Jacob Rees-Mogg’s claims about Theresa May came back to haunt him tonight after his boss Boris Johnson suffered even worse in a no confidence vote than she did.
When 37% of her MPs voted no confidence in 2018, Mr Rees-Mogg claimed it was “a terrible result” for her and “she ought to go and see the Queen urgently and resign.”
But today he said passing by just one vote would be “enough” for Boris Johnson. Hours later, 41% of Tory MPs voted against Mr Johnson - worse than the result for Mrs May.
He said today: “One is enough. That’s the rule in a democracy – if you win by one you win.”
The Brexit Opportunities Minister tonight admitted his comments in 2018 had been a “mistake”.
He told journalists: “Everybody told me when I said that I was both wrong and ungracious and I accepted the view of my friends - and indeed of some of my non friends too.
“The former chief whip said to me that it was the biggest mistake I made in my whole effort around Brexit.
"I reflected on it and realised it was a mistake and ungracious."
MPs tonight voted to have confidence in Boris Johnson by 211 votes to 148.
But well over half the 211 MPs were on the government payroll. At the time of Theresa May ’s no confidence vote, Brexiteers argued she had lost the non-payroll vote and therefore should go.
Speaking in 2018, Mr Rees-Mogg said: “It's a terrible result for the Prime Minister, it really is.”
He added: “Of course I accept this result.
“But the Prime Minister must realise that under all constitutional norms, she ought to go and see the Queen urgently and resign.”
Pressed on the matter during a Sky News interview today, he said: “One is enough, it’s no good saying that the rules of the party say something and then behind it unofficially, there is some other rule that nobody knows and is invented for the purpose.
“I obviously want the Prime Minister to get as big a majority as possible, I think that would be helpful and it would close this matter down between now and the next general election, which would be good for the country, good for the Conservative Party, but one is enough.”
Asked to be clear on whether this means he believes Mr Johnson would have a “clear mandate” to rule if he won by such a small majority, Mr Rees-Mogg said: “To be absolutely clear, the answer is yes.”
He said the Conservative Party wrote the rules for a “straight up and down vote”.
