Priti Patel

[Walkaround]

Is it actually possible to unintentionally bully someone? I always thought there had to be some knowledge of abuse of power - it’s supremely difficult to intimidate or coerce someone accidentally. The fact that the people Priti Patel works with as equals- other ministers - are falling over themselves to say how delightful she is to work with, whereas those who work for her accuse her of bullying surely makes it more likely her behaviour is deliberate bullying? Otherwise, her equals would find her to have an frightening, tyrannical demeanour, too!

@Nanny0gg - The allegations against her include that an official at the DWP received a £25,000 payoff to avoid a tribunal in 2015 after alleging being bullied by Priti Patel. Officials at the Department for International Development accused her of humiliating civil servants in front of them in 2017. And, of course, Philip Rutnam resigned from the Home Office and triggered the official review by an independent adviser, Sir Alex Allan, on the ministerial code, the findings of which Boris Johnson has rejected. Sir Alex Allan has now resigned as a result of Johnson ignoring his findings, which Johnson has been sitting on since July.

[quote Walkaround]@mellongoose - then you condone bullying.[/quote]
Not true. You are not willing to put yourself on her shoes. It's healthy to look at both sides. Because you don't like her, you are not willing to.

All I'm asking is what you would do IF you were in her shoes.

@mellongoose - but what on earth do you want me to say? If I were in her shoes, I would not shout and swear, and I would not have left a trail of complaints about my behaviour from other departments. I would not bully people who work for me, and if I did so accidentally, I would resign. I really don’t see what else you expect me to say? What would you do? Would you behave like Priti Patel?

If Priti Patel has to resort to bullying staff to get things done, she is unfit for the job and should go.

It is simply unprofessional to shout and swear at people who are working with you and whom you are meant to be leading. That is surely not in question. You don’t win loyalty and support by behaving like Patel. She has brought the Office and herself into disrepute.

Sorry about the bold fail in my last post!

We all agree that bullying is wrong. So far, we know that PP swore at someone. We also know that, as an elected representative, heading a department of officials who do not want her to succeed, she is up against it.

I guess I'm asking you how you would deal with that day after day, month after month, without losing your temper. I don't think I could.

I promise I'm not trying to be combative. The vitriol for her on here, without us seeing or knowing all the facts, is quite something. I guess I'm looking for balance.

It’s not about “liking” her anyway. I doubt many do. That unfortunate smirk doesn’t help.

We all agree that bullying is wrong. So far, we know that PP swore at someone.

No, WE KNOW THAT SHE BULLIED PEOPLE.

I guess I'm asking you how you would deal with that day after day, month after month, without losing your temper. I don't think I could.

Then you speak for yourself. Most people operating at that level in government conduct themselves properly. Losing your temper is just appalling.

The facts are not in doubt.

@DioneTheDiabolist

We all agree that bullying is wrong. So far, we know that PP swore at someone.

No, WE KNOW THAT SHE BULLIED PEOPLE.

We do. She did.

I haven't seen the report, I apologise. Have you?

Why did Alex Allen's report say Patel was never warned, when Rutnam says she was warned in August 2019 not to swear at staff? Did Allen not talk to Rutnam for very long?

No one should be having this discussion. She should know how to behave herself.

It appears her spelling is far from perfect, too.

@mellongoose - I have linked to a summary of the report in this very thread. It concluded her behaviour had been bullying. It did NOT say that she had shouted at one person?!?! You come across as someone who keeps pretending we all know less than we do.

[quote Walkaround]@mellongoose - I have linked to a summary of the report in this very thread. It concluded her behaviour had been bullying. It did NOT say that she had shouted at one person?!?! You come across as someone who keeps pretending we all know less than we do.[/quote]
I really don't mean to. I just like to look at all sides before conclusion. Walk a mile in their shoes, so to speak.

Anyway, I can see you starting to direct your fire at me so I'll bow out.

@mellongoose - put yourself in PP’s shoes and tell us how you would have behaved.

Also, @mellongoose - put yourself in two other people’s shoes and tell us whose opinion you think is more likely to be politically biased - Boris Johnson’s or an independent adviser’s who was instructed to look into the accusations?

@mellongoose

I haven't seen the report, I apologise. Have you?

It might be a good idea to rectify that before defending a bully.

Here’s another “put yourself in someone else’s shoes”, @mellongoose - put yourself in the shoes of the civil servants being bullied. How would you have reacted to that?

Windrush scandal 2018 report found the home office to be a 'hostile environment' the draft actually said 'institutionally racist' but this was watered down.

Priti Patel has come in as the woman who is responsible for implementing a raft of changes within the HO relating to the Windrush 'Lessons Learnt review'.

How easy a job do you think that is when you have a department that has been found to be institutionally racist' operating a 'hostile environment' to other races to then try enforce the type of change needed in the HO from the top down.

She will be judged in September 2021 on whether she has done what she has promised, if people at the HO are being intentionally uncooperative and unsupportive it won't be Rutnams job on the line if the HO don't deliver on those promises (because conveniently he's walked) it will be hers (same as Amber Rudd when she was let down by the HO/Rutnam),

If Rutnam calling the paps/and telling the BBC to get a camera team in place for a tearful, woe is me, very public shaming exercise is an example of the way he does things then I have zero sympathy for the man.

The more I think about it the more I think she should keep her job.

More apologising for bullying. How do you explain the bullying complaints from other departments?!

I’m a bullying apologist if you say so. I don’t agree but I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.

Windrush scandal 2018 report found the home office to be a 'hostile environment' the draft actually said 'institutionally racist' but this was watered down.

The draft Windrush report found that the HO was institutionally racist over its hostile environment policy to migrants.

I can’t imagine that Patel with her very public comments on “activist lawyers” and “do gooders” (to the point where she had to be reined in by Braverman and Buckland) has done anything to mitigate that hostile environment.