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!

She must have dirt on someone.

3 years ago she had to resign from her post as International Development Secretary due to “secret” meetings with Israeli officials.

A formal complaint was also made against her while she was Employment Minister at the DWP between May 2015 and July 2016.

Yet she still manages to cling on

If her department refused to support her as reported, if they quietly made her life difficult day in and day out, undermined her - and were quietly prejudiced towards her because of her gender or her colour - then why are we surprised that the same people decide to 'accuse' her of bullying. I am sure they made it almost impossible for her. I suggest the PM and others were fully aware of this too.

The investigation may be factually correct in most ways, with the exception that unconscious or even conscious bias is a very real problem at the every level of society. I am willing to bet the men involved felt offended by her because they found it hard to take orders from her.

Priti Patel genuinely has my sympathy, the level of hate aimed at her is just shocking and I can not believe we are in 2020 and this is still happening.

And worse still people justifying it on here. This is pure misogyny and racism.

It looks like this is the 3rd time Priti Patel is thought to have breached the ministerial code: once over secret meetings with politicians in Israel; once over accepting a £5,000 per month position with a global communications firm as a “strategic adviser” before receiving the all-clear from an anti-corruption watchdog; and once over bullying. She certainly has a good line in coming across as a corrupt bully with no respect for rules of conduct!

Or we could conclude that someone has really got it in for her, as other white men have done the same thing and there hasn't been as much as a raised eyebrow.

Oh so if she's a person of colour we mustn't accuse her of bullying ...heaven forbid 🙄

Equally even if it's true we must find a reason to excuse her by deciding the complainants must be "useless civil servants" who have been followed by her a few times. Have a word with yourselves.....she was found investigation not to have behaved well. And Boris plus some of you here are giving her an easy ride and excusing her.

I fucking HATE bullies and I hate people who excuse and enable them even more. And I couldn't give two hoots what colour their skin is.

Amber Rudd didn't have a great time either....
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-46067514

And about the home office in particular - a graveyard for MP's:www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-44055986

This is pure misogyny and racism.

It really isn't. Being female and/or from a minority ethnic background cannot make you immune from valid criticism.

Are you saying that you think it was acceptable for PP to shout and swear at her staff, or are you suggesting that this never actually happened.

@fretaway

She must have dirt on someone.

3 years ago she had to resign from her post as International Development Secretary due to “secret” meetings with Israeli officials.

A formal complaint was also made against her while she was Employment Minister at the DWP between May 2015 and July 2016.

Yet she still manages to cling on

Yes, this is what I think.

Either that or she's shagging Boris or gets on well with Carrie, or perhaps both

And Diane Abbott, lets not even go there with her, she was treated in the most despicable way over the years.
After listening to her interview, and how the hate finally broke her, it brought tears to my eyes. She has battled on for decades with against an avalanche of racism, sexism and hatred aimed at her. It has ruined her mental health, her life and her children's lives. She continued only because she could not bear to let down the small children of colour that see her as an example to them, that she was lighting the way for them. But boy has it cost her. Her whole life has been sacrificed.

So to those still berating our female representation, please think twice before mindlessly joining the bandwagon of hate. This has been spun to make you feel hate towards her/them, but really it is good old fashioned racism at its grim best.

Complaints about Priti Patel have been made in every department she has worked in - not just the Home Office graveyard which Theresa May managed to survive in for years. I suspect Theresa May would have an interesting perspective on the bullying allegations, especially considering the treatment she received as Prime Minister from those who claim not to see bullying and bad behaviour when it stares them in the face!

The amount of vitriol Patel gets is completely disproportional and, imo, fueled by sexism and racism So do you think her comments about food shortages and Ireland were appropriate. Do you know the history of the Great Famine? She's either clueless or a nasty piece of work, take your pick.

alexa I am saying that every man in there shouts and swears, so why is it only offensive when a woman does it?

Far too Brexity to be got rid of. The ERG would have conniptions.

We should all note that both Brown and Bercow had complaints made against them and they weren't removed.

But even the most ardent Conservative must think breaching the Ministerial code 3 times is piss poor though. What's the point of the Code if they aren't going to stand by it?

I think she's vile

I think your grinning emoji is out of place on a thread ultimately about racism op.

So to those still berating our female representation, please think twice before mindlessly joining the bandwagon of hate. This has been spun to make you feel hate towards her/them, but really it is good old fashioned racism at its grim best. So do we just let women of colour get away with things that no one else would?

@Friendsoftheearth - this thread is about bullying. I would be very interested to know what Theresa May thinks. Or is that why you are suddenly now only talking about racism and not misogyny?

So to those still berating our female representation, please think twice before mindlessly joining the bandwagon of hate. This has been spun to make you feel hate towards her/them, but really it is good old fashioned racism at its grim best.

No. I will not be silenced by allegations of racism, simply because I choose to criticise the specific actions of a BAME MP.

I completely agree that there is a horrendous amount of racism and misogyny in British public life, and I have no doubt that PP will have been a victim of that at various stages in her career. That does not mean that she can be given licence to behave exactly as she wishes. There are standards, and she should be held to account if she fails to meet them.

Do you condone the behaviour outlined in the report, or do you think it's fabricated?

If her department refused to support her as reported, if they quietly made her life difficult day in and day out, undermined her - and were quietly prejudiced towards her because of her gender or her colour - then why are we surprised that the same people decide to 'accuse' her of bullying. I am sure they made it almost impossible for her. I suggest the PM and others were fully aware of this too. So that would be the same department that worked with Theresa May and Sajid Javid? Have either of them backed up any claims about the Home Office being sexist or racist?

I hate to say this because it sounds racist/sexist to suggest she wasn't hired on merit alone BUT I do wonder whether she was deliberately chosen so that when she fucked up they could accuse her critics of racism and sexism.

I don't think it is funny or remotely funny to be laughing at a woman that has had so many death threats, rape threats, has been followed and threatened on a regular basis. Priti Patel has been berated and undermined from the get go, the level of bile and hatred is truly disgusting. No, this is very very far from funny.

You may not like her or her politics, but the very least you can do is acknowledge that the campaign of hate against her as not place in our country in the 21st century. No place in politics, and no place on here with people supporting such hideous racism.

alexa I am saying that every man in there shouts and swears, so why is it only offensive when a woman does it?

What is your evidence for this?

I am saying that every man in there shouts and swears, so why is it only offensive when a woman does it? Have you any evidence of that? My husband is BAME and he worked at the Home Office and he never had any problems with racism and he says he never heard shouting and swearing.

Theresa May is white
SJ is male.

Both were able to play to their strengths. PP never stood a chance.