[Grem] *****SPAM(6.0)***** Jacob Rees-Mogg, British Conservative MP with a traditionalist Catholic conviction

[Emoke Greschik]

 What makes Jacob Rees-Mogg tick?
Francis Phillips <https://catholicherald.co.uk/author/francis-phillips/>
https://catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2019/11/15/what-makes-jacob-rees-mogg-tick/

Michael Ashcroft has written a shrewd yet sympathetic *portrait of an
intriguing politician *

Michael Ashcroft’s biography of *Jacob Rees-Mogg* (Biteback Publishing £20)
makes for interesting reading. Although described as “unauthorised”, it is
a shrewd yet sympathetic portrait of an intriguing politician, written by a
major Conservative Party philanthropist and author with a special interest
in courage (he is a collector of VC medals). Ashcroft gives two reasons for
his choice of subject-matter: *Rees-Mogg is a prominent Conservative MP and
“he is young enough to have a substantial future in politics.”*

Prominent, yes; but prime minister by the age of 70, which was Rees-Mogg’s
youthful ambition? I think not, though Ashcroft’s book concludes with an
open-ended question on this. Having read it, I still think his subject is
too unusual in his style and manner, too out of step with the modern demand
of being “woke”, which has inevitably affected the behaviour of almost all
public figures, to be a realistic candidate to lead the 21st century Tory
Party. But I also think Ashcroft is intrigued by the idea of courage: a
thread running through his book is that it takes courage to stand out
against popular attitudes towards morality and religion, as his subject
unfailingly does.

*A school-friend from Rees-Mogg’s Eton schooldays, in which he was noted
for his dress, mannerisms and independence of thought, commented that “It
took courage to be him” and the wife of Rees-Mogg’s housemaster made the
telling remark that he refused to be a victim “First he was derided, then
tolerated, then greatly respected.” This, to a large extent, has been true
of his parliamentary career. When your class enemy is always calm under
fire, invariably courteous but never giving an inch on fundamental
principles, you have to admire this consistency, confidence – and courage.*

Leaving aside his subject’s* clearly very happy marriage and family life,*
it is obvious from this book that *the most significant influence on
Rees-Mogg’s was his father, William Rees-Mogg, former editor of The Times,
with whom he had an exceptionally close relationship. Neither his mother
nor his wife are Catholics*; apart from anything else, *it was from his
father that he imbibed his strong religious faith – and his love of
Somerset, where the Mogg side of the family has roots going back to the
13th century.* Indeed, when, after two failed attempts to enter Parliament
Rees-Mogg won North East Somerset, he told his friend, MP Simon Hoare, whom
he has known since Oxford, “I’ve died and gone to heaven.” It is not an
affectation when he describes himself as “a man of Somerset.”

Hoare also states that his friend *hasn’t got “a snobbish bone in his body.
He will talk to anybody.” This will come as a surprise to those who jump to
conclusions based on Rees-Mogg’s refusal to modify his accent and his love
of double-breasted suits,* but it is borne out by Ashcroft’s account. At
his wedding reception, an attendee said he sat next to Rees-Mogg’s postman.
He *has also taken his nanny, a much-loved figure in the whole Rees-Mogg
family, to Glyndebourne – along with the Filipino maid he brought back to
work for him in the UK after a three-year stint working in Hong Kong*, and
whom it is said he taught to make bread-and-butter pudding while he lived
there.

*That Rees-Mogg is very rich and that he has been interested in making
money since boyhood, when his father would give him a £1 a week pocket
money in an annual sum so that he could invest it, is not in doubt. He also
has a weakness for chocolate, noticeable since his Eton and Oxford days
and, it has to be said, for the limelight. Even before reading this
biography I had noted its subject’s penchant for being ready and available
to address the media with aplomb outside Westminster during the febrile
final months of Theresa May’s premiership. He is a natural performer.*

Nonetheless, Ashcroft recognises that the key to his subject, which
underlies everything else –* his Tory principles, his wealth, his sartorial
sense, his characteristic foibles – is his Catholic faith*. In an almost
impossible feat, given the media’s hostility to those who *stick to
Christian teachings on marriage and the sanctity of life, **Rees-Mogg
manages to make his beliefs sound coherent, thoughtful and steadfast*. He
has said of his faith, “If you are doing something different, you need to
have a confidence that it is important.”* He is unrepentant about taking
his “whip from Rome” on moral matters.*

In this respect, I think one of the quotes singled out by Ashcroft explains
Rees-Mogg’s character. At an event in February 2019 organised by The
Spectator, he stated, “I greatly dislike the term “ordinary people” because*
there is no such thing as an “ordinary person”. Each person is special. And
if you are special in God’s eyes, you ought to be special to your elected
representatives – all the more so. That underpins everything I want to do
politically.”*

*To live out that kind of principled conduct, integrity and courtesy is
rare in a politician.* Like Ashcroft, I hope Rees-Mogg does have a
substantial future in politics.
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