Jacob rees-mogg

There are many ways to dampen down speculation surrounding one’s leadership ambitions. However, writing an article headlined ‘I do not plan to be PM, but here is how the Tories could lead better’ isn’t one of them. This is what Jacob Rees-Mogg did this morning for the Telegraph, thereby pouring petrol on reports over the weekend that he is ‘sounding out’ friends and considering throwing his hat into the ring to be the next leader. While one Tory MP, Heidi Allen, has already broken rank to say she would leave the party if Rees-Mogg were to become leader, many activists will hope the reports prove to be true. The Moggster

The furore surrounding the Brexit divorce bill is hotting up. The weekend’s papers saw speculation that Britain would cough up £36bn as part of a settlement package for its departure from the EU. Nonsense, says Downing Street, with the Prime Minister’s spokesman saying this morning: ‘I don’t recognise the figure’. It’s not only the government hitting back; Tory eurosceptics are also turning up the volume. Yet while the government is eager to talk down the size of the bill, the criticism coming from the backbenches is less nuanced. Instead of quibbling over the amount, the likes of Jacob Rees-Mogg and John Redwood dismiss the bill out of hand. Rees-Mogg wrote on

When the Conservatives aren’t busy plotting against one another over a warm glass of prosecco, they are taking the struggle public in the select committee chairmanship elections. While young MPs Johnny Mercer and Tom Tugendhat attempt to usurp the older generation in the defence and foreign select committees, the two frontrunners for chair of the Treasury select committee are Jacob Rees Mogg and Nicky Morgan. Although it’s been perceived as a battle of Brexit vs Remain (with pro-Remainers expected to collude in order to stop a Leave campaigner taking the plum role), Mr S thinks it would be wrong to write Rees-Mogg off just yet. According to the Brexiteer’s nomination papers, he

For Mark Carney to have returned to-Canada after five years as Governor, as he originally planned, rather than serving until 2021, might by now have looked like a win for his critics — so adding an extra year, up to the end of Brexit talks in 2019, is a sidestep worthy of Strictly. Meanwhile, I was delighted to find ‘Might it be worth a flutter on Governor Rees-Mogg?’, the punchline of my last item on this subject (22 October), bouncing around the global media. Bloomberg reported ‘serious political magazines’ speculating that backbench Tory MP and Carney critic Jacob Rees-Mogg might be the Canadian’s replacement; the Daily Mail cited-Bloomberg likewise; and

Will Mark Carney go or stay? On appointment in 2013, he indicated he would leave the Bank of England and return to Canada in 2018 (‘We’ll be back in five,’ his wife tweeted), but he has an option to stay a further three years. Theresa May’s criticism of QE in her conference speech was interpreted as an attack, but she and Philip Hammond have subsequently been described as ‘supportive’. Admirers say continuity would be a good thing through the pre-Brexit period, especially if inflation picks up, while detractors such as Nigel Lawson (‘He’s behaved disgracefully’) long to see the back of him. But there’s no big vacancy for him to

Theresa May hasn’t been Prime Minister for 100 days yet but already she’s achieved what few other Tory leaders before her have done: get her eurosceptic backbenchers on board. In doing this, May will have made the likes of David Cameron green with envy. So how did she succeed in this task? It seems her speech on Sunday lived up to the high expectations of the Brexiteers and managed to warm even the stoniest of hearts among the traditional Tory troublemakers. In return, they’ve spent this year’s conference determined to sing the joys of May. That show of support was on display last night from two of the biggest names

Vladimir Putin’s name has popped up again in the Brexit debate. This time, however, it wasn’t the Prime Minister suggesting that the Russian president would favour Britain leaving the EU, but the Defence Secretary. Michael Fallon said Putin would ‘Vote Leave’ and he also told a Commons select committee that ‘there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that a British exit from the European Union would be applauded in Moscow’. He added that it would be a ‘payday for Putin’: Michael Fallon went on to say that being in the EU ensured that Russia had ‘paid the price’ for its intervention in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister gave a

David Cameron has been defending himself in the Commons following the publication of his tax return. He said he found some of the comments about his father ‘deeply hurtful’. He also held his hands up for not responding to criticism sooner following last week’s Panama papers controversy: One of the more personal jibes thrown at him in the chamber came from Dennis Skinner, who branded the PM ‘dodgy Dave’ in a remark which got him booted out of the Commons: Jeremy Corbyn was more measured in his response to David Cameron, but he still used the debate to say there was ‘one rule for the super-rich and another for the

Under Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour party has been rather quiet when it comes to fighting for Britain to remain in the EU. Happily, Chris Bryant got the chance to put the pro-EU argument forward at last night’s Great Brexit debate, organised by the University of London Brexit Society. Sitting on a panel alongside SNP MP Stephen Gethins, Bryant did his best to convince the pro-Brexit speakers — who included Jacob Rees Mogg and Peter Lilley — and audience members why they ought to reconsider their position. To highlight the ‘confusion’ surrounding the referendum, Bryant kicked things off with an anecdote about a former Labour leader who has gone out of fashion of late. ‘I’m going to

Ruth Davidson has been previously tipped as a front-runner in the Tory leadership race. The Scottish Conservative leader has proved popular with both the public and her own party, with the Tory MP Heidi Allen even naming Davidson as her preferred choice for leader in an interview last year. Alas, those hoping that Davidson has what it takes to stop George Osborne’s leadership ambitions becoming a reality, will need to have a strong word with the woman of the moment. Speaking on Daily Politics, Davidson ruled herself out of the race. She said that she has ‘no interest in the job’ — pointing to the fact that she isn’t even an MP: Laughing,

Haven’t had a chance to follow the day’s political events and interviews? Then don’t worry: here, The Spectator, brings you the best of today’s audio clips in one place for you to listen to. David Cameron did his best to try and talk up the draft EU package he negotiated with Donald Tusk as he gave a statement to the Commons: Jeremy Corbyn took him to task for not being in Parliament yesterday, sarcastically saying he hoped the PM had a ‘good time in Chippenham’ instead: John Mann gave the most stinging response to the EU draft document, asking the PM: ‘Is that it?’ David Cameron is likely to be