Tag Archives: jacob rees-mogg

Jacob Rees-Mogg Has A Plan For A Tory Election Victory – But Not Even Tory HQ Likes It

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Jacob Rees-Mogg has a new plan to make sure the Conservatives win the next general election – but it’s not exactly popular.

Speaking on his GB News show last night, the former cabinet minister and current backbencher announced his plan to “reunite the right” with a “big, open, comprehensive offer to those in Reform”.

Yes, that’s Reform UK, a party originally set up by famous Brexit campaigner and ex-UKIP leader Nigel Farage, now run by Richard Tice and Ben Habib.

Reform currently has just one MP, Lee Anderson, who defected from the Tories earlier this year shortly after resigning as the Conservative Party deputy chair.

It’s thought Reform could end up splitting the right-wing vote when the public next hit the ballot box.

So, Rees-Mogg suggested bringing famous right-wing figures back into the Conservative fold.

He said: “With the help of Nigel Farage in a Conservative government, with Boris Johnson probably returning as foreign secretary, as well [as] welcoming the likes of Ben Habib and Richard Tice into the Conservative Party.”

His nod to the former prime minister is no surprise, considering he served in his government.

The MP also claimed in his “Moggologue” that a truly Conservative government would then be able to look at “slashing migration”, “rolling back the disastrous green agenda” and “abolishing the Equality Act”.

He even suggested that if Farage rejoined Reform, the party would shoot up to 16% in the polls, just 5% behind the Tories – so merging the two parties together would take the Conservatives up to Labour’s current polling at just over 40 percentage points.

He said it is by doing so, “winning the next election is well within reach”.

However, the Conservative Campaign Headquarters told POLITICO’s Playbook they were “unequivocally” ruling out this idea.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats called for the Tories to suspend the whip.

The party’s deputy leader, Daisy Cooper, said the Conservatives are “a shambolic mess” with MPs in “open revolt” against Sunak.

“If the Prime Minister had any bottle he would suspend the whip from Rees-Mogg and rule out Nigel Farage being allowed into the Conservative Party,” she said, and called for a general election.

There is no denying that the Conservatives’ electoral chances are currently in dire straits – polling gurus predict there is a 95-99% of a Labour victory – but people could not help but laugh at this idea…

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Harriet Harman Tearful After Tory MP’s Defence Against Partygate Attacks From Boris Johnson Allies

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The House of Commons was emotional as a Conservative MP made a moving tribute to Harriet Harman following attacks from Tories over Boris Johnson and partygate.

Conservatives allied to Johnson have suggested veteran Labour MP Harman, who chaired the privileges committee which found the former MP guilty of lying to parliament repeatedly, was biased because of tweets she posted about partygate before taking up the role.

On Monday, MPs approved the committee’s report that judged the former prime minister’s outriders had launched a “co-ordinated” attack on its work.

During a debate ahead of the report being nodded through without the need for a vote, Conservative MP Laura Farris made an intervention damning her Tory colleagues.

Harman has long been aware of the potential issue – and asked the government for the green light to continue as chair of the committee investigating Johnson.

Harman said she wanted to avoid the “perception” that she was biased against the former PM – and was “assured that I should continue the work” by the prime minister at the time, which was still Johnson.

During Monday’s debate, Jacob Rees-Mogg, a Johnson loyalist who was criticised for his role in the attacks on the committee, maintained it was “legitimate to question” Harman’s position.

But Farris took a different view, defending Harman and paying tribute to her career – with her parliamentary colleague close to tears as a result.

Farris said: “The member for Camberwell and Peckham (Harman’s constituency) had already announced her intention to retire from parliament at the next election.

“A parliamentary career that has spanned five decades and has been defined by her commitment to the advancement of women’s rights.

“Fourteen weeks before she took up that appointment (as committee chair) her husband of 40 years, Jack, had died.

“Against this background, I invite members of the House to consider what is more likely – that she agreed to chair the committee as a final act of service to this House, or that she did so because she was interested in pursuing a personal vendetta against Boris Johnson.”

Farris continued: “It is completely unacceptable to allege or insinuate that members of the privileges committee are corrupt or that the inquiry was somehow rigged.”

Harman’s husband, Labour MP Jack Dromey, died suddenly in his flat in Birmingham in January last year.

The initial report by the privileges committee, which has a Conservative majority, suggested Johnson should face a 90-day Commons suspension if he had not already quit parliament ahead of its release.

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Thousands Denied A Vote Because Of Tory Voter ID Law, Say Election Chiefs

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Thousands of voters were barred from taking part in last month’s local elections because of the Tories’ voter ID law, election chiefs have revealed.

For the first time ever in Britain, voters were required to provide photographic proof of their identity in order to collect their ballot paper.

Ministers had argued that it was necessary to prevent voter fraud, despite there being no evidence that it is widespread problem in this country.

A report out today by the Electoral Commission found that around 14,000 who went to their polling station on May 4 were not given a ballot paper because they did not have the correct photographic identification.

Research found that 4% of all people who said they did not vote identified the new ID requirement as the reason.

The Electoral Commission said their data also suggested that disadvantaged groups were more likely to be impacted by the voter ID arrangements.

Opposition politicians said the report showed the new law was “a transparent attempt at voter suppression by Conservative ministers”.

Craig Westwood, the Electoral Commssion’s director of communications, policy and research, said: “The evidence suggests that the vast majority of voters were able to present an accepted form of ID at the May elections.

“But it also shows that some people were prevented from voting in polling stations due to the requirement, and significantly more did not attempt to because they lacked the required ID.”

He added: “We don’t want to see a single voter lose the opportunity to have their say. We are working to understand the challenges people faced, and will make recommendations that, with the engagement of Government and wider electoral community, will support the participation of all voters.”

Former cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg admitted last month that the voter ID policy was an attempt at “gerrymandering” to boost the Tories – but that it had backfired because it kept more of their supporters out of the polling booths.

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “No legitimate voter should be locked out of democracy but that has been the effect of the Tories’ failed voter ID regulations.

“This evidence suggests shows that as well as those turned away at polling stations, many others did not attempt to vote because they lacked the required ID.

“It’s particularly alarming that under-represented groups look to have been more likely to have denied their say by these new barriers to voting. These strict rules are having a chilling effect on democracy.”

Lib Dem local government spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said: “It is an outrage that thousands of people were denied a voice at the local elections because of the Conservative Party’s Voter ID rules.

“Obstructing people’s right to vote like this in such a disproportionate way is a complete waste of money that undermines our democracy.

“It looks like a transparent attempt at voter suppression by Conservative ministers who are desperate to stop people from holding them to account by any means possible.”

Councillor James Jamieson, chairman of the Local Government Association, said: “It is a fundamental part of the democratic process that elections can run smoothly and effectively where every citizen is able to exercise their right to vote.

“It is therefore of concern to councils that this review has found that some groups may have been more impacted than others by the introduction of voter ID, with a small number being left unable to vote.”

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‘Lifelong’ Tory Voter Blasts Jacob Rees-Mogg Over Brexit ‘Benefits’ On Question Time

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Audience members on the BBC’s flagship politics show have expressed their frustration about the impact of Brexit on their lives – with one suggesting the “oven ready” withdrawal agreement was more like a “frozen turkey taken out five minutes before Christmas day”.

While leaving the EU has fallen down the political agenda, with no major political party arguing for the UK to rejoin even the single market, BBC’s Question Time aired the frustrations of some over the current situation – from trade to travel.

One “lifelong” Tory voter let off steam about the UK’s decision to quit to the bloc having impacted Britain’s wine industry, with former minster and Brexit evangelist Jacob Rees-Mogg taking the flack.

The audience member said: “I’ve spent the last 30 years as a director in the wine industry so I have experienced first-hand just how terrible things have become post-Brexit.

“I find it incredibly disappointing, as a lifelong Conservative voter, to hear Jacob saying all of this stuff.”

He added: “Just from a bureaucracy point of view and the paperwork, I mean everything.

“I’ve been importing and exporting wine for 30 years for a leading wine company and we just see delays, we see paperwork problems, everything has become so much more complicated.

“And the whole point about this being ‘oven ready’, it’s about as oven ready as a frozen turkey taken out five minutes before Christmas day, it really is a joke.”

He added: “I think it’s time someone starts being honest. None of the political parties are actually talking about Brexit and it’s one of the most fundamental problems we’ve got.”

He went on: “I look at the fact that people can tell untruths time and time again and then they are just forgotten, and Brexit was the beginning of all this, and I think as a society it’s incredibly worrying about where this is going to lead to.”

Rees-Mogg, the former business secretary, cited democracy, corruption in Brussels and holidays to Portugal as examples of the benefits of Brexit.

When another audience member criticised the long wait at border control when visiting Spain post-Brexit, Rees-Mogg suggested the British public go “where they are welcome”.

“If the Spanish don’t want British custom there is no need to spend your hard earned money in Spain,” he added, highlighting the virtues of Portugal recognising “having British tourists is a good thing to do”.

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Tory Revolt Begins: Jacob Rees-Mogg Brands Jeremy Hunt’s Tax Rises ‘The Easy Option’

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The fragile peace in the Tory party has been exposed as Jacob Rees-Mogg has criticised Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement for taking the “easy option” by putting up taxes.

The chancellor included almost £25 billion in tax increases in his package to fill the UK’s financial blackhole, with the most well-off taking a hammering.

The Rishi Sunak administration will fear the comments by Rees-Mogg, the former cabinet minister and low-tax enthusiast, reflects wider concerns from the right of the party over raising taxes as the country is entering a recession.

Rees-Mogg, whose time on the ministerial benches was marked by controversial attempts to reduce the headcount of the civil service, said ministers should be seeking to cut spending through efficiency savings in public services.

He told Channel 4 News: “Taxation has got too high and there are issues with the level of expenditure that we have got.

“I think there is a real problem with fiscal drag bringing more and more people into the 40p (tax) band who, particularly if they are living in the south of England, are not necessarily particularly well-off.

“That is going to be hard for them paying an extra level of tax on top of what they are already paying.

“Also freezing the basic band is going to be a burden for all taxpayers, even those who are still in receipt of benefit.

“I think we need to look at the efficiency of government to make sure money is well spent before reaching for the easy option of putting up taxes.

“What we actually need to be doing is having a strategy for growth and looking to lower taxes.”

Rees-Mogg is a long-standing critic of prime minister Rishi Sunak, having previously described him as a “socialist” over his record of raising taxes when he was chancellor. He quit the cabinet when Sunak became PM

His comments will cause concern among ministers after another former minister, Esther McVey, warned she could not support tax rises if the government continued to press ahead with the HS2 rail link.

Rees-Mogg insisted however that he still supported the government.

“I am a Conservative member of parliament and I support the leader of the party. We’ve had three leaders in the last few months – it would be ridiculous to have another,” he said.

Hunt has increased the windfall tax on oil and gas giants and reduced the salary threshold at which workers begin paying the 45p top rate of income tax.

Among a string of little-noticed measures, the chancellor also plans a 23% increase in fuel duty, which adds £5.7 billion to his coffers and is the first tax rise of its kind since 2011.

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Krishnan Guru-Murthy Issues Hilarious ‘Non-Apology’ After Guest Says ‘B******s’ On Channel 4 News

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Krishnan Guru-Murthy brought Wednesday’s edition of Channel 4 News to a hilarious end after a guest used some choice language during the broadcast.

As part of the live show, Krishnan interviewed journalist Gillian Tett about cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg after he claimed that the recently-announced mini-budget was not responsible for the market turmoil in the UK.

She responded: “To use a non-technical term, that is pretty much bollocks.”

“I think for the most part it really was the budget and the way it was delivered and the message inside, which sparked the beginning of the crisis,” Gillian added.

As the show drew to a close, Krishnan responded to Gillian’s use of the term “bollocks”, revealing he’d done some quick Googling to decipher whether or not it was inappropriate.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy in the Channel 4 News studio
Krishnan Guru-Murthy in the Channel 4 News studio

“Before we go, I’ve had time to clarify whether that word Gillian Tett used to describe Jacob Rees Mogg’s explanation was within the rules,” he told viewers, smart-phone in hand.

“And on the Ofcom regulator website, it describes [the word] as ‘medium language, potentially unacceptable, less problematic when used to mean nonsense’.”

However, Krishnan then added that Channel 4 did technically have cause to apologise for a somewhat unexpected reason.

“I should, however, apologise to people who are relying on subtitles, for whom it was spelled ‘bullocks’,” he added, before concluding: “That’s all for tonight.”

Krishnan’s comments certainly raised a smile among viewers, as the clip quickly began doing the rounds on social media:

Channel 4 News airs every weekday at 7pm.

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Jacob Rees-Mogg Suggests Kwarteng Could Ignore OBR While Trashing Watchdog

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Jacob Rees-Mogg has taken aim at the independent fiscal watchdog that analyses government budgets despite the huge market unrest.

On the day the pound plunged again, the business secretary trashed Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasting and even suggested chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng could ignore them if they were overly negative.

OBR assessments of the UK economy will accompany the chancellor’s plan to pay for his economic measures and reduce debt on October 31.

A lack of such forecasts during last month’s seismic mini-budget are thought to have contributed to the recent chaos in financial markets – with the cost of government borrowing soaring and the Bank of England forced to intervene.

In a pre-recorded interview on ITV’s Peston, the cabinet minister said: “Let’s see what the Office for Budget Responsibility has to say rather than guessing what it may say.

“But its record of forecasting accurately hasn’t been enormously good.

“So, the job of chancellors is to make decisions in the round rather than to assume that there is any individual forecaster who will hit the nail on the head…

“There are other sources of information. The OBR is not the only organisation that is able to give forecasts.”

His comments are unlikely to reassure investors seeking a firm commitment from the Government to get the nation’s finances under control.

Rees-Mogg also lashed out at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after it called for the UK’s economic support package to be more targeted and for fiscal policy to be tightened.

He said: “I think the IMF is wrong on both counts. I think it’s particularly wrong on energy, and frankly doesn’t know what it’s talking about…

“The IMF is not holy writ and the IMF likes having a pop at the UK for its own particular reasons. I’m afraid I would never lose too much sleep about the IMF.”

Earlier, the senior Conservative accused Today programme presenter Mishal Husain of failing to meet the BBC’s impartiality standards after she suggested the mini-budget had unleashed the market turmoil.

Rees-Mogg sought to claim that the Bank of England’s decisions on interest rates had caused the turbulence, rather than Kwarteng’s plans to borrow more to fund tax cuts.

Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Pat McFadden said: “Even now, Tory cabinet ministers do not appear to have learned lessons since their disastrous mini budget.

“The more they publicly trash economic institutions like the OBR, the more they undermine market confidence in their plans and their management of the UK economy.

“The Tories are out of control and working people are being made to pay the price with higher mortgage payments.”

Financial experts have roundly rejected the business secretary’s analysis that interest rates were to blame for the market turmoil.

Gillian Tett, Financial Times US editor-at-large, told Channel 4 News: “To use a non-technical term, that’s pretty much bollocks.”

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A Financial Times Journalist’s Takedown Of The Government’s Excuse For Chaos Is Truly Brilliant

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A Financial Times journalist has offered a withering assessment of the government’s suggestion that the Bank of England is to blame for the recent chaos in the markets.

On Tuesday, business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg suggested the central bank’s failure to raise interest rates in line with the US was driving the financial turmoil rather than chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget.

But Gillian Tett, the FT journalist who made her name for her prescient commentary on the 2008 financial crash, has said – bluntly – that this was really not the case.

Appearing on Channel 4 News, and asked for a verdict, Tett said: “To use a non-technical term, that is pretty much bullocks.

“I think for the most part it really was the budget and the way it was delivered and the message inside, which sparked the beginning of the crisis.

“The Bank of England certainly is to blame for not having prepared for these kinds of dislocations. The British pension funds appear to have been somewhat asleep at the wheel in terms of their risk management systems.

“But at the end of day, the spark that lit this fire was very much the budget announcement.”

Earlier, Rees-Mogg argued the market response was “much more to do with interest rates than it is to do with a minor part of fiscal policy”.

On September 22 the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) raised rates by 0.5 percentage points to 2.25%, but the day before the Federal Reserve raised rates by 0.75 percentage points.

But economists insisted that the government’s decision to increase borrowing without any plan to balance the books was a major factor.

The cost of government borrowing increased on Wednesday while sterling fell against the euro and dollar in the latest signs of market turbulence.

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Despite More Attacks On Working From Home, Boris Johnson Is To Wind Down At Chequers

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Boris Johnson’s final fortnight in office will see the departing PM divide his time between No. 10 and his country retreat Chequers this week, after returning from a Greek holiday.

The prime minister’s increasingly relaxed approach to leadership – revealed on the day an economist predicted inflation could jump above 18% in the new year for the first time since 1976 – is in stark contrast to the comment made by one of his outriders a day earlier.

On Sunday, Brexit opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg hit out at the “rotten culture” of working from home as he claimed the number of staff in Whitehall was down five per cent last week against the previous week, despite his crackdown on the practice.

In comments reported by the Mail on Sunday, he added: “Even accounting for summer holidays, this is hopeless.”

The prime minister’s successor will be confirmed on September 5, when either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak emerges as the victor in the Tory leadership race, with the formal handover of power due to take place the following day.

Rees-Mogg was defending Truss for her widely criticised comments that British workers need to display “more graft”.

The loyalist minister said her remarks heard in a leaked audio recording were “sensible” as he hit out at what he called “confected political criticism” of the foreign secretary.

Truss, now the Tory leadership frontrunner, also attempted to explain the lower productivity seen outside London as being due to “a mindset and attitude thing”, in the comments from recent years.

Labour said Truss’s remarks made while she was a Treasury minister were “grossly offensive”, saying that she had effectively branded British workers “lazy”.

Last week, removal vans were pictured collecting Johnson’s possessions as he headed to Chequers with his wife Carrie and their two children.

Johnson’s last days will include restating support for Ukraine and highlighting measures to address the cost-of-living crisis, Downing Street said.

Ukraine’s independence day on Wednesday will be marked with a series of events, in a sign that the UK’s support will continue beyond the close link forged between Johnson and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“A large focus this week is on reiterating our support for Ukraine, and that is an unwavering commitment that we have to supporting Ukraine in the face of an illegal war,” a No. 10 spokesperson said.

“The government is also focused on supporting people with the cost of living and making sure that those who are eligible for the £37 billion of support that’s already available through our phased-in plan are availing themselves of it.”

But no more help is expected to be announced before the new prime minister takes office, with major policy decisions postponed until that point.

The prime minister visited the Security Service’s headquarters in London on Monday to pay tribute to the work done by MI5 in keeping the country safe.

Since standing down as Tory leader and effectively becoming a caretaker prime minister, Johnson has also gone on visits to a special forces base, flown in a Typhoon jet and met soldiers training Ukrainian counterparts.

With Ukraine and high inflation set to dominate his final days in office, No 10 denied that a war in Europe and a cost-of-living crisis were the main features of Johnson’s legacy.

The spokesperson said: “I would point you to his own words in the house where he has spoken more about the record of this government. That includes getting Brexit done and leaving the EU, leading the country through the greatest public health emergency in a generation, protecting lives and livelihoods.

“And that is alongside, yes, supporting Ukraine in the face of an illegal war and supporting people through the current cost-of-living challenges.”

The prime minister has been accused by critics of leading a “zombie government” with major decisions deferred until the new occupant takes over in No 10.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told reporters on Monday the government was doing “absolutely nothing” to resolve industrial disputes and help ease the cost-of-living crunch ahead of the announcement of the increased energy price cap on Friday.

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Jacob Rees-Mogg Clashes With Naga Munchetty Over Partygate ‘Non-Story’

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Jacob Rees-Mogg clashed with the BBC’s Naga Munchetty after she asked him about more than 100 fines being issued to Downing Street staff over partygate.

The cabinet minister insisted it was a “non-story” and that the public had now moved on from the scandal of lockdown-breaking parties in Number 10 and Whitehall.

He also took aim at the BBC, who he said had “loved” covering the story.

The Metropolitan Police announced yesterday that the number of fixed penalty notices they had issued over the affair had doubled to more than 100, with the investigation continuing.

Munchetty asked Rees-Mogg for his reaction to the news when he appeared on BBC Breakfast.

The BBC presenter asked Rees-Mogg whether the news that more than 100 Downing Street staff have now been fined for breaking lockdown rules “reflected well on this Conservative government”.

Rees-Mogg said: “I’m afraid I think this is a non-story. The BBC has absolutely loved it, but what is important is we get on with the business of government.”

Munchetty then interjected to ask: “Why do you think this is a non-story? Have you not heard people upset, genuinely devastated, that people in Downing Street thought it was OK to break the rules that they set while other people didn’t break the rules and missed out on meeting dying family members?”

Rees-Mogg replied: “I think people were upset. I think this was an important story in February when it first became known, and that there was great concern and there was a feeling of people who were bereaved particularly about it.

“I also think we need to look in the inquiry at the rules to see if they were proportionate.”

The minister said the rules were “too restrictive” because they prevented people from “giving comfort to the dying”.

Munchetty then asked: “Can I just understand your interpretation of where we are with the rules and why you think this is a non-story? So, the fact that more than 100 fines have been issued in a non-story because the rules that were set in the first place were too rigorous?”

The minister said: “What I’m saying is the fines are a consequence of things we knew in February and it was a story in February and people now know about it and have made their judgment on it and there are other things going on that are more important.”

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