Editorials

The Next Tory PM: Jacob Rees-Mogg

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24 July 2018

By Bronwen

Following the resignation of several ministers including big names such as Boris Johnson and David Davis, Theresa May is in a very precarious position. Tory MP Philip Davies has submitted a letter of no confidence in the PM which could be the beginning of the end if more MPs follow his lead. If Theresa May resigns or is forced out by her own colleagues, the Conservative Party will have to decide on a new leader. It’s likely that the next Prime Minister would already be a high profile Tory but the question is: which one? Over the next few weeks, we will explore the profiles of the most likely contenders for Tory leadership.

YouGov produced this chart which shows the Tories it believes are most likely to be put forward for the leadership.

As you can see, back bencher Jacob Rees-Mogg is the clear favourite and so why not commence this short series with the Mogg-meister?

Jacob Rees-Mogg

Born: 24th May 1969

Even in terms of politicians, JRM has had an exceptionally privileged life. From the age of 10, he has been investing in stock markets following a £50 inheritance from a relative. He attended Eton College, an independent boarding school, before reading history at Oxford University. By this time, he was known as a highly opinionated Thatcherite and became the President of the Oxford University Conservative Association.

After university, he worked for the Rothschild Investment bank and later Lloyd George Investment. In 2007, he left Lloyd George and set up Somerset Capital Management which he describes as a ‘medium sized investment firm’.

His personal fortune is estimated to be £100m, making him a true man of the people…

One of the many sources of the Rees-Mogg fortune comes from his wife Helena de Chair, who is said to be worth around £45m. Helena is the daughter of Somerset de Chair, an English author and politician who edited several volumes of Napoleon’s memoirs. Together, the couple has six children:

Peter Theodore Alphege Rees-Mogg

Mary Anne Charlotte Emma Rees-Mogg

Thomas Wentworth Somerset Dunstan Rees-Mogg

Anselm Charles Fitzwilliam Rees-Mogg 

Alfred Wulfric Leyson Pius Rees-Mogg 

Sixtus Dominic Boniface Christopher Rees-Mogg

As a politician, Rees-Mogg is considered a right-wing Conservative. He consistently voted against allowing homosexual marriage, equal rights and an elected House of Lords.

His full voting record can be found here.

He caused an uproar in 2017 after calling foodbanks “rather uplifting” and said they were evidence of what a “good, compassionate country we are”. Before the Tories came into power in 2010, the Trussell Trust (the UK’s largest food bank network) handed out 41,000 emergency food packs. In 2017, the Trust handed out 1.2 million foodbanks meaning a huge increase in the number of people who don’t have the means to feed themselves.

Contrary to popular opinion, food bank users aren’t all unemployed. As this chart by the Trussell Trust shows, the majority of food bank users work but don’t receive adequate income from employers to support themselves and their families.

Euroscepticism

Jacob Rees-Mogg campaigned for Brexit and is a member of Leave Means Leave, a pro-Brexit pressure group. He believes in a hard and complete withdrawal from the European Union and in January, he became Chairman of the European Research Group.

As a result of his overwhelming eccentricity and his quipping in monotonous Edwardian English, JRM has become somewhat of an Internet sensation. Countless meme pages have emerged all supporting Moggmentum- the notion that JRM should lead the Conservative Party and one day, the United Kingdom.

Would the people of the UK really vote in such a staunch and out-of-touch Conservative, or is JRM the drastic change from dull Theresa May that the people crave?

 

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