‘He’s a travelling salesman for independence’

PLAID HITS BACK AT REES-MOGG AFTER LEADER OF HoC SAYS HE DIDN’T FIND ANY APPETITE IN WALES TO BREAK AWAY

SENIOR MP Jacob Rees-Mogg denied detecting any appetite for Welsh independence while on a visit to North Wales.

Mr Rees-Mogg, who is Leader of the House of Commons, also praised the entrepreneurial spirit of North Wales as he visited Gareth Wyn Jones’s farm in Llanfairfechan, Aber Falls whisky and gin distillery in Abergwyngregyn, and Zip World in Bethesda (pictured).

But one local MP described him as an “Etonian multi-millionaire hedge fund investor” and said he “couldn’t be more out of touch with the people of North Wales if he tried”.

At the Aber Falls distillery, Mr ReesMogg described their new Inaugural Release whisky as “quite creamy and very smooth”, and likened himself to a contestant in the Generation Game as he tried to catch some whisky from a cask in a glass

Mr Rees-Mogg told our sister paper the Daily Post: “What’s been wonderful about what I’ve been doing today is the entrepreneurial spirit.

“What the Government can do is create the circumstances where business can do business, but it requires entrepreneurs to think up ideas.

“The investment in a whisky distillery is huge because you can’t sell anything for three years and a day (during the distilling process). So very cleverly they’ve done gin and flavoured gins beforehand to try and provide some cash flow (at Aber Falls).”

Speaking about Mr Jones and his farm, Mr Rees-Mogg said: “I come from a farming area. I’ve always known how hard farmers work, but it’s worth being reminded of it.

“Gareth was up at 4.30 this morning. At 4.30 this morning I’d have looked at my alarm clock and rolled over and gone back to sleep. What Gareth is doing is to continue to farm very effectively, but also bringing tourists in to enjoy the countryside, to understand the experience of farming but also to bring money into the community.”

On independence, Mr Rees-Mogg said: “From visits I’ve been doing so far, there’s been nobody banging that particular drum. During the pandemic the balance sheet of the UK meant we could spend £407 billion across the whole of the UK (in Covid support) to protect jobs and businesses and ensure businesses could revive once restrictions were lifted. No component part of the UK could have done that on its own. And the vaccine was a UK wide project.

“Since we left the EU, people are seeing how important it is to all of us (to have a united UK) whilst respecting we all have our differences.”

Plaid Cymru, however, criticised Mr Rees-Mogg for talking up the union.

Liz Saville Roberts MP said: “Etonian multi-millionaire hedge fund investor Jacob Rees-Mogg couldn’t be more out of touch with the people of North Wales if he tried. He will never understand the struggles many people here face everyday thanks to his government’s disastrous policies. The staff shortage crisis is only the tip of the iceberg.”

Ms Saville Roberts, Plaid’s Leader in Westminster and MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, added: “I hope Mr Rees-Mogg visits us again soon – he is doing a sterling job of reminding people how Westminster fails the communities of Wales.

“He’s a travelling salesman for independence. Thank you, Jacob.”