London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 21, 2025

Losing Dominic Raab was a bad day for Rishi Sunak

Losing Dominic Raab was a bad day for Rishi Sunak

Dominic Raab arrived to meet me in his constituency in Surrey, the trappings of office gone.

No ministerial car, no aides, no title, beyond backbench Conservative MP.

There was little in the way of contrition, although he did say he would apologise to anyone who he described as having "subjective hurt feelings."

Three very striking words - striking, as they do, at the very essence of this whole affair.

How the behaviour of someone feels to someone else.

It is in the eye, the mind, the stomach of the beholder.

Remember, complainants across three government departments thought his behaviour was unacceptable - and sufficiently so to provide testimony to this inquiry.

The report, in the round, is complex, caveated and nuanced.

In our conversation, Mr Raab sought to defend, to justify his manner and conduct - and, moreover, argue his experience was an important case study in what he saw as the failures of the relationship between that engine room of government, a civil service duty bound to be impartial, and its political masters.


'Activist' civil servants


Mr Raab's description of some civil servants as "activist" is, in this context, explosive.

Sufficiently so, some civil servants see it as a conspiracy concocted to distract attention from the criticisms he's faced.

His account, too, will provoke a wider national conversation - about what is appropriate behaviour at work in 2023.

And from the national to the local: one intriguing titbit in the interview was Dominic Raab repeatedly refusing to say if he will stand at the next election in Esher and Walton, the seat he has represented since 2010.

The Liberal Democrats are desperate to snatch the seat from him.

It is one constituency in what one party strategist described to me as a "yellow halo" of spots around London that the Lib Dems see as potential gains at the next general election.

Party leader Sir Ed Davey was there in the patch in the blink of an eye to make that case.

Back at Westminster, curiously, the prime minister - on the day he lost his long-standing ally and deputy - hasn't managed to find any of our cameras.

Would Rishi Sunak have sacked him?

Does he agree with Mr Raab's analysis?

I am told the prime minister had a busy diary, not least being caught up in meetings relating to the fighting in Sudan.


PM loses his number two


Avoiding questions now won't mean they disappear.

The day a prime minister loses their number two is a bad day in Downing Street.

But Mr Sunak is inoculated - to a degree - from outright Conservative insurrection, after the party's recent flirtation with oblivion last autumn.

Plenty of Conservatives are not surprised that after all of this Dominic Raab is out of government. They had predicted it for months.

But plenty have sympathy with his point of view.

But, taking a step back, the prime minister can't afford many days like this.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
×