Three quarters (72%) say Dominic Raab should resign if he is found to have bullied civil servants, according to a poll from Savanta.
Only one in six (15%) say Dominic Raab should not resign if he is found to have bullied civil servants, including those that voted Conservative (15%) and Labour (12%) at the last election.
The poll, conducted a few weeks ago, finds that six in ten (57%) say it is likely that Rishi Sunak will fire Dominic Raab if he is found to have bullied civil servants, including two thirds (67%) of Conservative voters. A quarter (27%) say it is not likely Rishi Sunak will fire Dominic Raab as Deputy PM if he is found to have bullied staff, including a third (32%) of Labour voters and a fifth (19%) of Conservative voters.
The Prime Minister is known to now be considering the findings of the report, conducted by Adam Tolley KC, into allegations that Raab bullied civil servants in several ministerial roles.
Over two fifths (44%) say Rishi Sunak knew about the bulling allegations against Raab before making him Deputy PM, including a third (32%) of Conservative voters and six in ten (61%) Labour voters. A quarter (26%) say Sunak did not know about the allegations prior to hiring Raab, including a third (36%) of Conservative voters. A third (32%) of Conservative voters say they don’t know whether Sunak knew of the allegations.
Two fifths (42%) say they are dissatisfied with Rishi Sunak’s response so far to allegations of bullying by Dominic Raab, while a third (35%) say they are satisfied with his response so far.
Eight in ten (78%) say it is important to investigate allegations of bullying in Westminster, including half (51%) that say it is very important.
Chris Hopkins, Political Research Director at Savanta said, “As the Prime Minister considers the Tolley report, it’s important to consider public perceptions of this scandal that, while unlikely to bring the government to its knees like the Paterson or Pincher scandals before, could have implications on Rishi Sunak’s polling recovery.
“If the report’s findings are serious and Sunak fails to act, it could draw into contention the Prime Minister’s assertion that his government and leadership is markedly different to those of his predescessors when it comes to scandal and sleaze. Sunak’s popularity rides on his ability to distance himself from the behaviour of Johnson and Truss, and inaction on Raab could lead the public to believe Sunak represents more of the same rather than the departure from the past he is pitching to voters.”
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