Jacob Rees-Mogg

The Right Honourable
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg
Official portrait, 2022
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
In office
6 September 2022 – 25 October 2022
Prime MinisterLiz Truss
Preceded byKwasi Kwarteng
Succeeded byGrant Shapps
Minister of State for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency
In office
8 February 2022 – 6 September 2022
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byThe Lord Agnew of Oulton
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Leader of the House of Commons
Lord President of the Council
In office
24 July 2019 – 8 February 2022
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byMel Stride
Succeeded byMark Spencer
Chair of the European Research Group
In office
9 January 2018 – 3 September 2019
Deputy
Preceded bySuella Braverman
Succeeded bySteve Baker
Member of Parliament
for North East Somerset
In office
6 May 2010 – 30 May 2024[1]
Preceded byDan Norris (Wansdyke[a])
Succeeded byDan Norris (North East Somerset and Hanham[b])
Personal details
Born
Jacob William Rees-Mogg

(1969-05-24) 24 May 1969 (age 55)
London, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Helena de Chair
​
(m. 2007)​
Children6
RelativesThe Lord Rees-Mogg (father)
Annunziata Rees-Mogg (sister)
Education
Signature
Websitejacobreesmogg.com

Sir Jacob William Rees-Mogg (/riːsˈmɒɡ/ ⓘ reess-MOG; born 24 May 1969) is a British politician, broadcaster and member of the Conservative Party who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Somerset from 2010 to 2024. He served as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council from 2019 to 2022, Minister of State for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency from February to September 2022 and Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from September to October 2022. Rees-Mogg previously chaired the eurosceptic European Research Group (ERG) from 2018 to 2019 and has been associated with socially conservative views.

Rees-Mogg was born in Hammersmith, London. He was educated at Westminster Under School, Eton College and the University of Oxford where he studied history as an undergraduate student of Trinity College, Oxford, and served as president of Oxford University Conservative Association. He went on to work in the City of London and in Hong Kong for Lloyd George Management until 2007, when he co-founded the hedge fund management business Somerset Capital Management LLP.[7][8] He amassed a significant fortune, estimated in 2016 at between £55 million and £150 million, including his wife's expected inheritance.[9][10] Rees-Mogg unsuccessfully contested the 1997 and 2001 general elections before being elected as the MP for North East Somerset in 2010.[11] He was reelected in 2015 and 2017, with an increased share of the vote each time, as well as in 2019, with a smaller share of the vote. Within the Conservative Party, he has joined the traditionalist and socially conservative Cornerstone Group.

During the premiership of David Cameron, Rees-Mogg was one of the Conservative Party's most rebellious MPs, opposing the whips on a number of issues. He became known for filibustering.[12] A Eurosceptic, he proposed an electoral pact between the Conservatives and the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and campaigned for the UK to leave the European Union in the 2016 referendum.[13] A member of the European Research Group (ERG), Rees-Mogg was elected its chairman in 2018.[14] He attracted support for his opposition to the Chequers Agreement and Prime Minister Theresa May's proposed Brexit withdrawal agreement. He was promoted as a potential successor to May as Leader of the Conservative Party; he instead endorsed Boris Johnson in the 2019 leadership contest.[15] Following Johnson's election as Conservative Leader and appointment as Prime Minister he appointed Rees-Mogg Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council. In February 2022, Rees-Mogg was moved by Johnson to the role of Minister of State for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency.[16] After Johnson resigned in July 2022, Rees-Mogg supported Liz Truss's bid to become Conservative leader. Following Truss's appointment as prime minister, she appointed Rees-Mogg as Business Secretary. He resigned as Business Secretary shortly after Truss left office on 25 October 2022. He was defeated at the 2024 general election, losing to the Labour Party's candidate, Dan Norris.

Rees-Mogg has been described as a conviction politician with anachronistic attitudes.[17][18][19] Critics view him as a reactionary figure; his traditionalist attitudes have been characterised as obscuring controversial political views,[20][21][22][23] some of which have made him the target of organised protests. His anachronistic style led to Rees-Mogg being dubbed the "Honourable Member for the 18th century".[24] Since early 2023, Rees-Mogg has been a host and presenter for GB News.

  1. ^ "Dissolution of Parliament - UK Parliament". UK Parliament. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  2. ^ Fifth Periodical Report, Volume I: Report, Cm 7032-i (PDF). London: The Stationery Office. 2007. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-10-170322-2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  3. ^ "West: New Constituency Boundaries". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 19 February 2007.
  4. ^ Waller, Robert; Criddle, Byron (2007). The Almanac of British Politics (8th ed.). London: Routledge. p. 971. ISBN 978-0-415-37823-9.
  5. ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – South West | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  6. ^ "South West: New Constituency Boundaries 2023". Electoral Calculus. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  7. ^ "Rees-Mogg set for £1m golden goodbye as he bows out of boutique". citywire.co.uk. 9 August 2019. Archived from the original on 22 November 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  8. ^ "MP Jacob Rees-Mogg under fire for not declaring financial interests". The Week In (East Bristol and North East Somerset). Keynsham & Saltford Times Ltd. 15 December 2014. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018. Since becoming an MP, Jacob Rees-Mogg has earned more than £500,000 from a second job at Somerset Capital Management, a hedge-fund that he co-founded. Despite its name, Somerset Capital Management has nothing to do with Somerset, but it is in fact a London-based hedge fund that invests in overseas companies, including substantial interests in tobacco, oil and coal mining companies [quoting Labour Party candidate Todd Foreman]
  9. ^ Oldroyd-Bolt, David (3 November 2016). "The many, many millions of Mogg". Spectator Life. London. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  10. ^ Bennett, Clare (22 January 2018). "Inside Jacob Rees-Mogg". Tatler. London. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  11. ^ Turner, David (23 December 2015). "Somerset Capital Management Holds Fast in Emerging Markets". Institutional Investor. Archived from the original on 12 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018. ... Rees-Mogg remains a partner [in Somerset Capital Management LLP] but took a nonexecutive role after becoming a Conservative member of Parliament in 2010
  12. ^ Coburn, Jo (10 July 2012). "Filibustering: How politicians 'talk out' legislation". Archived 4 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine Daily Politics. BBC.
  13. ^ "Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg calls for Conservative/UKIP pact". BBC News. 5 May 2013. Archived from the original on 14 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  14. ^ Mason, Rowena (16 January 2018). "Jacob Rees-Mogg to lead influential group of Tory Eurosceptic MPs". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 August 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  15. ^ "Jacob Rees-Mogg is favourite to become next Conservative leader". iNews. 2 February 2018. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  16. ^ "Rees-Mogg made Brexit opportunities minister as PM starts reshuffle". BBC News. 8 February 2022. Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  17. ^ Elliot, Francis (3 July 2018). "Jacob Rees-Mogg 'seeks PR firms to bolster Tory leadership hopes'". The Times. Archived from the original on 23 July 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  18. ^ Fletcher, Martin (20 February 2018). "The polite extremist: Jacob Rees-Mogg's seemingly unstoppable rise". The New Statesman. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  19. ^ Segalov, Michael (20 July 2017). "Why Jacob Rees-Mogg for Tory leader is no laughing matter – Michael Segalov". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 July 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  20. ^ McGurk, Stuart (2 May 2018). "Could Jacob Rees-Mogg get any worse?". British GQ. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  21. ^ "The polite extremist: Jacob Rees-Mogg's seemingly unstoppable rise". New Statesman. 20 February 2018. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  22. ^ "Jacob Rees-Mogg isn't old-fashioned, he's a thoroughly modern bigot | Suzanne Moore". the Guardian. 6 September 2017. Archived from the original on 4 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  23. ^ "Jacob Rees-Mogg, pinstriped populist". The Economist. 1 February 2018. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  24. ^ Lusher, Adam (13 August 2017). "Saviour of the Tory party or 'reactionary poison'? Will Jacob Rees-Mogg run for Tory leader, and what would he do as PM?". Independent. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.


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