DEPUTY Prime Minister Dominic Raab has been described as one of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s “inadequate and difficult people” by former Treasury Chief Secretary David Mellor.
He told GB News: “I do not understand why Rishi Sunak seems to have a passionate desire to get caught up in all the old rows over inadequate and difficult people.
“I mean, we have all this nonsense about the so-called Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, he lost his job or had to resign from his job, he had no option really to resign from his job as Foreign Secretary as he wouldn’t come back from holiday.
“So, what on earth is he doing back as Deputy Prime Minister?”
In an interview with Stephen Dixon and Ann Diamond during Breakfast on GB News, he continued: “Someone said to me, ‘well, he’s supported Sunak’. Well, I’m sure Sunak’s dog supported him as well but that doesn’t mean the dog should be Deputy Prime Minister.
“And I think that Rishi Sunak has got to wise up to the fact that if he’s not careful…like walking down the street and seeing where’s the nearest leper grab hold of this leper and be surprised when you are thought to be catching some foul disease.
“The Tories have got to look as though this is a different administration, from the Boris Johnson one and certainly from that ghastly interlude with Liz truss.
“I don’t think he’s doing very well at that level.”
On reform of the House of the House Lords, Mr Mellor added: “I just don’t think it’s sustainable to go on having people picked on the basis that they made a very good cup of tea for the Prime Minister for five years. Sorry, I don’t think that should work.
“Prime ministers, successive prime ministers have shown they are incapable of discharging that function satisfactorily.
“If there’s going to be an appointment system for the Lords, at least let it have some objectivity about those.
“For Prime Ministers, it’s a nice perk to be able to put somebody in that House of Lords, but I don’t think that the British parliamentary system should be run in this way.”
He told GB News: “It was supposed to be people of such exceptional quality, that they deserved a place in the legislature.
“You look at some of these people in the House of Lords now. I mean, it’s terrible.
“Boris Johnson was going to put somebody in who was 27 years of age. That means that person could live for 60 years and still be a member of the House of Lords and still drawing, every time he or she chose to turn up, 300 quid a day and that will probably go up.
“I think the problem is that there has been an abuse of a system.”
He added: “You look at some of the weird, wonderful people that are put there. And I actually, having never had any interest in going there myself. I had my parliamentary career, as far as I was concerned, I didn’t want to prove there was life after death.
“And of course, an increasing number of people who held high office don’t go to the Lords, the people who go to the Lords are people who are unsuccessful candidates somewhere or, as one chap said to me, ’of course you get the best table in a restaurant’.
“I’m afraid I said something truly terrible, so cut my tongue out, I said I get the best table in a restaurant anyway.”
Mr Mellor’s comments came after a GB News poll surveyed Brits for their views on abolishing the House of Lords and replacing it with a new elected chamber.
It found 46% support the idea of the House of Lords being replaced with a new elected chamber, whereas only 8% oppose such a plan. Among Labour voters, 61% support replacing the House of Lords with a new elected chamber.
The survey by People Polling for GB News also found voters have little support for a Swiss-style relationship with the EU.
According to the survey just 32% of voters say they would support the idea.
This falls to 15% among Conservatives and 13% among Leavers. There is much stronger support among Labour voters (57%) and Remainers (56%).
The poll found that Brits are also overwhelmingly in favour of moves to train British workers to fix Britain’s ailing economy.
When it comes to filling the gaps in Britain’s economy, 60% of voters believe Britain should prioritise training and educating British workers to fill these gaps over high immigration.
In contrast, only 9% believe Britain should prioritise high immigration to fill the gaps over training and educating British workers.
Among Leavers, four-in-five (79%) believe Britain should prioritise training and educating British workers to fill gaps over high immigration, a view shared by 77% of Conservative Party voters.
The poll also delivers a welcome boost to Rishi Sunak a week on from the Autumn Statement. It has Labour on 44% of the national vote, the Conservative Party on 24%, the Liberal Democrats on 8%, the Greens on 8% and Reform on 5%. This represents a three-point jump for Conservative and a three-point fall for Labour from last week, reducing the gap between the two parties to 20 points.
