Taking on Theresa May? Jacob Rees-Mogg is on the hunt for PR firms to boost his Tory leadership ambitions
Friends of Jacob Rees-Mogg are turning to PR firms as the backbencher looks to turn support into votes as a future leader of the Conservative party.
The North East Somerset MP rode on a tide of grassroots support last year, dubbed Moggmentum, thanks to his traditional approach, eloquence and charm, and his trenchant views on Brexit.
However his less progressive views on social matters such as abortion, and his involvement in a company with Russian investments, have thrown him off course somewhat, with Cabinet colleagues including home secretary Sajid Javid, environment secretary Michael Gove and health secretary Jeremy Hunt increasingly viewed as more viable candidates for replacing Theresa May in an inevitable leadership contest.
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The Times reports that Rees-Mogg’s allies interviewed PR firms earlier this year, with sources saying the purpose was to create a vehicle that could serve as a leadership campaign in the event of a contest for the Tory crown.
In an effort to boost his profile, Rees-Mogg announced at the weekend that he had joined Snapchat, the social media app popular with young people that deletes messages shortly after they are sent. He already has 147,000 followers on Twitter.
A source familiar with the situation said: “They were asked to explain how, if Jacob was speaking at a university, they would go about maximising the publicity and harvesting the greatest number of supporters who could later be converted into voting Tory members.”
It comes after three ministers accused Rees-Mogg of “insolence” and told him to “pipe down” after making another veiled threat against the Prime Minister over Brexit.
In a column for the Daily Telegraph he wrote: “Theresa May must stand firm for what she herself has promised. One former Tory leader, Sir Robert Peel, did decide to break his manifesto pledge and passed legislation with the majority of his party voting the other way . . . This left the Conservatives out of office for 28 years.
“At least he did so for a policy that worked. At Chequers the prime minister must stick to her righteous cause and deliver what she has said she would, she must use her undoubted grace to persevere.”
Business minister Richard Harrington and two foreign office ministers – Sir Alan Duncan and Alistair Burt – all rounded on him for his comments. Veteran MP Nicholas Soames also waded in with a characteristically long hashtag: “#letthePMdoherjobwithoutthisconstantcarpingputasockinit”
However Rees-Mogg was backed by foreign secretary Boris Johnson, as well as Brexit minister Steve Baker.
Read more: Deliver Brexit as promised or risk revolt, Rees-Mogg warns