The Downing Street in London is having its politically significant moments of scandalous exits. From the most sought-after corridor of power in Britain, the Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab resigned from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s cabinet after it was proven in an official inquiry that Raab bullied civil servants in the offices he held over the past few years.
To put it simply, Raab had to resign because an inquiry found that he was a toxic boss in nearly every Downing Street secretariat he was sent to during and before Rishi Sunak’s times as British Prime Minister.
Hours later, Raab was replaced by Oliver Dowden as UK deputy prime minister. Alex Chalk was appointed justice secretary, another designation Raab held in the Sunak cabinet.
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Raab had no formal powers as Sunak’s deputy but stepped in for the prime minister if he was away from parliament or incapacitated. He was a close political ally of Sunak and helped launch his campaign to be prime minister last summer.
Dominic Raab’s exit: What this means for Rishi Sunak?
For UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, this translates into the third loss of a senior minister over their personal conduct in the last six months.
Another of Sunak’s senior ministers, Gavin Williamson, quit in November after bullying allegations and the prime minister sacked Conservative Party chair Nadhim Zahawi in January after he was found to have broken the ministerial code over his openness about his tax affairs.
Raab’s exit may pave the way for a Tory turmoil, already factionalised between alternative centers of power between former, current and aspiring prime ministers.
It will be worth watching how this high-profile exit would fare for Conservate Party’s fortunes before local elections in May.
Dominic Raab in Downing Street: Inquiry report, Camera, Drama, Exit
It was a day of consequential political activity in London. Soon after a report by independent investigator Adam Tolley came out in public, Raab penned an angry resignation letter full of passive-aggressive adjectives and dramatic prepositions that appeared to depict his unwillingness to pursue a defensive posture even when the ground of Tory power slipped beneath his feet.
Raab called the findings of the report which said he had acted in a way that was “intimidating” and “persistently aggressive” while he was foreign minister, were flawed.
But he went through with his promise to quit if any bullying allegations were upheld.
“I called for the inquiry and undertook to resign if it made any finding of bullying whatsoever,” Raab said. “I believe it is important to keep my word.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he accepted Raab’s resignation with great sadness and acknowledged his concerns about how initial allegations about his behaviour had been handled.
The five-month investigation by lawyer Adam Tolley into Raab’s behaviour heard evidence from government officials about complaints of bullying at three different departments.
Raab went further than appropriate with his critical feedback and was insulting about work done by officials at the Ministry of Justice, the report found, adding he had been abrasive but not deliberately abusive.
Raab, 49, is part of a generation of politicians who rose to power after the Brexit vote in 2016.
Raab requested the investigation in November following formal complaints about his behaviour.
He apologised for causing any unintended stress or offence but said the report “set a dangerous precedent” for effective government with a low threshold for what constituted bullying.
This will “have a chilling effect on those driving change on behalf of your government – and ultimately the British people”, he said in his letter.
Sunak is facing his own investigation by parliament’s standards watchdog over whether he properly declared his wife’s shareholding in a childcare company which stands to benefit from new government policy.
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