THERESA May tried to quell rebellion from the Brexiteers on her backbenches yesterday after appointing enthusiastic Eurosceptic Dominic Raab to replace David Davis as her Brexit Secretary.
Raab is liked by Tory MPs, but his strong opinions on feminism, and poverty have occasionally landed him in trouble.
He’s also no fan of the Barnett formula, which calculates Scotland’s share of public spending. Rabb previously led campaigns calling for it to be “reviewed”.
In 2014, he tabled a motion calling for such a “review”.
Speaking in the Commons at the time, he said Scotland “cannot expect the rest of the Union and taxpayers across the Union to keep subsidising it to the hilt”.
Within hours of his promotion, political rivals had published a dossier of the new Cabinet member’s past. They say Raab has blamed immigration for pushing up house prices and pointed to an interview when Rabb said people who use food banks typically do so not because of poverty but because they have an occasional “cash-flow problem”.
The 44-year-old MP for the Surrey constituency of Esher and Walton was also a member of a Facebook group that called for workhouses for the poor.
Raab even previously suggested annual leave for the public sector should be capped at 25 days, and proposed making it easier for firms to sack workers. But it was his comments on feminism that saw him alienating plenty of people in his own party, as well as opponents.
In a now deleted blog, he wrote in 2011: “While we have some of the toughest anti-discrimination laws in the world, we are blind to some of the most flagrant discrimination – against men. From the cradle to the grave, men are getting a raw deal. Men work longer hours, die earlier, but retire later than women. That won’t be fixed for another seven years.
“One reason women are left ‘holding the baby’ is anti-male discrimination in rights of maternity/paternity leave … Meanwhile, young boys are educationally disadvantaged compared to girls, and divorced or separated fathers are systematically ignored by the courts.”
He added: “Feminists are now amongst the most obnoxious bigots.”
One of the Tories upset by the comments was May. She rebuked Raab on the floor of the House of Commons, telling him: “Might I suggest that labelling feminists as obnoxious bigots is not the way forward.”
Raab’s old job was taken by Kit Malthouse, who becomes the UK’s eighth housing minister in eight years. A former deputy leader of Westminster City Council, he has been accused of adopting a “ruthless” policy towards homeless people that included “hosing them out of doorways”.
Meanwhile, Chris Heaton-Harris is to replace Steve Baker as junior Brexit Minister.
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