“Whenever you mention Dominic Raab around here people just roll their eyes,” says Linda Waddingham, 74, a retired customer services manager at British Airways. “Now I’ve started doing it,” she says as her eyes look skyward on a trip back from Sainsbury’s in Walton-on-Thames, one of the biggest towns in Raab’s Esher and Walton constituency. “It’s a staunchly Tory here but people don’t seem to have much confidence in him,” Waddingham says. Waddingham was appalled by the angry manner of Raab’s resignation on Friday after bullying allegations against him were upheld. “He doesn’t know how to be contrite,” she says. “I absolutely won’t be voting for him. He’s supercilious and comes over as arrogant.” Waddingham adds: “And he doesn’t listen. At BA I used to deal with difficult people and customers all the time and you don’t get anywhere unless you bring people with you.”
Alice Pullin, 24, uses blunter words to describe Raab. “He’s horrible,” she says after witnessing her MP’s temper during a visit to her sixth form college. “He just got really angry and stroppy – he couldn’t deal with a lot of young people having a bit of a go at him. We were asking important things about Brexit and he just didn’t want to get mugged off.” Pullin adds: “I’ve always wanted to vote Labour but around here that feels kind of pointless. I’ll probably vote Lib Dem because they’ve got more of a chance.”
The Surrey constituency is one of the richest areas in the country and contributes more to the exchequer than any other. Almost 60% of the area voted to remain in the EU in the Brexit referendum. It had always been one of safest Tory seats in the country until 2019 when Raab, a hardline Brexiter, beat the Liberal Democrats by 2,743 votes. Labour lost its deposit. Now it is the Lib Dem’s top target seat. The party’s candidate, Monica Harding, cannot hide her glee at Raab’s downfall. She says: “When you go to the doorstep it’s a joyful experience. People were already wavering for multiple reasons and now we’ve got bullying as well. They say they can’t vote Tory again. One guy said he danced in his driveway when he heard Raab had resigned.”
But the Lib Dems should guard against complacency, according to Pauline Hylton, 71, a retired nurse. “The Liberals shouldn’t get too confident because [Raab] might get a sympathy vote,” she says. He is not a bully, according to Hylton. “I don’t think he was as bad as civil servants think he was,” she says. “Civil servant don’t like to pull their weight and I think they are oversensitive.” But Hylton adds: “I’ve always voted Tory, but I’m fed up with the status quo. He won’t get my vote because I don’t think he’s been a good constituency MP.” Even Raab supporters concede he faces a tough challenge to win the seat. Les Guns, 74, a retired mechanic, says: “I want him to win, but it’s gonna be close.” He adds: “I think he’s been treated badly – he was just trying to get civil servants to do their jobs. Maybe he’s got a character that could get a bit out of hand but a good boss needs to be strong. “I think it’s those little lefty snowflakes that are trying to upset this government.”
Ian Howes, 71, a retired news agent, disagrees. “People in power have a tendency to think they are bigger than they are and tend not to be nice to people – nowadays that’s called bullying. I wouldn’t call anyone a snowflake, that’s verbal bullying.” Stuart McGregor, 50, a bicycle mechanic is also convinced that Raab was in the wrong. He says: “There’s definitely some sort of bullying going on there. He’s lived a privileged life and people like that tend to get away with themselves sometimes. Maybe he’s out of touch with the real world.” But McGregor concedes “I could say my boss bullies me every day and we fall out, but I get the job done.” Harding concedes that there is some sympathy for Raab, but she reckons this is largely confined to older voters. “There’s a palpable feeling against him and against the Conservatives,” she says. Waddingham has some advice for her MP. “He probably needs to go on a course. Or get a job at BA.”