Since 2010, British politician Jacob Rees-Mogg has represented the constituency of North East Somerset in the House of Commons.
But over the last couple of years, the conservative Member of Parliament has taken on an increasingly public profile. Today, he is boosted by a “Moggmentum” movement that seeks to propel him into higher office.
And he certainly seems to have momentum: In an early September poll on the popular Conservative Home blog, Mogg was the favored successor to current Prime Minister, Theresa May.
Still, as he rises in public appeal, Mogg is finding new enemies. The MP has, for example, received sharp criticism for a September 6th interview in which he stated “I’m completely opposed to abortion, life begins at the point of conception.” In response to another question, Mogg added that he opposes gay marriage. The 48-year-old explained that his Catholic faith shapes his views, but accepted British law, which allows abortions and gay marriage, won’t be changed.
For this crime of Catholic convictions, the left’s reaction was fierce.
Guardian columnist, Suzanne Moore declared, “He is a Catholic and this kind of fundamentalism is always anti-women, but for some reason we are to respect it. I don’t. It has no place in public life.” Another Guardian columnist, Zoe Williams, ruled on Catholic theology, asserting that Mogg “ain’t no Catholic, bruv.” At Elle magazine, Daisy Murray warned that Mogg’s “archaic views of gender roles that are out-of-step with modern society” pose a threat to women.
Ironically, however, these attacks only illustrate why Mogg is so popular. Many Britons might not support Mogg’s viewpoints or share his upper-class background, but they recognize the quality of a politician who is willing to speak honestly, even at risk of great controversy. In this sense, Mogg is a nicer and more eloquent Trump: someone who resists advancing liberal authoritarianism if favor of speaking his own mind.
Yet as a man born to wealth but also to a sense of civic duty, Mogg is also seen to represent the best of the British upper classes. Someone distant but also distinguished: a kind of British Kennedy. And in his extraordinary knowledge of British parliamentary tradition and history, Mogg has something of a Jeffersonian quality. His fervent dedication to the institutions of British democracy and jurisprudence are unparallelled, but accentuated by a modern touch. Mogg’s humor, for example, is on constant display. In 2012, Mogg used the longest ever word ever spoken in Parliament, and endorsing the House of Commons speaker in 2015, Mogg noted the Speaker’s “reputation for being a modernizer, this is a word I use with some caution… ”
Regardless, Mogg’s determined articulation of his views and his effort to politely debate opponents, like Labour M.P. Jess Phillips, are popular with the public.
Moreover, Mogg’s unwillingness to abandon his Catholic faith gives voice to the quiet British majority that opposes the Left’s desire to purge their views. Mogg’s supporters might not – and often do not – agree with Mogg on everything, but they support his political honesty. It says much about their own arrogance that left-wing columnists fail to realize they strengthen Mogg when they say, “for some reason we are to respect it. I don’t. It has no place in public life.”
Mogg’s popularity might not prove a growing popularity of Catholicism, but it does prove the popularity of democratic pluralism.
It also proves why the British left should be wary. As I noted following Theresa May’s electoral disaster in June, Mogg has a good shot at becoming Britain’s next Prime Minister.
