Background

Leaving University, Jacob Rees-Mogg joined Rothschild Investment Management for two years, later moving to work as a Director at Lloyd George Management. In 2007, Rees-Mogg co-founded the pension fund, Somerset Asset Management, where he remained as the Director from 2007 until 2019.

Political Career

Since his election to the North East Somerset in the 2010 general, Rees-Mogg has served as the Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council from 2019-2022. More recently, Rees-Mogg was given the role of Minister of State for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency in 2022. Rees-Mogg had been a long-time Eurosceptic, becoming Chair of the European Research Group in 2018.

Views on portfolio

Rees-Mogg has become one of Westminster's most recognisable and controversial characters, due to his outspoken comments. Rees-Mogg, a hard-line Brexiteer was previously one of the Conservative Party's most rebellious MPs. However, in post his primary focus will be on economic growth pursued through de-regulation. He has long been a staunch free-marketeer, and will likely bring these views into BEIS with him. He is also likely to be focused on seizing Brexit opportunities through scrapping EU rules that he feels has held the competitiveness of the economy back. There has already been speculation that he may seek to scrap some EU-derived employment laws, although this would be politically contentious. His views on climate are on the sceptical side, and will be prioritising energy security and growth over the UK's net zero commitments.

 

The Rt Hon Jacob Rees-Mogg MP

Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Twitter