BILL TO CHOOSE COMMONS LEADER WOULD SEND JACOB TO BONE YARD

JACOB Rees-Mogg faces a challenge to his role next week.

A Private Member’s Bill to be debated on Friday proposes a change to parliamentary rules that would make the leader of the House of Commons elected by all MPs rather than appointed by the Prime Minister.

Members on both sides of the House would vote for an MP from the governing party to take on the Cabinet role under the proposal.

Tory backbencher Peter Bone, who has tabled the Bill, said: “We have a problem at the moment where the leader of the House is appointed by the Prime Minister, though they are supposed to represent the interests of the House,” theWellingborough MP told me.

“If the leader was elected by the whole of the House of Commons, they could tell the Prime Minister with great gusto when they are planning to do something stupid.”

Mr Bone argues that an elected Commons leader would have alerted Boris Johnson about the dangers of his botched attempt to overhaul standards rules. “The whole episode of what happened with Owen Paterson would have come out differently if we had a leader of the House who was looking after the House.

“They would have said to the Government, this is House business, this is nothing to do with you, so butt out,” Mr Bone said.

He insists his proposed change is not aimed at Mr Rees-Mogg personally.

“Jacob has been one of the better leaders of the House.We’ve had some dreadful ones placed there in the past,” Mr Bone added.

The MP admits his Bill is certain to fail because of Government opposition to his idea.

But after the past few weeks, ministers might feel that anything that puts Downing Street more in touch with Commons opinion is worth considering.