listen.

  2. Ashley
    April 22, 2023

    Rabb has behaved admirably, he is surely right in arguing that the bar for bullying has now been set so low Ministers will find it difficult to get things done or get the government’s will implemented.

    No only difficult but ministers and MPs clearly find it impossible to deliver what they promise in their manifestos. This as most of them are not even trying to deliver anyway. The manifesto was just a glossy lie to get elected and is dropped the day after the election. Also they are obstructed by mainly deluded lefty, climate alarmist, pro EU, art graduates civil servants whose main aim is to look after their personal interests (wages, pension, working conditions, their power bases
) and rarely the public interest at all.

    Rabb was clearly one of the few good guys.

    1. Ashley
      April 22, 2023

      Restrictive employment laws also damage private businesses hugely – reducing productivity, causing lower pay, less investment, lower profits and harms the good workers who have to carry the layabout “workers”. Easy & no fault hire and fire with standard pay offs is what is needed. If they are any good they can easily get a new job or work for themselves. Also that way little disincentive to try someone out so more jobs.

      1. Mark B
        April 22, 2023

        I very much agree with you LL

        1. Peter
          April 22, 2023

          LL?

          So Ashley is Lifelogic? I have not seen him post anything about PPE graduates or the educational achievements of people in the news

        2. Know-Dice
          April 22, 2023

          My thoughts too.
          Style of writing is very LLish…..

    2. turboterrier
      April 22, 2023

      Ashley
      Yes a good guy but more importantly a dedicated Brexiteer.

      1. British Patriot
        April 22, 2023

        @turboterrier: NO, Raab was NOT “a dedicated Brexiteer”. He supports Sunak. He supports higher taxes. He supports the Windsor betrayal. He is just another #ToryTraitor. Good riddance to him.

    3. Ian+wragg
      April 22, 2023

      Rishy Sunak is a pratt
      Standing with Clinton demanding the DUP accept his sell out agreement
      All I can say is thank the Lord we have the Unionist parties

      1. Ashley
        April 22, 2023

        +1

      2. MFD
        April 22, 2023

        +1 Ian.

    4. MFD
      April 22, 2023

      Well said Ashley, there should be NO activist CS’s , the rules must FORCE them to leave their politics at the office door. Those that dont, must be sacked!

    5. British Patriot
      April 22, 2023

      Raab was a fool. And he was weak. Why did he resign? He could have stayed and put out a short statement saying: “I said that I would resign if I was found guilty of bullying. I am delighted that the report exonerates me. There is nothing in these findings that can, in any sane interpretation of the English language, be regarded as ‘bullying’. I will therefore not be resigning and will now get on with delivering the government’s business. Any civil servant who is not on board with this task is welcome to move elsewhere”. Instead of saying this he resigned. But I’m perfectly happy. I have no sympathy for this Sunak-supporting, Brexit-betraying sell-out.

      1. Nottingham+Lad+Himself
        April 22, 2023

        Why do you describe disease control experts who merely recommended the wearing of a little bit of cloth on your face for a few minutes while in shops as something far worse than bullies, then?

  3. Nigl
    April 22, 2023

    Sunak comes out of this looking very weak and as Raab says has made the CS unaccountable and pushing through change/difficult decisions impossible.

    It’s pathetic and unacceptable and confirms the utter rubbish we get out of Whitehall.

  4. turboterrier
    April 22, 2023

    A lot of people are very concerned about the whole situation.
    It appears that the tail is now wagging the dog in so much, a minister expects even demands loyalty and recognition to the critical nature of the work undertaken attention to detail is paramount as he has undertaken the task set by the cabinet. The pressure and responsibility must be tremendous but that is all part of the package of being a minister.
    Civil servants know what is expected of them and make the choice to sign on or ship out especially when some tasks may be outwith their competence and personal feelings and beliefs. For these constraints they are well paid and have exceptional pension plans and conditions. Nobody is holding a gun to their head to work in the service. Attention to detail is the keystone to the whole department and the tasks set.
    The accepted timing of events for complaint were way past their sell by date. So it could be perceived that a vendetta was directed towards Mr Rabb.
    Many of us have used the expression drain the swamp. It is long overdue.

    1. Mark B
      April 22, 2023

      turboterrier

      This is not new ! If you have ever watched the BBC TV Sitcom Series, Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister then you know who rules the roost – The Civil Service. For it is they that are the only constant. No matter who you vote for, no matter what state the economy is in they REMAIN word used for more than just one meaning the only constant. And once the EEC had its claws into us it was clear that they were going to run the country via that Monolithic Organization.

      1. Judith Hoffman
        April 22, 2023

        +1

    2. Sharon
      April 22, 2023

      +1

    3. MFD
      April 22, 2023

      +1 well said Turbo.

    4. RichardP
      April 22, 2023

      +1 Turboterrier Democracy has always been something of an illusion.
      The good thing is that increasingly the bureaucrats are having to step out of the shadows to maintain their grip. We can see them now.

  5. Mark B
    April 22, 2023

    Good morning.

    He argues the bar for bullying has now been set so low Ministers will find it difficult to get things done or get the government’s will implemented.

    And

    He claims that on one occasion when negotiating over Gibraltar he felt a senior official was not following government wishes. On another occasion in the Justice Ministry in a budget meeting he did not feel he was getting the facts he needed to make good decisions.

    Firstly. Who sets the law regarding bullying in the workplace ? That will be parliament. A parliament that wishes private companies to set quotas to meet various diversity targets. If not met and/or persons employed to meet said targets does not dome up to scratch, then the employer has to negotiate a minefield of legislation and procedures to get rid of that person. Welcome to OUR world !!!

    Secondly, and this follows on from what I have just said. If a person(s) do not full fill their job requirements then there has to be procedures. Just because a Minister feels something does not necessarily make it so. Their is such a things as the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Code by which each party is obliged to follow, regardless of how they feel.

    I have not been following this saga as it looks like to me a ‘rats in a bag scenario’ which I have little interest. But if what Dominic Rabb MP says even if only half true, the way he did not go about it tells me that there is insufficient training and experience of MP’s when dealing with employees and colleagues.

    Our kind host here has laid out many times how, when he was in government, dealt with matters. You work to tray and bring all parties onside and, where you find (not feel) resistance you try and resolve the matter. If in this case it is a Civil Serpent then you have the aforementioned code to fall back on as this forms part of their contract of employment which, failure to comply can result in dismissal.

    If one cares to look there have been dismissals of many senior CS’s and, the one things to me that stands out, is they are all dismissed for breaches of the CS Code. If Dominic Rabb MP wanted things done all he had to do was read the CS Code to them chapter and verse. Keep everything in writing, signed and dated, with the most Senior CS and the PM Cc’d in on it. Whenever I have issues like this this is what I do. And it works !!

    Perhaps Sir John you might want to set up a training school for aspiring Ministers ?

    1. rose
      April 22, 2023

      I think, Mark, things have changed dramatically since Brexit. It is true Mrs T was troubled by recalcitrant civil servants, and the ones at Education sabotaged her National Curriculum, making such a dogs dinner of it that parents and teachers were alienated from it, but the war over Brexit is on another level. Every institution in the land has been abused to overthrow Brexit, and Brexiteers are being systematically purged from Government. Good advice on management is no longer enough.

    2. a-tracy
      April 22, 2023

      I’ve been thinking about this and how it relates to the private sector too Mark, backbenchers who aspire for a managerial front bench role should be able to demonstrate knowledge of employment law, there are plenty of training programs available from colleges in the evenings and the IoD provide training, there is also a lot online to help business owners who hire staff are expected to learn all this at their own expense to try to keep up with the constant changes at the same time as running their businesses.

      However, they have senior civil servants who should have all that managerial experience and more, is there a HR department in government? Do they have senior civil servants that Ministers can refer people to with their complaint to act as arbitrators or not? Surely the ministers job it to set the direction and his goals in line with what the electorate voted for and ensure the changes are made not minutely manage the Ministers.

  6. turboterrier
    April 22, 2023

    The next question around the cabinet table must be “who is next to be taken down”
    On the bright side this could be the start of the demise of the CS as it has become. Who can be trusted to implement the government plans as directed?

  7. Ashley
    April 22, 2023

    His remainer replacement Dowden is far less impressive. He has been a strong Sunak supporter for years, not at all a good sign given what an appalling, tax to death, borrow, print and vast waste/lockdown Chancellor he was. Also his dire Windsor Agreement, mad support for net zero and even his support for the new appalling and clearly evil WHO treaty. Also he has still not restored the whip to Bridgen which should never have been removed

    See Dr John Campbell’s recent video with Andrew Bridgen on this total outrage.

    1. BOF
      April 22, 2023

      Ashley
      Oliver Dowden, like many of his colleagues, is not a conservative at all. Full on socialist would be more apt.

      1. a-tracy
        April 22, 2023

        BOF what examples do you have that Dowden is a full on socialist, I am interested not disagreeing with you. It is troubling if you are correct.

  8. BW
    April 22, 2023

    It is a sad day when woke civil servants who fail to make the grade have the power to oust a minister. And it just happens to be a brexiteer. No conspiracy there then

    1. MFD
      April 22, 2023

      đŸ‘đŸ»Got it right BW.

    2. a-tracy
      April 22, 2023

      Perhaps Raab should take over from Graham Brady and have someone with a strength of character.

    3. glen cullen
      April 22, 2023

      Do you think Liz was bullied out by the biggest qaungo, the BoE and HM Treasury

      1. Mark B
        April 22, 2023

        Not to begin with. But power went to her head and she set herself on a path to conflict. It was never going to end well.

  9. Bloke
    April 22, 2023

    Civil servants exist to provide a service not build a courtesy altar for a Deputy PM to worship.
    Dominic Raab made his promise without realising how extreme employment specialists can be, resulting in his own demise.
    Oversensitive servants should alter their own attitude.
    Obstructing essential Govt business serves no useful purpose.

    1. a-tracy
      April 22, 2023

      Yes, I think he shot himself in the foot. However, that doesn’t mean he can’t shine a great big light on matters and work to change things. He is a lawyer and he always seems very careful over his words, but we need belligerent people to stand up for the UK and not knee kneeling softies who will cave and would just give Gibraltar up, if Raab was dealing with NI perhaps they wouldn’t have been sold down the river starting with May and Robbins.

  10. Michael Saxton
    April 22, 2023

    I thought Mr Raab’s rebuttal most compelling. Post Brexit I believe some Civil Servants have been deliberately frustrating Government policies. There is something seriously wrong within many of our institutions and media. The Civil Servants have become political just like the BMA and BBC and their activists are working to undermine the will of the people. Mr Sunak has made a serious mistake in allowing an enquiry process by one person blatantly unfair and unjust resulting in the departure of the senior colleague from the government. The so called complaints against him were unfounded except for two spurious half baked issues that certainly do not require resignation. Mr Sunak has created a huge problem for himself and future administrations.

    1. DOM
      April 22, 2023

      Labour are behind this so a future Labour governmnt will be ably assisted by civil servants who look, talk and smell like Starmer ie detritus

      And Sunak? I’d get banned if I wrote what I really thought of this thing

    2. IanT
      April 22, 2023

      I thought Mr Raabs interview yesterday was very good. He didn’t sound unreasonable and nor was he critical of the CS in general (quite the opposite) but if his claims are true, then there is a faction within the CS that has an agenda. It would also seem that this faction is linked to the CS union. I’ve a busy day today but will try to make time to read the report in full before I jump to too many conclusions – but at he moment, Mr Raab has my sympathy.
      Another factor that has to be considered, is that Mr Johnson tried to defend people who didn’t deserve quite so much support and this led to Labour claims of cronyism, making Mr Sunak’s recent decison probably more difficult in this regard. I’m trying to give Mr Sunak the benenfit of the doubt but the Windsor Agreement and his Chancellor are making it very difficult I’m afraid….

      1. a-tracy
        April 22, 2023

        I agree that Sunak just didn’t jump in and suspend a senior, who was performing serious work, without any evidence presented by an independent arbitrator, sentence first – verdict afterwards surely shouldn’t be the way we want staff and managers dealing with. When Sunak selected Raab for the role was there a list of complaints logged officially that were being dealt with or not?

    3. Chickpea
      April 22, 2023

      I completely agree with you, Ministers must be able to be robust, they’re working for our Country. Raab is one of the best.

    4. Mark B
      April 22, 2023

      The EU has allowed our Civil Service to have power with neither responsibility or accountability. It (the EU) was very happy to use the CS and CS happy to use the EU to usurp the democratic will of the people through their MP’s and Parliament, as EU law overrules UK law. This is still the case thanks to the Withdrawal Agreement binding us to many EU laws. A proper stitch up.

  11. Donna
    April 22, 2023

    Raab’s absence from the FO and failure during the farce of the Afghanistan withdrawal was justification for his resignation, but these accusations of bullying certainly weren’t.

    We appear to have a few “precious” senior Civil Servants who were either incompetent or were being obstructive and/or on manoeuvres. There has to be a way for Ministers to sanction Civil Servants who are not doing their job satisfactorily or who are not making serious efforts to deliver the tasks the elected Government Minister asks of them.

    The Civil Service, like so much else in our Governmental Institutions, needs fundamental reform and dragging into the 21st century. But your Party simply hasn’t got the guts to reform anything.

    Cummings was right: a hard rain needs to fall on the very uncivil, unproductive, obstructive, incompetent and overly politicised civil service.

    1. BOF
      April 22, 2023

      +1 Donna
      Also bloated.

    2. Mickey Taking
      April 22, 2023

      Where IS Cummings when you need him? A sort of modern George Orwell.

      1. a-tracy
        April 22, 2023

        It’s a shame Boris did the dirty on him, he would be very useful right now. It’s be-hopes he doesn’t go to Reform.

    3. Anselm
      April 22, 2023

      “As of December 2022, there were 483,450 full-time equivalent (FTE) civil servants – 2,700 (0.6%) more than in the previous quarter, and 8,550 (1.8%) more than a year ago.6 Mar 2023”.

      You are so right. And how was Boris sacked? (Who took the photo which destroyed him and why were all the faces blurred out?) And what happened to Dominic Cummings?

      1. rose
        April 22, 2023

        The faces were blurred out because Sue Gray ordained that they should be. She didn’t want the photgraphs published at all but Boris did because they showed him standing up having lunch in his workplace, and not partying.

    4. rose
      April 22, 2023

      Donna, on Afghanistan, a FS spends most of his time abroad. He has to be equipped to deal with any situation that might blow up. He can chair a COBRA meeting from anywhere in the world. On that occasion his prime task was the securing of the airport with the Turks. Cyprus was not an out of touch place to be. The civil servants on the other hand needed to be in the office and weren’t. The chief one wasn’t and refused to come back. But who did all the briefing against Raab from the FO? Lines that the public has learned. And who is still doing it on the airwaves now? It is a one way arrangement, this loyalty to civil servants who aren’t loyal back.

    5. Timaction
      April 23, 2023

      As a retired senior Manager it is not rocket science. Give them time limited written action plans with milestones. If not achieved, why not? Record that. Keep going add infinitum until the plan is delivered or the CS disciplined or sacked. It’s NOT ROCKET SCIENCE but Ministerial incompetence is proven. That’s called management not bullying. Especially as the skills required to deliver will be in their job description or amend the same to deal with it.

  12. Sir+Joe+Soap
    April 22, 2023

    Wow they really are untouchable aren’t they?
    Elected officials should have the first and last say on direction of civil servants. It’s in the name. Servant. Not master. Put up or shut up and leave.

  13. Richard II
    April 22, 2023

    Sir John, I am trying to get to the facts of what Dominic Raab may or may not have done. The Guardian has conducted a months-long campaign against him, in which few specific facts have been cited. The nearest I have got, from reading the Guardian reports is:-
    Raab allegedly accused officials of not following his instructions, questioned their compliance with the civil service code and was “persistently aggressive”. He is accused of “delivering critical feedback”, and making “unconstructive critical comments” about their work.
    Raab is said to have demanded a meeting with a policy official “for the sole purpose of criticising them for their team’s failure to deliver a submission on time”.
    A senior official who had experience working with Raab said that he had not been aggressive, but was obsessed with minor details and insisted on documents being formatted in a specific way.
    That, as far as I can see, is about it. The upshot is that no minister’s job is safe if he or she seeks to implement a government policy that Whitehall officials disagree with. Another defining moment for the way this country is governed under your party in office.
    Raab’s resignation letter mentions “improprieties that came to light during the inquiry”, such as the coercive removal by a senior official of a PPS in Raab’s private office. The test for Sunak will be to see if he follows them up, or shows by his inaction that it’s the Whitehall officials who rule the roost.

  14. DOM
    April 22, 2023

    I liked Raab, a decent man with integrity brought to his knees by woke, leftist slime intent on destroying all before them and no doubt working with filth Labour and some filth Tories under the radar.

    Allegation this, bullying that from faux, anonymous ‘victims’. Zero evidence. Stalinist tactics and the politics we saw under Hitler where allegations, denunciations and accusations are used to destroy the enemy and take control of power where white, hetero males dominate the roost.

    Democracy is teetering both here and in the US and the scum Left and some appeasing Tories are behind it all

    1. BOF
      April 22, 2023

      DOM
      Has one of those Tories you describe now taken Raab’s job?

    2. Cuibono
      April 22, 2023

      +many, many!
      Dom, I so agree with you!!
      I wish he’d set up a new party.
      Probably too late though
?

      1. Mary M.
        April 22, 2023

        Cuibono,
        Raab doesn’t have to set up a new party. Reform UK is already up and running, and would welcome a person of such integrity.

        There are already plenty of Reform candidates (or paper candidates at this stage) for the local elections in May.

        1. Cuibono
          April 22, 2023

          Yes. Fully aware.

        2. glen cullen
          April 22, 2023

          It only needs one to cross the floor and many will follow

          Reply Not so. Only 2 switched to UKIP making our task to secure a referendum more difficult.

          1. Jason Cartwright
            April 22, 2023

            Yet your party failed to implement Brexit with an 80 seat majority…

  15. Javelin
    April 22, 2023

    The only legal battle should be to make it easier to sack civil servants who are not doing what they are told.

    A simple oath like one taken in the army should be sufficient.

    1. Javelin
      April 22, 2023

      Just to add.

      All civil servants should be made to take this oath. If they choose not to take the oath then they do not get promoted and do not get to work on any issue the Minister deems.

    2. Lynn Atkinson
      April 22, 2023

      It isn’t enough for ministers – Bercow took the Oath. We need freedom to sack people! The Government and the Monarchy embraced Woke and thought that like all else, they would be exempt. Now they have the same constraints that they placed on us. Serves them right.
      I never considered Raab ‘a dedicated Brexiteer’. Like Boris, a short term opportunist. Untalented. No loss in any normal Parliament where there should be any number to replace him. But scraping the barrel because they inflicted the untalented on us via the ‘party list’ – again reaping their own sown whirlwind.

    3. Anselm
      April 22, 2023

      Have you seen the Union CEO?

  16. Fedupsouthener
    April 22, 2023

    Yet another Remainer appointed. Say no more. A definite stitch up after Braverman was targeted in the same way. It looks as though many rules were broken in bringing Raab down.

  17. BOF
    April 22, 2023

    It is a sad day when incompetent civil servants are more secure in their jobs than the minister and can engineer his demise, instead of being sacked themselves.

  18. Rhoddas
    April 22, 2023

    When faced with lefty woke activists and the blob in general, now is the time each Gov Minister to have 2 things:
    1) An independent HR SPAD/team whom advises on how to ensure these scurrilous and malicious claims are correctly avoided; and most importantly ensure the activists are performance managed out! Vis a vie what happened to Raab..
    2) Wear a bodycam during face to face meetings with the blobbies. Voice record all such telephone conversations.

    1. a-tracy
      April 22, 2023

      They do have a SPAD team it would be very interesting to look at the qualifications of those appointed by Raab to his team, how many of them had managerial hr experience?

      1. Rhoddas
        April 22, 2023

        Yeah, didn’t help Raab or maybe he didn’t listen, plausible?
        In the future Ministers will need HR advice they can trust and build a plan to performance manage out the lefty activists. The Civil Service need an impartiality clause on the function and employee contracts to BE IMPARTIAL…. just like the BBC.

        1. rose
          April 23, 2023

          And the business of governing will be squeezed out even further as HR preoccupations with process proliferate. Perhaps we should all have shares in the HR industry.

          1. a-tracy
            April 24, 2023

            Just like in real business Rose. A small fortune spent on insurance and HR advisors, handbooks, compliance checks, but it is where we are and mistakes are costly not just in financial terms but also in stress and time wasting.

            You write your appraisal of a situation, you suggest the letter you’d like to discuss with an under-performer and send to the employee and just check it out before you proceed or move forward with some decent advice.

            If its too hard for government then it is too hard for business.

  19. Sakara Gold
    April 22, 2023

    Raab will never be forgiven for remaining on his beach holiday during the chaotic evacuation from Kabul in August 2021. His attempts to remain in ‘control’ by phone during the worst military disaster since the evacuation of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam war, whilst enjoying a trip on a paddleboard boat, attracted opprobrium from all sides.

    Raab’s poor leadership during the weeks after Kabul fell resulted in his demotion from foreign secretary to justice secretary. Even then his misogynism had no bounds, resulting in an unedifying row over whether Raab’s successor, Liz Truss, or Raab should have access to the grace-and-favour stately home Chevening.

    Sunak should not have allowed Raab to resign. He should have demonstrated strength and resolve – and sacked him.

    1. a-tracy
      April 22, 2023

      Perhaps the people that wanted this chaotic evacuation knew Raabs holiday plans and when he wouldn’t be available and that’s why it was chosen. Who had Raab left in charge whilst he was away surely they have a deputy ready for when sick, on holiday or maternity etc. They have entire departments working with them when they become ministers at considerable expense.

      1. rose
        April 23, 2023

        Crises of this sort seem to blow up at Christmas or in August. Russians into Afghanistan, Iraqis into Kuwait, death of the Princess of Wales, to name three. No-one castigated the Government for being away, or even drew attention to it. Only Raab, it appears, should not have been on holiday when everyone else was. There was a Minister of State on duty in the Office.

    2. Diane
      April 22, 2023

      SG……Sunak should have demonstrated strength and resolve – and sacked him : Mr Raab if I recall correctly, at an early stage stated, honourably in my opinion, that he would indeed resign if he were found to be ‘guilty’ as accused. He did exactly what he ‘pledged’ – not something we are too familiar with these days. He resigned. He gave us his comments and opinion after the event as he has every right to do. That’s good enough for most.

  20. Cuibono
    April 22, 2023

    According to a newspaper report a boss lost his job and reputation because he told his secretary that her spelling wasn’t up to scratch!
    These potty laws have led to so much inefficiency.
    Up until the plague era those powerful creatures behind the front desks in Drs, dentists, vets etc. ruled rudely and without challenge.
    Now you can only get an appt. via highly uncertain digital means. And obviously ANY human reaction is too tricky!
    What if a boss is bad tempered and shouty? They all used to be. Part of the job.
    As he said in his resignation letter.
    “In setting the threshold for bullying so low, this enquiry has set a dangerous precedent
”
    Anyway
I liked Mr Raab!

    1. Mark B
      April 22, 2023

      I recently watched a program on Sunderland and its former manager, Peter Reid during their time in the Premiership. To say the language was colourful would be putting it too politely.

      We live in interesting times.

      1. outsider
        April 22, 2023

        Dear Mark, Sir Alex Ferguson was the most successful football manager of his generation. At work, he shouted, he swore, he threw things at millionaire players and was famous for “hairdryer” treatment (ie getting close up and making his criticism clear). And he won and won. The great majority of those on the wrong end of this treatment seem to retain great respect for hism. Many of them seem to love him.

    2. Ed M
      April 22, 2023

      Bullying is a reality ’cause a certain amount of people in leadership roles are psychopaths / severe narcissists. They can do untold damage to a company but they’re very clever at covering their tracks. It simply not worth employing these people, in the long run from the point of view of overall results to the business, let alone them being serious bullies. So we need to keep an eye put in particular in finance but also in trade unions, the law, journalism, PR etc and politics.

      1. Mickey Taking
        April 22, 2023

        Bullying comes about because some shirkers will not perform what is required in the job. When told or marked down in reviews they take offence at the truth being levelled at them. The threat to loafing about has to be challenged and it seems more senior loafers will support complaint.

        1. Ed M
          April 22, 2023

          At least talking about this topic in the media, might make some shirkers in companies a bit more scared and make them get in line a bit more ..

          My experience of working in a leading, international IT company for many years was that out of hundreds of people I worked with quite closely, I only came across one really toxic character (but he could really rattle one to say the least .. and the best way to deal with him was be tough back).

      2. rose
        April 22, 2023

        What do you call ganging up on a lone individual, making false allegations, leaking and briefing against him, and finally forcing him out?

        1. Jason Cartwright
          April 22, 2023

          A GMC investigation of an NHS whistle blower.

        2. Ed M
          April 22, 2023

          I definitely wouldn’t call Mr Raab a ‘bully’ as I don’t know enough about it. Plus, I agree, with some, we need to be careful of SNOWFLAKERY. But at same time there are psychopaths / serious narcissists who secretly and cleverly suck dry other people and the organisations they work for – both in the private and public sector (and costs the country billions). This is just a great opportunity to discuss this topic and to be aware of. And to focus on what real leadership is: 1. To lead by example 2. With backbone and energy 3. And encouragement / humour.

        3. Ed M
          April 22, 2023

          Also, let’s look from history about what a great leader is and that we can ALL try and emulate. For me, that has to be CYRUS THE GREAT, first Persian Emperor. The guy was awesome. Hugely successful. Whilst being a BENIGN leader.

          The complete opposite to Machiavelli who suggests you have to act like a toxic toad to do well in life (RUBBISH).

          But sadly, Cyrus the Great seems largely, relatively ignored compared to other famous leaders who were often more like Machiavelli than the first Persian Emperor.

          1. rose
            April 23, 2023

            Neither Cyrus the Great nor Machiavelli had to contend with Blair’s Human Rights Act or Harriet Harman’s Equality Act. Nor did they have to work with their permanent creatures.

  21. Dave+Andrews
    April 22, 2023

    You can hardly expect here today gone tomorrow ministers to be competent in managing staff grievances and discipline. The minister should be able to bring someone in who does have these skills, tasked with managing the department to ensure it delivers the policy, while the minister takes care of the politics. I thought this was what happened anyway.
    When dealing with difficult staff, you need to start a journal at the first sign of trouble. They usually tell lies and the journal can be used to unravel their deceit.

  22. MPC
    April 22, 2023

    Raab was politically naive to promise to resign if ‘found guilty’. It’s as simple as that. There’s nothing in his resignation letter that’s surprising. He’s just confirming that the Conservatives have failed to achieve anything material after 13 years in power.

  23. Stred
    April 22, 2023

    So Sunak chooses a KC, who describes himself as ‘kind’, to judge whether a competent minister has bullied civil servants in the justice ministry. And then he finds that telling them that their work isn’t good enough is bullying. What a bunch of incompetent drips!
    If Sunak wasn’t a WEF supporting plant intent on their policies of making the UK the first country to destroy its industries and make its citizens cold and poor, he would offer DR a job in a new ministry to sort out the civil service, with instructions to sack any of them from the top to the pen pushers who do not perform and come into the office, where they can be observed working. The same goes for local government, where some departments have been doing very little at home since the lockdown.

    1. rose
      April 22, 2023

      Something which has not been much remarked on is the disgraceful fact that a lone lawyer, a faceless unknown, an unelected, paid employee, took it upon himself to choose between the word of the Deputy Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor, and the word of a civil servant, not once but twice. He was not in a constitutional position to be able to do that. Only the PM can do that.

      1. a-tracy
        April 22, 2023

        But Sunak did appoint him Rose thus giving him that authority without any boundaries, i.e. bringing up issues that were never officially discussed with anyone from more than three months ago. Nothing being logged at all so that when he was appointed no triggers tripped.

        I don’t believe the complaints because no-one wanted to make any formal reports on their appraisals or to their senior managers even people that are said to have resigned (I simply don’t believe this) and had health incidents following working with him, you’re not telling me they wouldn’t have thrown Raab under the bus at the time people that move on, as all the civil serpents are doing now would speak out but they didn’t they saved ‘it’ up and we were told there were 24 counts against him by some in the media then we discover it was eight at best. The whole thing has a nasty whiff about it.

        1. rose
          April 22, 2023

          Did Sunak tell him to make those judgements? I understood he was to gather the facts and Sunak would make the judgement.

        2. Neil Sutherland
          April 22, 2023

          Sunak is not a legitimate PM. He had no democratic mandate from his own party members.

          1. rose
            April 23, 2023

            Yes, Neil, that is where my argument falls down. But the principle is still there, that only the King’s First Minister can determine who is in his cabinet and administration. But there is a strong movement afoot to give that prerogative to unelected, unaccountable, unrepresentative others. Just as there is in Parliament a movement to take away from constituents the sole agency of voting for and against MPs.

    2. outsider
      April 22, 2023

      Very good advice Stred. Would anyone have the courage to follow it?

  24. John McDonald
    April 22, 2023

    The Civil Service, the left political elite in power, and WOKE culture are making Parliament and the UK a joke in the eyes of the world. But perhaps not the US, they are doing the same to Trump. Using the legal system to get ride of political opposition. They must be having a good laugh in the Kremlin.
    This is how Western Democracy works.

  25. Christine
    April 22, 2023

    Better watch your back Sir John as we see the demise of yet another Brexit MP replaced by a remainer. I don’t like Sunak, he has attained his position through backstabbing and has proved to be a weak leader too easily influenced by the globalists , this makes me think he is one of them.

  26. Jeffrey+Palin
    April 22, 2023

    Raabs right! Justice has not been done here. Asking someone in employment to do a given task with the remit of the terms of their employment is not bullying.
    All to often accusations in extreme terms such as bullying, rape, racism, fascism are taken way out of context and degrade the seriousness of real cases where these terms apply.
    Hopefully Raab will appeal.

  27. Cuibono
    April 22, 2023

    Should be entitled

    “The Harrowing of Dominic Raab”.
    Where’s all that bleating “FAIRNESS” and other nauseatingly sickly sweet hypocrisies worthy of a
    Dickens character?
    The extreme far left has run such rings around the tories.
    Talk about gingerbread houses.
    Talk about gullibility.

  28. The Prangwizard
    April 22, 2023

    And your view Sir John? I knew we wouldn’t get it.

    1. a-tracy
      April 22, 2023

      People on the right can’t have a view now, they are getting cancelled at every turn. Whilst the left get away with denigrating people and bullying them because the right don’t play their victim card. Well it is now time to turn the tide. If I were Raab I would start by demand apologies from people writing that he is a psycho and a massive arse.

  29. Anselm
    April 22, 2023

    I have grandchildren at Uni. They all – all – have jobs at which they work part time during term time. They do around a couple of days at “Uni” a week. Some Unis have only 20% of their students in each day. I know of a student who took a week off in the middle of term to visit her family.
    Their work is often not marked or looked at and rarely discussed. They are expected to support Labour. They do not take criticism easily. And it puts them into debt. At the end they are allowed to dress up in their academic robes for the great degree day with photo.
    The are fully aware of their rights. They do not like people who do not hold their views. They see themselves as the elite. They have no intention of marrying, starting a family and settling down.

    I should not like to be a minister with high standards working with such civil servants.

    1. Cuibono
      April 22, 2023

      Oh SNAP!
      I have been cast out into the wilderness for my ( I thought normal) views.
      Also did not realised that some views were proscribed (but then, I grew up in a democracy).
      Still
I am unbowed and unrepentant!
      They are toxic and best kept away from.

    2. a-tracy
      April 22, 2023

      I was quite shocked at the goings on in universities, my three children were the first in our families to go to university, I advised them all to get the most out of each university for their money and go to everything on offer. They worked in the big holidays but were full time in their studies.

  30. Richard1
    April 22, 2023

    It’s a bad day. Raab seemed to me to be an effective and articulate minister. There has clearly been an orchestrated campaign, with most of the allegations dismissed out of hand. Even one of the 2 that’s been upheld was Raab removing a diplomat from a negotiating team because he had, expressly against govt policy, proposed the stationing of Spanish troops in Gibraltar. That man is still in his job! In a private sector organisation he would have been fired. So the minister who negotiated in the best interest of UK voters and taxpayers and got a good settlement on Gibraltar is out, but the official who undermined him in defiance of the policy of the elected govt is determined to be a victim of bullying and is still employed, with a big salary, a final salary pension, a K when he retires or sooner no doubt, etc.

    The blob is out of control.

  31. agricola
    April 22, 2023

    In answer to your final question, if it is a first offence and is considered by the minister to be obstructionist , it should be taken as a first verbal warning. In the case of the official who seemingly had his own negotiation with the Spanish over Gibraltar it was an on the spot dismissable offence. As the scribes never get dismissed , moving them sideways, never to return is the next best option.
    All the evidence points to a “Lets get Raab” move on the part of some scribes and their union, and bare in mind this is not the first time, this confirms we have a problem and that the abrasive Dominic Cummins had a point. The civil service require an overhaul that leads to them being put back in their box labelled Provide and Advise only.
    I believe it stems from Brexit, prior to which they and fellow scribes in Brussels dictated government in the UK. They cannot accept that those days are over.
    Mr Raab did the honourable thing and resigned smelling of roses. Sadly to blossom he needs a party in government, an unlikely prospect after 2024.

    1. agricola
      April 22, 2023

      Adendum,
      I now read that DR is considering joining GBNews. Perhaps you should think about it. It is the only outlet for real Conservative values and a much more effective way of getting your message to the electorate than asking question of ministers with answers penned by their scribes.

    2. ChrisS
      April 22, 2023

      Absolutely right, Agricola.

  32. Christine
    April 22, 2023

    “Ambassadors from all 27 EU countries will gather at a secret location in England later this month for private talks about the post-Brexit relationship.”

    Another sell out by our government. Slowly but surely the UK is being pulled back into the EU orbit all aided and abetted by our elected traitors.

    1. agricola
      April 22, 2023

      Christine,
      If it is to be a growup discussion that leads to the normalising of our trade relationship and joined up none punative cooperation where it is of benefit to both sides, I say bring it on. If in any way, as with the NIP, it infringes on our sovereignty, I say an absolute no. We the electorate only need to know the agenda at this point in time.

    2. ChrisS
      April 22, 2023

      It would be far more useful if the EU arranged to take all their ambassadors to the UK to Brussels and hold a seminar with the commission to come up with better ways of working with the UK.

      It won’t happen, of course because that’s directly the opposite of what Brussels’ policy has been since 2016.

    3. Diane
      April 22, 2023

      C: This is organised I believe by the EU Delegation to the United Kingdom which in one capacity monitors the UK’s compliance with its obligations under the Withdrawal & Trade & Cooperation Agreements. This is stated as being the “first ever EU Heads of Mission Retreat” Invitations are said to have been handed to UK based think tanks – though apparently not to British Government officials or politicians ( in order to promote a candid discussion…) They will talk amongst other things about the direction of travel re EU-UK relations and one ambassador opines that they expect the Windsor Framework & the future EU-UK relationship to be the main issue of the day. Rest assured we continue to be closely watched over.

  33. formula57
    April 22, 2023

    So what is new here aside from unwelcome publicity about Rabb’s abrasive approach? Ministers propose, civil servants obstruct: a time-honoured system that has made Britain what she is today.

    Some kind soul should buy Rabb the “Yes Minister” series from which he could learn what he has obviously missed finding out so far.

    1. Mark B
      April 22, 2023

      +1

  34. Original Richard
    April 22, 2023

    “He [Dominic Raab] argues the bar for bullying has now been set so low Ministers will find it difficult to get things done or get the government’s will implemented.”

    Who selected the KC to investigate the accusations of bullying?

    Who accepted the unacceptably low bar for the definition of bullying?

    Machiavelli advises a newly installed prince to remove all those who helped him attain his position to ensure there is no-one alive to whom he owes a debt.

    The civil service, the judiciary and the state broadcaster have captured Parliament and taken UK democracy prisoner.

  35. William Long
    April 22, 2023

    Dominic Raab has done a huge service to us all by not going quietly. While he probably had to resign, given the undertaking he had given, if Sunak was half a man , he would have refused to accept the resignation.

  36. Bryan+Harris
    April 22, 2023

    Raab made some good points in his speech.

    I suspect it is all too easy to lose patience with someone who is supposed to be working for you, who refuses to do as you have directed, and blatantly does the opposite.

    Raab was another victim to the civil service and the usual media witch hunt.

    I’m not a supporter of Raab, but on this subject I feel he was very much the innocent party.

  37. oldwulf
    April 22, 2023

    It would seem that the appointment and dismissal of permanent secretaries and other senior civil servants is very much on the agenda ?

    https://committees.parliament.uk/work/7319/the-appointment-and-dismissal-of-permanent-secretaries-and-other-senior-civil-servants/

  38. George Brooks.
    April 22, 2023

    For those readers who have retired, think back over your career and remember your reaction when, say at 38 with some 14 years experience, you were dealing with those above you who were in there early 50s. You were still on a learning curve so you listened and made sensible suggestions.

    A huge number of young MPs who have read extensively and studied Politics arrive in Parliament with zero practical experience and there running the department is your 50 year old Civil Servant with at least 25 years experience who gently takes control of their new MP. It is therefore not surprising that the Civil Service is taking over the running of our country.

    This has to stop if we are to avoid becoming a third world nation with very poor prospects and a decaying infrastructure. The Civil Service is what it says a ”service” and the quicker the PM redefines their role and establishes it with the senor servants in each department the better. Wilful delays and miss leading information should trigger automatic removal of the servant from any central government position.

    1. a-tracy
      April 22, 2023

      Dominic Rabb is 49 years of age. graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Jurisprudence. He then pursued further studies at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he won the Clive Parry Prize for International Law, and obtained a Master of Laws degree, then two years at Linklaters and a further 6 in working in law. He should know enough about employment law not to get caught out like this.

      Our lawmakers make these employment laws to tie employers up in knots unable to get shut of underperforming staff for ages even though they can be damaging to customers relations, other employees and morale generally. If we have to jump through all their hoops then so should they and if they have a problem they should have a legal help team to deal with their staffing problems, underperformance and dismissals.

  39. Chickpea
    April 22, 2023

    It’s the Civil Servants who should have resigned for not doing their jobs properly. A Minister must be able to question, request and complain if he/she is not happy with the standard of work or information being received, he/she has every right to be robust.

    We live in a democracy. What is happening here is somewhat sinister. I sincerely hope Dominic Raab takes this further and has a public enquiry into it. There’s a pattern developing of hounding out Brexiters. Cummings, Boris, now Raab. Who’s next?

  40. Atlas
    April 22, 2023

    Tricky one this – on the one hand there is indeed the smell of a remoaner agenda by some. On the other hand sometimes Ministers come up with ideas that don’t add up and they need to be told this for the sake of the country.

    I certainly get the impression that the Usurper Sunak (good at press release spin – bad at actually doing anything) wishes to get us back under EU control by his choice of Ministers.

  41. majorfrustration
    April 22, 2023

    Perhaps if the PM has it in him he might suggest that one or two Civil Servants should now spend more time with their families.

    1. Mickey Taking
      April 22, 2023

      I think you meant one or two thousand, didn’t you?

  42. None+of+the+above
    April 22, 2023

    Who was it who said doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result was a sign of insanity?

    I’ve had enough of this insanity and I shall
    Vote Reform Party.

  43. Wokinghamite
    April 22, 2023

    “Is accusing a senior official of poor work in private going too far?” No, of course, it isn’t. Aggressive behaviour (as opposed to assertiveness) is something to be avoided and there must be a point at which that becomes unacceptable. I would see that bar being set high. We don’t have the details in this case. The relationship must remain one of master to servant. We can’t have ministers being afraid to assert what they expect for fear of being complained about. I would be concerned if civil servants were preventing ministers from implementing the policies for which we elected their parties; that would be the tail wagging the dog.

    1. Mark B
      April 22, 2023

      Positive – Negative – Positive

      That is what I was always taught when dealing with people who were not performing. It may not have been all their fault ? So you say something good about what they do, but then mention that, it could better if (?) and then go to say that apart form that their work is good but they can be even better.

      You leave the person feeling much better and more willing to take your advice. Of course, if they do not, then there are other methods.

      This is down to lack of leadership skills.

  44. oldwulf
    April 22, 2023

    …. and a former civil servant tells the BBC that he had warned Mr Raab about his behaviour whilst admitting that he did not actually call Raab a “bully”

    BBC News – Dominic Raab dismissed my behaviour warnings – Lord McDonald
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65358258

    The fact that McDonald is seeking his 15 minutes of fame at this juncture seems to support Mr Raab’s position.

    1. a-tracy
      April 22, 2023

      How long did McDonald work with Raab I wonder?
      Can you imagine running a business and having your senior team appointed by someone hostile to your company goals, vision and mission to get it done.
      Raab chooses his own team of SpAds surely one of those could have handled Mr McDonald’s accusations and helped to smooth out and talk to the members of the team involved. Surely someone can’t make a serious allegation about you without any evidence, or being able to show their name, certainly now when he doesn’t even work in that department, whistleblowers protection would make them bullet proof.

      1. rose
        April 22, 2023

        McDonald was the anti Brexit civil servant sacked by the Boris administration just before the merger of the FO with Foreign Aid. He has never missed an opportunity to carp.

  45. David+Cooper
    April 22, 2023

    We appear to have reached a state of affairs in this particular workplace – and indeed many others – where the finding of fault for poor work and/or attitude, combined with the giving of orders to subordinates, has provided those subordinates with a cause of action for the right to continue to work poorly, show bad attitudes and do as they please. Perhaps we are thereby reaping the ultimate reward for historically disarming teachers and placing a child’s absolute right to self expression upon a pedestal.
    We may not be heading all the way towards a Cultural Revolution of our own whereby our equivalent of Chinese professors are forced to their knees and instructed to apologise for their own stupidity and ignorance to their own students. However, this is still not going to end well.

  46. Judith Hoffman
    April 22, 2023

    If these civil servants were in the Private sector they would be fired for incompetance or insubordination, who do they think they are? They are there to do the Ministers bidding whether they like it or not. They are supposed to be non political and whether they agree or don’t agree with a position, it is not their decision to simply not do it, if it is so repugnabt to them they should resign because as long as the taxpayer is providing their more than handsome salaries, they are to do our bidding.
    Although it was very noble of Mr. Raab to keep his promise, It was completely wrong He should have stayed and the complainers should have had some consequences. I had a job that I loved but had a manager who for whatever reason didnt like me, for months I lived in fear that I would be fired, but I would never have considered going to HR and complaining, I just continued working hard and eventually he was promoted out of the department.

  47. ChrisS
    April 22, 2023

    As Mark B has said earlier, Yes Minister is always a good indication of how things are run in Whitehall.
    It is very obvious that Sir Humphries’ successors have been fighting Raab and the last two incumbents in the Home Office when they have tried to implement government policy. Hence the allegations against all three.

    The example of the Gibralter negotiations is a perfect example of the Ambassador “going native.”
    No minister could accept Spanish officials based in Gibralter and he simply had to be replaced. There are numerous other examples, particularly in the Home Office where the battle have been fought out rather more in public.

    One of our biggest problems is the fact that a minister cannot select who his senior civil servants are.
    Surely, like in the USA, the heads of departments, at least, should be changed when a new government takes over to ensure that their policies will be implemented ? In the US, these do not even have to be civil servants so people with proven business experience can be put in charge of a government department.
    What a breath of fresh air that would be !
    It would seem to be easy to achieve. All it would take would be a decision by a new Prime Minister and maybe a simple one line bill ?

  48. David+Pelling
    April 22, 2023

    Good personnel management Leadership and respect, that is what gets things done. Metaphorically stamping your feet in frustration achieves nothing but hostility. You are a team leader and should lead but by working together.

  49. Bert+Young
    April 22, 2023

    Discipline in the workforce can be achieved in many ways ; if the objectives and rules are not being followed the last thing is for the person in charge is to lose control by an over forceful or bullying manner . Civil Servants are obliged to conform to the policies established by the rule of Parliament , if they do not conform then they can and should be dismissed ; this rule also applies to the Minister in charge of a Department . Achieving results depends on motivation from the top down and by clear direction . Leadership and its style is the key note to success . From what has been reported it would seem that Raab acted in a manner that fell short of real leadership skills .

  50. Narrow Shoulders
    April 22, 2023

    Sir John, the two examples you mention above are worrying. Setting aside the bullying allegations, what means were available to the Minister to resolve his concerns in these two examples?

    Would the alleged miscreants have been sanctioned in any official process or just moved to a different role. Given a week is a long time in Government how rapid are the processes?

    If the performance management processes are not fit for purpose, how then can a Minister deliver their agenda?

  51. Derek
    April 22, 2023

    I fear this new ‘win’ for the civil servants, will encourage more of the same and further defy democracy in this country. They now have another notch on their belts, bringing down yet another politician who dared to challenge their perceived power base. Civil servants were introduced to provide advice to the ELECTED Ministers of State. Civil servants advise Ministers decide. Or do they?
    Since the departure of Mrs Thatcher, the Mandarins have inveigled their way into senior positions of power providing action instructions rather than specific advice to their respective Ministers. When their instructions are challenged, they now institute charges of bullying. They must believe they are gods or dictators who can do no wrong.
    There is much going wrong in this country as in most all government departments. The common denominator there is the Civil Service and it is time they were “modernised”.
    If their continuing power grab succeeds, this country will have lost its democracy and we plebs will be no better off than those of China or Russia or North Korea.

  52. Margaret Campbell-White
    April 22, 2023

    There should be a root and branch check up on the Civil – not so Civil – Service. I fear they are not working properly and have done nothing but impede the progress of Brexit and any worthwhile reforms the Government has tried to make. They are woke snowflakes, always off on jollies – sorry – conferences, in country houses, then on retreats to recover . I despair of the future of Great Britain with those that are meant to work for the good of all, going on strike for more pay Do they not understand that if everyone gets a pay rise, then everyone has to pay yet more for everything??? Why do they not mention the annual increments they get, putting their wages up every year anyway ?

    1. KAYLA S TOMLINSON
      April 22, 2023

      The Civil Service has become too woke and too left-wing. It appears that the Civil Service is bent on obstrucing the government whenever it suits them. Also, it is overpopulated by snowflakes who can’t abide any criticism.

    2. Mickey Taking
      April 22, 2023

      ‘There should be a root and branch check up on the Civil – not so Civil – Service.’
      Of course there should – just what Cummings wanted.
      So who will run it and report to who? oh. of course a senior Civil Servant.

  53. Alan+Paul+Joyce
    April 22, 2023

    Dear Mr. Redwood,

    It is not ministers that will find it difficult to get things done or get the government’s will implemented, it is Conservative ministers and Conservative governments. That is obvious to all.

    It is not just the Civil Service that has succumbed. The whole panoply of public services has been taken over by left-wing bias, genderism and wokery. The Police, Schools, Universities, Hospitals and the glorious BBC, of course, are all cursed with the infection. Damningly, it is the Conservatives who have been in power whilst this insidious culture has completed its takeover of our institutions and just watched it happen. It could have withheld grants for universities who used ‘cancel-culture’. It could have challenged hospitals who ask men if they are pregnant before giving blood. It could have asked Chief Constables why their officers were kneeling down in the streets. And it could have instructed schools to scrap gender-neutral toilets. Or have the Conservatives just given up the fight?

    But have you noticed how the left and the wokerati choose their terminology – phrases such as institutional racism, unconscious bias, white privilege and a workplace culture of bullying? These are chosen because no matter how hard an individual or a concern self-flagellates, one’s innate ‘prejudices’ can never ever be cast off completely. They are used by the left and the woke to instil fear among those who disagree and to stifle debate. I doubt that one can gain promotion in the Civil Service or the BBC without having the liberal-left attitude so prevalent in these institutions and for those on the right, well I bet they keep their mouths shut.

    I am certainly not the first to say this but the left realised long ago that it would never be able to achieve power via the ballot-box. It is simply unelectable. It has chosen a different way to gain power and succeeded.

  54. KAYLA S TOMLINSON
    April 22, 2023

    The Civil Service has become too woke and too left-wing. It appears that the Civil Service is bent on obstrucing the government whenever it suits them. Also, it is overpopulated by snowflakes who can’t abide any criticism.

  55. Keith Jones
    April 22, 2023

    I believe the rest of the Ministers should go on strike against a militant anti Government Civil Service because they are all under threat.
    I have a full set of “Yes Minster” CDs and in those days the Civil Service was devious but respectful. Now they don’t hide their disrespect and are protected by a powerful Civil Service Union.
    It makes a mockery of voting in an MP if in fact the MP will only be able to perform if the Civil Services allows.

  56. Ian+B
    April 22, 2023

    The ‘Blob’ the Civil Service are the UK Government.

    We haven’t left the EU they refuse to let it happen, so on and so on. By all accounts Dominic Cummings wanted to address the democratic imbalance – he was destroyed. Similar Liz Truss wanted the Country to move on, she was destroyed.

    The refusal of the Conservative Government to manage on the behalf of the electorate, is them saying does it matter, so on and so on.

    Someone needs to choose do we have a Democracy, with all its MP’s, its Parliament and so on or should the capitulation to the ‘Blob’ continue.

    If anyone thinks Rishi Sunak will act as a responsible elected representative, think again his position on Tax, the BoE, the WHO and all the rest demonstrates he will take his orders from anyone but the UK Electorate.

  57. Mark+Thomas
    April 22, 2023

    Sir John,
    The one positive outcome is that now Dominic Raab is no longer in government he will be free to speak his mind. This has certainly worked well for Jacob Rees-Mogg. I find his evening television programme well worth my time.

  58. Iain Moore
    April 22, 2023

    Gordon Brown was reported to have smashed phones and keyboards as well as using abusing language.
    John Bercow was a bully, but it was a devil of a job to get any accountability there, Labour I understand have nominated him for a peerage.
    The way the BBC and rest of them piled on against Boris Johnson for being given a piece of cake , was of course not bullying, neither was it bullying when they hosted anonymous Civil Servants to fabricate stories about Raab.

    Not only is the definition of bullying extremely loose where they seem to have done away with any sort of persistent abuse, but it is also a selective as to who you are and what is your politics. A left winger cannot be a bully, neither can a Remainer, nor the metropolitan media, but be a right winger and Brexiteer then the rules change , for even to look at someone will condemn them as a bully.

  59. Harry Morgan
    April 22, 2023

    This is appalling and round the wrong way. If ministers feel they are not getting the best or right advice or civil servants are not up to scratch they should have the right to sack them. No minister should be sacked or have to resign because of seeking competent advice as in this case. Sacked civil servants should have to leave, not be transferred to another department. They need dose of the real world.

  60. Geoffrey Berg
    April 22, 2023

    There are several issues around Mr. Raab’s resignation.
    From the moment the report was commissioned it was evident to me Mr. Raab would not survive in post because with so many senior civil servants testifying against him any report was going to be at best equivocal.
    My view was the report should never have been commissioned and Sunak was an idiot to commission it. If Sunak wanted rid of Raab he should have removed him at his ministerial reshuffle, if he didn’t it was madness to commission a lawyer’s report. The Prime Minister could and should have said senior civil servants aren’t employed to be ‘highly paid snowflakes’. If they can’t stand the heat of vigorous criticism, they can get a less pressured, less well paid job such as a postman. Anyhow officials should fear a Deputy Prime Minister.
    I think practically anybody who knows from experience what really happens in government, either local or national would agree with the gist of Dominic Raab’s complaint about ‘activist’ officials. Officials may in public pay lip service to democracy and the democratic mandate of politicians but they want their things to be done their way regardless of whoever happens incidentally to be ‘in power’. There are also massive problems concerning both the tunnel vision and also the competence, or rather incompetence, of most officials.
    The reform needed to mitigate all these problems is for governments to hire and fire all their senior officials as a matter of course, as happens in the United States of America.

  61. STEPHEN BAILEY
    April 22, 2023

    After 40 years of simply rubber stamping directives from Brussels, the Civil Service must find it difficult to act independently. There is no question that we should have benefitted more today from Brexit had civil servants and entrenched attitudes not held up progress. Four years of “let’s have Brino” from Theresa May did not help. Most CS graduates have a Classics background and no commercial involvement. Asking them to change their routines after the EU referendum must have been difficult and in some cases impossible.

    1. Mickey Taking
      April 22, 2023

      Inhabitants of a cosy world full of sinecures.

  62. Jon Marcus
    April 22, 2023

    Dominic Raab did nothing wrong. Sunak should have rejected his resignation.
    We know many civil servants are Leftie woke snowflakes. For some reason they are allowed to refuse to go to work. They do not do what they are told to do, either because they do not like the policies or they are not up to the job. Either way, they should be sacked.
    If they worked in the real world they would soon find out about bullying.
    Lucky they did not work for Robert Maxwell, as I did, they would have had a fit of the vapours and signed off sick.

  63. JoolsB
    April 22, 2023

    Instead of standing behind Raab, Sunak has thrown him under the bus. If Sunak grew a backbone and had the guts to order civil serpents off their settees and back to the office, no doubt they’d accuse him of bullying too. Far easier to let them run the show.

    1. a-tracy
      April 23, 2023

      Oh the irony that the big unions say people can work just as effectively away from the office and at home or even at their holiday home, but not Raab who was on holiday when Biden fumbled his way through leaving Afghanistan. You’re not telling me that American ambassadors, the presidents advisors etc. Didn’t know when Raab was going on holiday, thats how uncoordinated and how much disrupt Biden has for the UK. BUT! Wait a minute oh no Raab can’t work effectively away from the office. Make your mind up Labour Party and your Unions can you work effectively away from an office or not? Or only up to a certain grade?

      1. hefner
        April 24, 2023

        Oh the irony, Whatever Biden did, countries other than the UK were able to get their citizens out of Afghanistan, some even before the Americans. Could it be their people had their ears better tuned than Anglo-US ones?
        Unfortunately, a similar scenario is being repeated right now in Sudan.

        1. a-tracy
          April 24, 2023

          Hefner, that is a question for Raab and the people in his department tasked to deal with matters during his holiday, to ask him did Biden give the UK sufficient notice of his plans as you imply he did other Countries (which other Countries out of interest?).

          What are you suggesting is going on in Sudan?

  64. XY
    April 22, 2023

    Why did Sunak take so long to respond to the report? The story is that they were waiting for/persuading Raab to resign.

    Why did Sunak accept the resignation? He could easily have said “I realsise that you feel duty-bound to offer your resignation in view of your previous commitment to do so, but there’s very little here of substance, so I feel entitled to refuse to accept it”.

    But he didn’t do any of that. I cannot bring myself to vote for the Conservative party under his “leadership”. He is ducking every issue, trying to avoid negative press. The Windsor deal is another example. You need to get Truss back asap or you’ll be toast.

    My local elections voting slip arrived in the post and only the usual 4 parties on it – I won’t vote for any of them. I would have voted for Reform UK though (and I plan to do so at the upcoming GE too).

    1. rose
      April 23, 2023

      In theory it is possible the Usurper was trying to persuade Raab not to abide by his given word that he would resign if found against. After all, Raab was a deputy he needed, and Boris needed. How will he manage now? Dowden is no substitute.

  65. Paul Cuthbertson
    April 22, 2023

    All part of the slow creep of total control by the Globalist UK Establishment NWO government.

  66. outsider
    April 22, 2023

    Dear Sir John, A while ago, in some other case, I read right through the Ministerial Code. At the end I concluded that it was a law that created criminals rather than a sensible guide. It is like one of those old-fashioned industrial rulebooks that, if rigorously applied by trade union members, make it impossible for an organisation to work efficiently.

    This formal code seems to date only from 2010, was perhaps designed for the tensions of the new coalition government and has had various additions since. It should simply be abolished. The few really important principles that it enshrined are obvious, should be known to all known to all and had certainly applied to all modern UK governments.

  67. Sam Vara
    April 22, 2023

    If you are a liar, what better place to find employment than an organisation where the convention of individual ministerial responsibility means that your boss can’t publicly challenge and expose you?

  68. ChrisS
    April 23, 2023

    So it’s now 3-nil to the Blob.
    First it was Boris (although that was at least part self-inflicted), then it was the blatant coup carried out to remove Liz Truss, and now Raab has had to go.

    Sunal should never have accepted Raab’s resignation, which was only brought about because the honourable minister insisted in following through on his previously stated intention to resign if found guilty of anything.

    In my view, he was guilty of nothing more than telling a few senior civil servants that they were not delivering the elected government’s policies.
    It’s clear that the CS is desperate o get a Labour government in place, probably because Starmer is one of their own and could be relied on to tow the Civil Sevice line.
    Let’s hope that Sunak can thwart their intentions and continue in government but he will have to be very tough to get policies in place that will give the economy a chance to grow and end the small boats arriving.

  69. J.A. Burdon-Cooper
    April 23, 2023

    Conservative members (including me) voted for Liz Truss. They were certainly right not to vote for Sunak, who has tried to mislead everyone over his “Windsor” Agreement (and is now trying to bully Norhern Ireland politicianms to accept it!). And now is so weak he had betrayed Dominic Raab. Sunak is the bully on this basis, not Raab.

  70. Lindsay+McDougall
    April 23, 2023

    The only two complaints upheld against him relate to his time in the Foreign Office. We all know that the FO is full of vipers and traitors. For years – and it might still be true – if an FO official didn’t endorse the idea of a Federal Europe including the UK. his/her career went nowhere. Many FO employees have an anti-Brexit agenda. I would be most upset if Dominic Raab did NOT bully such people.

    The present PM shafted first Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, now Dominic Raab. He is the architect of “Compassionate Conservatism”, which isn’t Conservative and in the long run isn’t compassionate. If the Conservative Party wants my vote, it will have to dump him.

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