Jacob Rees-Mogg Takes On Anna Soubry For Spot On Key Brexit Committee

It's the Moggster v Soubs
PA

Leading Remainer Anna Soubry and arch-Leaver Jacob Rees-Mogg are competing for places on a parliament committee set up to scrutinise Brexit.

The two MPs are among 14 Tories vying for seats on the Exiting the EU Committee, chaired by Labour’s Hilary Benn.

There are only 10 spaces available, meaning high profile MPs such as former Cabinet Minister John Whittingdale or Brexit campaigner Peter Bone could miss out.

Tory backbenchers will vote on which of their colleagues are granted the slots on Tuesday afternoon - with ministers and whips barred from taking part in the election in any way.

Enthusiastic backing of either Remain or Leave campaigners will provide an indication of the mood of the Government’s backbenchers as it heads into crucial votes on the EU Withdrawal Bill beginning on Thursday.

The full list of contenders – revealed by Brexit Central – is:

  • Peter Bone

  • Chris Chope

  • Simon Clarke

  • Stephen Crabb

  • Jonathan Djanogly

  • Vicky Ford

  • Richard Graham

  • Gordon Henderson

  • Andrea Jenkyns*

  • Jeremy Lefroy*

  • Craig Mackinlay*

  • Jacob Rees-Mogg

  • Anna Soubry

  • John Whittingdale*

Those marked with an * were on the committee before Parliament was dissolved for the June election.

New members are needed as previous members Michael Gove, Dominic Raab and Alistair Burt are now in the Government, Peter Lilley stood down and Karl McCartney lost his seat.

Since last year’s referendum, Soubry has emerged as one of the most vocal anti-Brexit critics in the Tory party.

She even suggested she could quit the Conservatives if it pursued a Hard Brexit agenda of leaving the EU without a trade deal.

Soubry told HuffPost UK: “It’s important the Conservative MPs on this very important Select Committee represent the various views in the party on Brexit.”

Rees-Mogg is standing after failing to be elected chair of the Treasury Select Committee – losing out to former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan.

The North East Somerset MP has acquired a cult status among some Westminster watchers, and his enthusiastic support for Brexit has lead to suggestions he may be promoted into a ministerial position during a reshuffle.

Another committee which will leave a number of Tory MPs disappointed is Foreign Affairs, where there are 12 candidates vying for just 4 places.

One of those is Crispin Blunt, a former committee chair who lost the position to fellow Tory MP Tom Tugendhat before the summer.

Whereas committee members are chosen by their respective parties, committee chairs are elected by MPs from across the Commons.

The full list of Foreign Affairs contenders is:

  • Crispin Blunt*

  • John Baron*

  • Nusrat Ghani

  • Adam Holloway*

  • Daniel Kawczynski*

  • Ian Liddell-Grainger

  • Andrew Rosindell*

  • Douglas Ross

  • Bob Seeley

  • Henry Smith

  • Royston Smith

  • Nadhim Zahawi*

Close

What's Hot