JACOB Rees-Mogg has resigned as business secretary after conceding he would not get a job in Rishi Sunak’s Cabinet.
It came less than an hour after he appeared in the House of Commons for the last time as minister for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
A source close to Rees-Mogg said: “He knows he was very close to the previous two regimes and it didn’t seem likely he was going to be appointed in the new Cabinet.
“He’s happy to support the Prime Minister from the backbenches.”
READ MORE: Jacob Rees-Mogg mocks 'general grumpiness' of SNP after energy bill plan grilling
The Johnson loyalist was the first Cabinet minister to announce his resignation.
Shortly after, Brandon Lewis resigned as justice secretary, declaring his full support to the new Prime Minister.
An honour to have been one of the longest serving Cabinet ministers - having done eight ministerial roles, in five departments, under four Prime Ministers.
— Brandon Lewis (@BrandonLewis) October 25, 2022
The new PM will have my support from the back benches to tackle the many challenges we face - as a Party and as a country. pic.twitter.com/ulZjpcHkWk
He tweeted: "An honour to have been one of the longest serving Cabinet ministers - having done eight ministerial roles, in five departments, under four Prime Ministers.
"The new PM will have my support from the back benches to tackle the many challenges we face - as a Party and as a country."
In his letter, Lewis told the Prime Minister: “Our party is at a crossroads. We now have an opportunity to reunite and rebuild, and we must take it.
"We must come together and deliver the mandate we were given by the British people.
“We have a duty to the country to do so, at a time of economic hardship for so many. It is no exaggeration to say that the future of the Conservative Party and everything we stand for is at stake if we do not.
“You will have my support from the backbenches in addressing the economic crisis we face, bringing our party together and delivering on the promises we put forward in the 2019 manifesto, on which we won such an overwhelming majority.”
Following Lewis's resignation, Wendy Morton revealed that she is no longer chief whip.
She tweeted: “Heading to the back benches from where I will continue to represent the constituents, businesses and communities of Aldridge-Brownhills.”
It comes almost a week after Ms Morton’s status as chief whip was in the balance amid speculation she had resigned over the fracking vote in the Commons last Wednesday, only for Downing Street to insist she remained in the post hours later.
Sunak is expected to launch a Cabinet reshuffle this afternoon.
'Boris or bust'
Rees-Mogg, MP for North East Somerset, was a vocal supporter of Boris Johnson, becoming one of the first members of the Liz Truss government to back him in the Tory leadership contest.
Just days ago, the politician tweeted that he was "Boris or bust".
READ MORE: Jacob Rees-Mogg accuses BBC of bias over 'speculative' reporting on mini-Budget
During the last Tory leadership contest, Rees-Mogg described Sunak as the “much-lamented socialist chancellor” who had put up taxes during the coronavirus pandemic.
And he accused Sunak of “disloyalty” to Johnson, with many Conservatives blaming the new leader for bringing down the old one by resigning as chancellor.
He was also an avid supporter of Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-Budget, which announced unfunded tax cuts and led to economic turmoil and eventually the resignation of Truss.
He has been criticised by opposition parties for his Conservative views on social issues as well as his comments on Scotland and devolution.
'There is no border between Scotland and England'
In 2020, Rees-Mogg repeated Johnson's claim that there is no border between Scotland and England – insisting that the UK is “one country”.
He said: “There are no internal borders within the United Kingdom. It is one country, I am glad to say. And the fact there are – there is a difference between borders and between districts and areas."
He continued: “[Nicola] Sturgeon wishes to build a wall. Unfortunately, Mrs Sturgeon’s policy isn’t fictional. Many of us with that it were, and the separatists were a bit more fictional but they’re not, they’re here and they bang on about it constantly. But we are still one country and Scotland benefits enormously from being part of the United Kingdom.”
The First Minister later labelled the suggestions that there is no Scottish Border as "absurd".
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel