Who is Jacob Rees-Mogg? Tory MP and Leader of the House of Commons currently self-isolating

0
520

JACOB Rees-Mogg is a devout Catholic and Conservative MP for North East Somerset who has become something of a social media personality over the years.

But who is the real Mogg? Here’s the low-down on the Tory politician and Cabinet minister who is currently self-isolating after one of his six children showed symptoms of coronavirus.

Jacob Rees-Mogg is a devout Catholic and Conservative MP for North East Somerset

Who is Jacob Rees-Mogg?

Jacob Rees-Mogg, 51, is the Conservative MP for North East Somerset but is better known for his period drama persona which has been winning him fans.

The former fund manager sports an old-fashioned image and is a keen Brexiteer who has repeatedly pushed Parliament to respect historical traditions.

He entered Parliament during the 2010 General Election.

During the EU referendum, he was a passionate Brexiteer and made many high-profile media appearances arguing for a vote to leave the EU.

To say he was born into a privileged position is an understatement – he is the Eton and Oxford-educated son of the long-serving Times editor William Rees-Mogg.

Defending the queen, and Boris Johnson’s prorogation of Parliament, Rees-Mogg insisted the monarch was obliged to approve BoJo’s request.

The move came after over a million remainers signed a petition against the plans, and there were even calls for the monarchy to be abolished.

The Leader of the House of Commons said there was no precedent for the monarch to refuse a request from her Prime Minister.

During the 1997 General Election Rees-Mogg attracted ridicule after bringing his nanny along with him as he battled to be elected in the working class and staunchly Labour seat of Central Fife.

He was one of the 48 Conservative MPs who submitted a letter of no confidence, which triggered a leadership challenge on December 12, 2018, and ultimately failed to oust May.

On July 24, when Boris became Prime Minister Rees-Mogg was given his first Cabinet position.

He is leader of the House of Commons.

 
Jacob Rees-Mogg is a blast from the past
Jacob Rees-Mogg is a blast from the past

Who is Jacob Rees-Mogg’s wife? How many children do they have?

Outside the political arena, Jacob is a family man with six children, though he admits he has never changed a nappy.

His wife is journalist Helena de Chair, daughter of the aristocrat Somerset de Chair.

He celebrated the birth of his sixth child with a touching picture on Instagram in September 2017.

He wrote: “Helena and I announce with great joy that we have a baby Sixtus Dominic Boniface Christopher, a brother for Peter, Mary, Thomas, Anselm and Alfred.”

In May 2018 it was reported by The Mail on Sunday that he had purchased a new £5million house just around the corner from No10 Downing Street.

The five-storey mansion is just a short walk away from Parliament and is also close to Tory HQ in the heart of “Old Westminster”.

Rees-Mogg joked he had been priced out of swanky Mayfair and needed a bigger home for his six children.

Rees-Mogg named most of his six children after medieval saints

What are his children’s names?

Rees-Mogg named most of his children after medieval saints.

His youngest and sixth child is called Sixtus, which is a Roman name meaning “polished”.

It is also the name of a Pope and Saint.

His full name is Sixtus Dominic Boniface Christopher.

Mogg’s eldest child is Peter Theodore Alphege, who was born in 2007.

Jacob’s only daughter Mary Anne Charlotte Emma came along a year later followed by Thomas Wentworth Somerset Dunstan in 2010 and Anselm Charles Fitzwilliam in 2012.

His fifth child, Alfred Wulfric Leyson Pius, was born in February 2016.

Alfred was featured in a video as his father tried to teach him how to say Brexit.

In September 2018, a thug shouted at the children “your daddy’s a horrible person” outside their London home.

A month before that graffiti was sprayed “on a building and on a car” as well as the garden.

They managed to write “posh scum” on windows of the house.

The MP’s 17th Century country home, called Gournay Court, is a listed building.

He also owns a £5.6m house in Westminster.

Does Jacob Rees-Mogg have coronavirus?

The Cabinet minister is currently self-isolating after one of his children showed covid symptoms.

As a result, he was unable to deliver the country’s agenda from the House of Commons on September 10.

It is not known whether he has coronavirus.

He is awaiting the results from a test taken by one of his children.

He explained: “One of my children was tested for COVID-19 last weekend after displaying symptoms.

“In accordance with government guidance, the household has been in self-isolation while we await the test result.”

What are his Brexit demands?

Previously Mogg said he wanted a hard or “clean Brexit”, as he prefers to call it, and has been extremely critical of the government’s handling of the Brexit negotiations.

He was also said to be the leading figure involved in a vote of no confidence in Theresa May as party leader.

As head of the European Research Group (ERG), Mogg has been fundamental in trying to career the party towards the hardest possible Brexit.

Jacob Rees-Mogg relaxes on the front benches during the Standing Order 24 emergency debate on a no-deal Brexit in the House of Commons