Jacob Rees-Mogg opens up on his surprising favourite Prime Minister who many argue 'isn't a true Tory'

Jacob Rees-Mogg opens up on his surprising favourite Prime Minister who many argue 'isn't a true Tory'
JRM reveals his favourite Tory Prime Minister…and it’s not who you think
GB News
Gabrielle Wilde

By Gabrielle Wilde


Published: 06/08/2024

- 12:33

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg sat down with Steven Edgington for an exclusive interview and revealed his favourite Prime Minister

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg has revealed his favourite Prime Minister and the answer may surprise you.

In an exclusive interview with Steve Edgington on GB News, the former MP was asked to select his favourite, but told that he could not choose Margaret Thatcher or Winston Churchill as they are "everyone's favourite."


The former Tory minister said: "I wasn't going to say either of those, actually. I was probably going to say William Pitt the Younger.

"Some people argue whether or not he was a Tory. I think you can say he's a Tory.

Jacob Rees-Mogg

Jacob Rees-Mogg spoke to Steven Edginton

GB News

"He saved the country from Napoleon, and he understood the evil of the French Revolution and managed to ensure that the United Kingdom, as it became during his period as Prime Minister, was able to fight and win the Napoleonic Wars.

"This is fundamental it created 100 years of peace in Europe. It was really important. His prime ministership is of great significance.

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"Next I would say Benjamin Disraeli because he understood the need for popular conservatism.

"He was the first Popcon, he saw how Conservatives should both embrace the extension of the franchise and appeal to the franchise, and he worked out how to do that."

In the exclusive interview, Rees-Mogg also hit out at Enoch Powell’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech, branding it “terrible” and “incendiary”.

The speech was made by the Tory MP in 1968, criticising significant Commonwealth immigration to the United Kingdom.

Parliament

The former Tory minister gave a surprising answer

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Jacob branded the speech “incendiary” and claimed it caused great harm to the overall cause.

He said: “It made talking about immigration incredibly difficult for decades. It’s a blot on his career of an ineradicable kind.

“Its tone was excessively angry. It said things of debatable accuracy.

Jacob Rees-Mogg

Jacob branded the Enoch Powell’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech “incendiary”

GB News

"Where was the evidence of dog mess being put through people’s letter boxes?

“It was absolutely intended to be incendiary. I think, what Powell achieved, was the exact opposite of what he was aiming to do.

“People could not talk politely about immigration because of the Rivers of Blood speech.”

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