Britain, Brexit and the Dominic Raab scandal

It’s fair to suggest that most of us will have worked in offices or places of employment where we have encountered bullies.

You’ll know the type. Big mouthed. Think they know it all. Chums one moment, ogres the next. Their management style will likely consist of favouring the few and browbeating the rest. And their narcissistic behaviour makes even going to work cause the nausea to build as nerves play havoc with your stomach.

More often than not, the easiest way to deal with them is to look for another job. But if you can’t move, you pray that they will — and soon. Or get their comeuppance.

The sharp and the barbed

But this column isn’t about workplace woes. No, it’s about the bully that is Dominic Raab, up to last week before his resignation, the Deputy Prime Minister in the government of Rishi Sunak.

Raab is a sharp character. In his work, Raab was sharp. Barbed too. Pointed. And downright rude and arrogant.

He is a Member of Parliament who has a penchant for judo, black belt and all, and rose quickly through the ministerial ranks during these 13 years of Conservative rule, holding some of the highest offices of state in the UK.

But he is a bully.

In all, Raab’s behaviour was questioned in four government departments. There was a consistency of behaviour that led to many complaints about the minister.

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Just because you hold some of the highest offices of state doesn’t necessarily mean you’re good at what you do — at least not in British politics anyway. And from what I know of other political systems in Western Europe and beyond, the cream doesn’t necessarily rise to the top.

Raab, you might recall, was the Foreign Secretary, the man responsible for running British foreign policy and its diplomatic teams around the world. But now it transpires, Raab was about as diplomatic as a flying hammer when it comes to how he dealt with his staff.

Remember those chaotic scenes at Kabul Airport two summers ago, as tens of thousands of Afghans tried to flee as the Taliban returned to power? Well, you can’t blame Raab, can you.

Sunak under fire over Raab

No. He was on holiday at the time. He deemed the crisis not worthy of cutting his fortnight in the sun short so as to actually coordinate the evacuation of an estimated 15,000 Afghans who had ties to the Brits there and faced likely retaliation from the Taliban for simply trying to feed their families and build a better future for the troubled nations.

But the staff at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office — a huge Georgian office complex just off Whitehall in central London — told an inquiry into his behaviour that their boss was little better than one of those despots that they so often come in contact with during the course of their overseas work.

In Justice too, where Raab was responsible for all things legal in the UK, it turns out his behaviour failed to meet the standards one would expect from the Crown’s highest law officer.

In all, staff in four departments complained of bullying, demanding behaviour that led some to quit. And who, in their right mind, would quit a civil service job? — which in itself goes to show that their minds weren’t right as a result of the workplace tantrums thrown by Raab.

In all, Raab’s behaviour was questioned in four government departments. There was a consistency of behaviour that led to many complaints about the minister.

It’s worth noting that four departments seems like a lot, but that speaks to the chaos that has been at the heart of the British government since Theresa May was in Downing Street and was seeking a Brexit deal with her European counterparts. But then again, think of if too, and there have been four prime ministers too over that time.

Sunak is effective at getting things done. The problem, as the Raab matter shows, is that the others in the cabinet room are nowhere near as effective.

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The report into Raab’s behaviour was handed to Sunak the day before it became public. While it was detailed, it showed that the second-in-charge in the UK created a toxic environment in the workplaces he was responsible for, and undermined and cajoled the public servants who worked for the government.

Criticism has now been levelled at Sunak that he was indecisive in getting rid of Raab.

But Raab went down swinging, claiming in his scathing resignation letter that the bar had been set too low, and there was a difference between bullying and simply wanting to get things done.

The professional body that represents civil servants pointedly noted that the tone of Raab’s resignation letter underscored the points found during the six-month investigation. He was obdurate.

Sunak’s little deal with EU

This Raab scandal is one of many distractions that Sunak has had to weather during his short tenure so far in Downing Street. Try as he might to be effective and quietly work away on the business of government, the noise of politics just gets in his way, it seems.

While the Raab furore was playing out, Sunak had been working on a little deal with the European Union to allow UK passport holders to use automatic e-gates at airports and points of entry. Because of Brexit, the Brits are treated as “other” passport holders, and often face long lines for their documents to be checked and scanned by border officials. Since coming to office, Sunak has proven himself to be far more pragmatic in dealing with the EU than Boris Johnson or Liz Truss — if indeed Truss was there long enough to have any dealings with anyone at all.

But Sunak is effective at getting things done. The problem, as the Raab matter shows, is that the others in the cabinet room are nowhere near as effective. And that in itself speaks to the decimation of talent caused by the purge of senior Conservative figures who were against the madness that is Brexit.