Rees-mogg’s unlikely new role as podcast presenter

HE HAS been nicknamed the Honourable Member for the 18th century, and is known around Westminster for his archaic style of speech and dress.

But Jacob Rees-mogg, the Leader of the House of Commons, is stepping into 2020 with a new podcast to explain the parliamentary process, featuring interviews with political insiders and academics.

The show, which is officially named “Why Parliament Works” but has been dubbed the “Moggcast”, will explain the law-making process and shine a light on the inner workings of Parliament.

His first guest is Prof Vernon Bogdanor, a constitutional expert and David Cameron’s former politics tutor at Oxford University.

Mr Rees-mogg said he was pleased to launch a “diverting dose of democratic dilations for your deliberation and, dare I say it, delight”, with the first four episodes available today on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

He will be competing against the UK’S top podcasters, including shows by David Tennant, Josh Widdicombe and Louis Theroux.

Other guests include Natascha Engel, former backbench business committee chairman and former deputy speaker, Lord Norton of Louth, a politics academic, and Chloe Smith, minister for the constitution and devolution.

“Our parliamentary democracy only works when it delivers for voters, which is why it is so important that this Government is getting on with legislating to level up every part of the United Kingdom,” Mr Rees-mogg said.

The podcasts begin with the Leader of the House’s pronouncement that the British constitution is the “hobby of all sensible people”, and “the most interesting matter to discuss and be informed about”.

The podcast comes as Parliament returns for its autumn sitting tomorrow, with Boris Johnson facing his first Prime Minister’s Questions since July on Wednesday.