The former Brexit opportunities minister has been slammed for comments he made on his GB News show about colonialism.
Jacob Rees-Mogg has never held back in mocking the civil service. In April 2022, he was called ‘condescending’ for leaving notes deemed to be passive-aggressive on the desks of civil servants in a bid to stop them from working remotely. Earlier this year, he was slammed for an ‘appalling’ comment about striking civil servants, saying: “If they are not in the office will anyone notice?”
Following a report published this week that shows the civil service has grown by almost a quarter in recent years, the biggest increase in half a century, the outspoken Tory MP shared yet more contempt for civil servants.
In a ‘Jacob’s Moggologue’ on the increase in civil service staff and salaries on his GB News show, Rees-Mogg attempted to argue that the growth of the civil service has not created more efficiency, and that the British Empire ruled over ‘413m people across the world about a quarter of the world’s population and we did it rather efficiently. Now there are more than 17,000 people in the Foreign Office but with no empire to show for it. And this is part of a wider problem,’ he said.
The opinionated Brexiteer went on to say: “If we could rule a quarter of the world’s population with 175 Foreign Office staff there is no reason we cannot run our island nation today with 40,000 civil servants.”
The comments were immediately leapt on online, with people sharing their disbelief and highlighting the inaccuracies. Otto English tweeted: “A complete myth and Jacob Rees-Mogg should be embarrassed that he’s spreading fake history.
“The actual figure (in the UK) was at least 40,000 civil servants at the turn of the 19th/20th century. But that does not include civil servants in the Empire. Total closer to 120,000.
“Jacob Rees-Mogg spouts uninformed drivel in his hugely affected accent and gullible people lap it up. A dumbass’s idea of what an intellectual is,” he added.
“If you spout nonsense with a posh accent, you can get away with anything it seems,” wrote LBC presenter Sangita Myska.
To which someone replied: “I’d love someone to put all the nonsense he comes out with in a working class voice so people can hear the content rather than the accent.”
Darshan Sanghrajka tweeted: “He might want to crack open his HR manual and add slavery, brutal violence, and pillaging as vital skills.
“It’s frightening that we let a Victorian ghost have so much say in this country.”
Following Rees-Mogg’s comments, a National Archives blog was widely circulated online, showing that the MP was incorrect in his assertion. The document notes how the UK civil service had 8000 staff in the early 19th century, excluding clerical and administrative staff, but in 1854 the number stood a 16k. This excludes ‘000s more in the Colonial Service overseas who were all regarded as civil servants.’
Jacob Rees-Mogg was not the only right-wing source to share contempt over Britain’s growing civil service. The Daily Mail predictably published a piece this week, headlined:
“The Whitehall blob grows! The number of civil servants has risen by 100,000 since 2016 with taxpayers footing a £17 bill for salaries.’
Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead is a contributing editor to Left Foot Forward
Image credit: YouTube screen grab
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