Jacob Rees-Mogg is thinking about throwing his hat into the ring for the position of Prime Minister, say reports. The Brexit Opportunities Minister has been an outspoken supporter of current PM Boris Johnson, who is standing down following a series of controversies.
Mr Rees-Mogg, MP for North East Somerset, is a right-wing Eurosceptic who would see himself as the 'continuity Boris' candidate for the role of Tory leader. Sources say he has spoken to a number of Tory MPs on Monday morning to ask if he should put his name forward, reports The Telegraph.
He has previously served the government as Leader of the House of Commons, and was the chair of the influential pro-Brexit European Research Group.
Yesterday Mr Rees-Mogg suggested people will “think an election is necessary” after the Tory Party changes leader.
Put to him that he previously said a new prime minister should seek a fresh mandate from the electorate, and asked if this was still his view, he told The Andrew Neil Show on Channel 4: “I think that if you look at what has happened previously, many of the candidates will promise people that they will not call an election.
“And if the polls are favourable in a few months’ time, I think it is highly probable that they would go for one.”
Mr Rees-Mogg added: “I think our constitution has been evolving, which is what I said, to a point where a prime minister needs a mandate. And it can be very risky for a prime minister not to have that.”
Pressed on whether he thinks there should be an election, he said: “I think constitutionally we have evolved in a way where people think that an election will be necessary. Whether the prime minister will call one is another matter.”
Mr Rees-Mogg told the Commons in January: “If we are looking at how the constitution has evolved, it is clear that a prime minister has a personal mandate, much more than a party mandate, that that mandate is one that comes from voters who would expect to renew it in the event of a change of prime minister.”
