Politicians across Stevenage and North Herts have been responding to the resignation of the deputy Prime Minister, Dominic Raab.

Mr Raab stepped down on Friday (April 14) after a report into allegations of bullying found that he had acted in an "intimidating" and "aggressive" manner with officials during his time in office.

However, in a letter to the Prime Minister that he posted on Twitter, Mr Raab said he believed that the report's findings "are flawed and set a dangerous precedent for the conduct of good government".

In an article for the Daily Telegraph, Mr Raab described it as a "Kafkaesque saga".

Eight complaints had been made about Mr Raab's behaviour, two of which were upheld by the report, which was written by Adam Tolley KC, an independent investigator.


READ MORE: Bim Afolami MP welcomes £4 million funding to fix Herts potholes


The Comet: Nadine Dorries is stepping down as an MP at the next general election.Nadine Dorries is stepping down as an MP at the next general election. (Image: Archant)

Nadine Dorries, MP for Mid Bedfordshire, said on TalkTV on Friday: "I think that what Dominic has done is that he has decided that it's a lose-lose situation for him - whatever happened, this would be hanging around his neck.

"He's probably thought, 'this is it, I'm not having my reputation impugned any further, I'm not going to have this hanging over me, I'm just going to step aside'."

"But remember, there are no recommendations in the report, the Prime Minister has not made any announcements as to what his opinion is regarding the report, the report simply states that only two of the complaints had any substance."

The Comet: Kevin Bonavia was selected as Labour's parliamentary candidate for Stevenage in November last year.Kevin Bonavia was selected as Labour's parliamentary candidate for Stevenage in November last year. (Image: Labour Party)

Kevin Bonavia, Labour's parliamentary candidate for Stevenage, told us: "Dominic Raab has finally resigned showing no remorse for his bullying behaviour.

"Frankly, he should have resigned two years ago when, as Foreign Secretary, he refused to deal with the scandal of the evacuation from Afghanistan.

"But Rishi Sunak was happy to keep Raab, and even now he has been too weak to sack him. Sunak even brought back Suella Braverman as Home Secretary after she had to resign for her security leaks.

"This Conservative government is rotten from top to bottom. It's not just Raab - they all need to go. The next general election can't come soon enough."

The Comet: Cllr Sam Collins is the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Hitchin & Harpenden.Cllr Sam Collins is the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Hitchin & Harpenden. (Image: Sam Collins)

Cllr Sam Collins, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Hitchin & Harpenden, said: "The Conservatives are once again showing themselves to be incapable of going a week without some kind of mess of their own making - if it's not Rishi Sunak failing to reveal his financial interests, or Boris Johnson's shameful parties, or even 'racist rhetoric' from the home secretary, it is another senior figure in that party guilty of being a rather unpleasant bully.

"The Prime Minister should have fired him right away but lacked the strength to do so. 

"Dominic Raab has shown he is not only unfit to serve as a minister but is totally unfit to represent his constituents in parliament.

"This is just more evidence though that the Conservatives are  totally unfit to represent the nation or even the local area.

"Raab should clearly resign as an MP and trigger a by-election so the people of Esher and Walton can finally have the MP they deserve, while Sunak should call a general election immediately to let the rest of the country have its say on this horribly flawed government.

"The Liberal Democrats are ready for that, locally and nationally as it's very clear that, as in the case in Raab's constituency in Surrey, voters in Hertfordshire and the rest the Blue Wall are fed up with this endless Conservative chaos and MPs who take their communities for granted.

"In Esher and Walton, as is the case in Hitchin, it will be a two horse race between more Conservative party chaos or a hardworking Liberal Democrat MP who will listen and stand up for local people.”

We have contacted Bim Afolami MP, Stephen McPartland MP and Stevenage Conservatives for comment.