On Thursday, the Alfred Marshall Society was privileged to welcome The Rt. Hon. Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg to discuss his political career and reflect on his conservative principles during our first “An Audience with…” evening. Lower Sixth student Max C (who arranged the interview) assumed the role of chair for the event. Max posed thought-provoking questions that rigorously challenged Sir Jacob, reminiscent of Jeremy Paxman’s renowned interviewing style. Below, Max shares his reflections on the evening.
There was a real bubbling atmosphere about the school that afternoon, only made more evident by the fact that the lecture theatre was packed with an immense crowd. Starting off the interview felt like the beginning of a truly insightful journey into Sir Jacob’s life. We covered it all: winning his seat of North-East Somerset in 2010, his time as chairman of the European Research Group, through to his role as Business Secretary. Yet the interview began with a charming origin story, one of Garibaldi biscuits at Chequers as a small child.
Having had my fun with a quick detour to Sir Jacob’s use of Gen-Z slang in his reality TV series, Meet the Rees-Moggs, we opened the floor to questions. I was personally very pleased with the level of research that had clearly gone into the questions the audience asked. This prompted even more excellent discussion with Sir Jacob on a broad range of topics. It was fascinating to hear his thoughts on the future of the Conservative party in a time where Reform UK is ever-heightening in its popularity, Donald Trump and tariffs, the “Special Relationship” of the UK and USA, and even the privatisation of the railways.
I was delighted by the energy of the room and was immensely grateful for the opportunity to interview someone so close to the heart of British politics over the last decade and a half. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Martin and Mrs. Rochow for their hard work in helping with all the arrangements, and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg for finding the time to come in. It truly was, as Sir Jacob himself put it, ‘absolutely rizz’.”
The Alfred Marshall Society would once again like to extend its gratitude to Sir Jacob for taking the time to share his insights with the young men of Merchant Taylors’. We look forward to offering Taylors’ boys more audiences with leading economic and political commentators in the near future.
