Raab – the symbol for an out-of-control Whitehall
To the displeasure of our precious MSM Sunak hasn’t sacked Raab – as of yet. It could still happen. Here’s your daily collection of the print front pages: “Newspaper headlines: Raab fights for political life and SpaceX blows up” (link).
Firstly, let me state that I’m no fan of Raab or his party. Secondly and more importantly, this Raab hunt has documented the incestuous connection between mandarins and Westminster political editors. I’m delighted that by their own acts we can all see a bit more than just the tip of yon iceberg. Thirdly, let’s keep in mind that the accusation of ‘bullying’ has been weaponised by the mandarins aiming to get rid of their ministers and this government. Impartial my foot!
Yesterday, Sunak received the Raab report from the KC, Mr Tolley, on the bullying allegations. At the time of this writing, he hasn’t yet made a decision about Sunak’s fate. This is terrible, according to Labour, but read this quote carefully (all emphases are mine):
“Labour accused Mr Sunak of lacking the ‘guts’ to sack his ally and said the decision was distracting him from leading the country. Shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry said: ‘I think it’s another example of Conservative chaos and not addressing the problems of the country. ‘He’s going to spend tonight looking at the report and trying to summon up the courage to work out whether he should sack his deputy or not when really what he should be doing is focusing on a cost-of-living crisis. He’s got the report, read the report, if he’s a bully, sack him.‘ (link)
So it’s ok, for Labour, to sack ‘courageously’ because there’s a crisis and never mind the truth of allegations? Amazing! Why not demand Whitehall to stop wasting time on this bullying issue? Why it is ‘courageous’ for the PM to jump on the anti-Raab bandwagon rather than read the whole thing and take counsel, only Labour knows! Note well that Ms Thorberry didn’t say that Raab was proven to be a bully.
In the same report we finally see the mask of ‘Whitehall impartiality’ drop. Mr Penman, the boss of the civil serpents’ trade union, wails about the unfairness for poor civil servants who’ve ‘had the courage’ to complain and who are forced to watch “this farce play out live on television, not knowing what your fate is going to be about the complaints you have raised”, comes out with this:
“It feels like almost every week there is an issue with sleaze and scandal where Rishi Sunak is either implicated himself or too weak to get to grips with it. ‘People are crying out for a Government that will just get on with tackling the issues that matter, not focused on saving their own skin.'(link)
Is he regurgitating Labour propaganda – or has he provided Labour with those expressions? Impartial it ain’t. Yes, ‘people are crying out’ – but who has busily put spooks into the wheels of every government ministry, Mr Penman? Never mind that this report certainly doesn’t come under ‘issues that matter’, never mind the mental attitude which regards ‘saving one’s own skin’ as a crime: it couldn’t be more obvious that a huge number of civil serpents believe that their hurty feelz are the only issue that matter.
The following quote from The Times’ report demonstrates even more clearly that it’s the Mandarin tail which wags the Government dog:
“Officials who have seen the report, however, believe that it is “terrible” and think Raab should be sacked. There are also concerns that keeping him in post will be damaging for relations with the civil service. Retaining Raab would leave him to continue working with officials he knows have made formal complaints about him. It would also be particularly difficult for Antonia Romeo, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice, who is understood to have twice warned him about his behaviour after officials made complaints.” (link, paywalled)
Oh – that’s just so awful for the poor things, ‘forced’ to work with Raab should Sunak retain him! Meanwhile, mandarins seem to be positive that there will be a reshuffle, having already “prepared briefing packs for new government ministers in the event that Raab is sacked today and there is a reshuffle.” (link, paywalled).
There’s one more twist to this sorry tale, illuminating nicely how true power doesn’t rest in our elected government but in Whitehall:
“Sunak’s decision has been made more difficult because Tolley’s terms of reference did not ask him to draw conclusions on whether Raab’s behaviour constituted bullying, leaving the prime minister as the “ultimate arbiter”. Tolley, an independent KC, was appointed because, at the time, Sunak did not have an adviser on ministerial interests who would normally have carried out an investigation. If an adviser had been in place, he or she would have been expected to conclude whether Raab had breached the ministerial code, which states that “bullying behaviour” by ministers “will not be tolerated”. (link, paywalled)
Now we know: Whitehall and their MSM mouthpieces firmly believe that a PM cannot possibly be the ‘final arbiter’ . Neither her nor his ministers can make a decision unless it’s pre-chewed and presented by their mandarins. They cannot be expected to draw their own conclusions from a brief just presenting facts.
That’s not – yet – all. Given how the following paragraph is worded, it seems that perhaps doubts about the allegations might be in order:
“Even if Sunak does conclude that Raab’s behaviour constitutes bullying, the new ministerial code allows him to impose sanctions short of sacking the justice secretary. These could include forcing Raab to make a public apology, the removal of his ministerial salary for a period or “remedial action” such as attending an anger management course.” (link, paywalled)
‘Even if …’: so it’s not a foregone conclusion then, is it? I note that neither Ms Thornberry nor Mr Penman nor the MSM ‘reporters’ are screaming that finally, there’s proof of Raab’s bullying. They surely must have had the text of the report by now. I haven’t found one single quote from it which is astonishing, given Whitehall’s sieve-like conditions and the remark above that ‘officials’ have seen the text!
While we wait for Sunak’s, the ‘final arbiter’s’ decision, we observe that Whitehall is out of control, having weaponised the ‘bully’ accusation to get rid and destroy elected ministers. Whitehall is hiding behind a reputation which was deserved in the times of Queen Victoria. Now it’s become a snakepit which is more concerned about their own interests and hurt feelz than about the issues facing this country.
That’s all I have for today. I congratulate Elon Musk however, for coming up with this description for the blow-up of his space rocket: “Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly”. That’s extremely giggle-worthy. Have a good day.
These civil serpents are on very generous salaries and anyone who earns as much as they do should be able to do their job very well. If a boss rejects a report, tells the writer it’s rubbish, insists on it being rewritten, is this a boss doing his job or should he accept sub-standard work?
The vast majority of us who have been in business have had to either face poor work from underlings or have their own work rejected by a superior; it happens, and you have to live with it – except if you’re a civil servant, it seems. In that case, it appears as though you can produce work that is below standard and if your boss dares say anything detrimental, you can accuse him of bullying and force him to resign. That will certainly ensure sloppy work is acceptable and that nice fat cheque will continue to be dropped into your bank account. Good times!
Well said Debbie!
Spot on Debbie.
Seconded.
Bullying – or accusations of – is a very convenient way of getting rid of people in your way if you are up to no good, or not doing your job. Anyone believe Priti Patel was a bully?
It can be a very hard accusation to refute, partly because there is an element of the subjective, one person’s bullying is another person’s nagging and hectoring. Seen it used effectively in UKIP and equally, seen wrongdoers claim, in the press, they were a victim of bullying when asked to move on for their potentially embarrassing deeds. Ironically, in classic psychology, it’s the go to claim of the narcissist, sociopath or psychopath if caught out, the reality being that they are the bully.
As for genuine bullying and scapegoating – my husband worked for one in his 20s, HR couldn’t believe he was prepared to work his notice when he cracked, they usually just walked out. My office manager left her previous job because she couldn’t stand seeing their boss bullying another staff member – and here’s a clue, others see it, often before the victim.
Off topic but important.
A little something else just quietly dropped online recently…
Central Bank Digital Currency
YOUR RESPONSE IS VERY IMPORTANT.
Did anyone know this was out for public consultation? Of course not!
Consultation closes 7 June.
You can just put in each box
“I don’t agree with CBDC in any circumstances. I did not vote for this”
Of course if you have more time, you can add more
Please share widely.
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/paper/2023/the-digital-pound-consultation-paper
My final comment of the consultation:
“The only acceptable way to mitigate those impacts is to abandon the proposed digital pound.”
Hopefully others will respond in a negative manner to the proposals.
Thank you Flyer – one we should all circulate and comment on.
Any doubts as you wave your card at the machine? So convenient isn’t it? Your weekend reading is The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, written in the 1980s. You don’t even have to read all of it just to the bit where you find out why her digital payment didn’t work. (The BOOK, not the series, they chickened out of that bit.)
Thank you Flyer.
I have shared with my WhatsApp group.
Sounds to me that it is ministers who are being bullied by those refusing to carry out government policies. The fact that there has been a succession of ministers so accused gives the game away. It is the serpents’ last resort.
The lefties have done well along with the media haven’t they having removed 2 prime ministers 1 deputy and how many ministers all in 18 months and while most are working from home, yet still no response from the supposed right, perhaps they are all working from home as well, either that or they are asleep. seemingly the latter.
Lefties and MSM remove 2 PMs and I deputy in 18 months. Possibly some assistance (or lack of resistance) from the huge majority of wet Tory MPs in the party?
Raab’s Resignation will have been agreed with Sunak. In effect, Raab fell on his sword to protect Sunak who no longer has to take a side against the civil service or capitulate to it.
Whether Sunak sacked him or he resigned, it is still a scalp for the now victorious civil service. The era of muscular conservatism is long gone. We face a future of Labour or Labour lite Tories. The future is bleak.
Whitehall has won – Raab has resigned. Here’s the relevant text as published in the paywalled DT:
“Dominic Raab has resigned as Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary in the wake of a report into allegations of bullying made against him. In a resignation statement posted on Twitter, Mr Raab said:
“Whilst I feel duty bound to accept the outcome of the inquiry, it dismissed all but two of the claims levelled against me. I also believe that its two adverse findings are flawed and set a dangerous precedent for the conduct of good government.” Mr Raab added: “In setting the threshold for bullying so low, this inquiry has set a dangerous precedent. It will encourage spurious complaints against ministers, and have a chilling effect on those driving change on behalf of your government – and ultimately the British people.”
well, there we are: Whitehall has now a precedent for how to get rid of inconvenient or ‘unloved’ ministers by creating claims of ‘bullying’. That’s how to make politics and how to ‘drive’ government.
Fun times, innit!
So the far left civil servants win again- no prime minister has the guts to sack them!
Britain will never survive until they are dumped.
Raab’s resignation letter: “…report dismisses all but two allegations.” “In setting the threshold for bullying so low, this enquiry has set a dangerous precedent. It will encourage spurious complaints against ministers”
Organisations close ranks when a member is challenged. Just a sociological fact. There will have been a pile on from civil servants with much exaggeration and re-writing of history. I hope the KC was alert to that in evaluating ‘evidence’.
Bullying depends on an imbalance of power. But, between ministers and civil servants there is no imbalance. A minister cannot sack a civil servant. The most a minister can do is ask for a civil servant to be moved. Workplace bullying can exist because there is a genuine imbalance of power between employer and employee. It is a fact of life that we sometimes have to work for or with people we do not like.
It is demonstrable fact that the civil service has become politicised and the vast majority are Labour supporters. There is a power game now in a way there was not 40 or more years ago. Sunak may understand that – Patel and Braverman certainly will – and he will be weighing up whether to take a stand now or yield for not wanting to do a Boris and back a loser. Johnson was forced into u-turns and that will weight on Sunak’s mind but so will setting a precedent and encouraging civil servants to pile on to another minister they do not like.
Breaking News: Raab has resigned. Off to read about that…..
Sunak is not a true Brit either; that should be good enough reason to be rid. Time that we had legislation to prevent those from a clear alien background being able to stand for parliament or occupy senior government roles. However, most important of all is to remove all subservience to supernational organisations that seek to rule over us.
We can hardly blame foreigners for the 50 years of treachery meted out to us. The enemy is within!
The boomers kids are doing so well in the public sector aren’t they, having all been to a uni of some sort , one wonders why they didn’t build in ‘safe spaces’ in their work places, although I admit that if you have been working from home for the last two years plus and only having zoom meetings when you are apparently bullied, finding space may be difficult. This generation of persons wouldn’t know bullying they saw it, and if it was so rife and so terrible why did not any of their collegues come to their aid as we are all told the ‘friends generation ‘ always do. Bullying, try asking someone who was in the armed or civil emergency services in the 60s and 70s what it is or what they endured sometimes for years on end or apparently King Charles who was bullied unmercifully at school for years according to fellow pupils. Being asked to do what you are paid to do when you don’t like it doesn’t cut it.