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Tory MP and father of six Jacob Rees-Mogg says he has never changed a nappy

Backbencher admits he is 'not a modern man'

Benjamin Kentish
Saturday 22 July 2017 16:45 BST
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Jacob Rees-Mogg said it would "vanity" to think he could be next Conservative leader
Jacob Rees-Mogg said it would "vanity" to think he could be next Conservative leader

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Jacob Rees-Mogg has admitted he has never changed a nappy, despite his wife having just given birth to their sixth child.

The Tory MP said he was not a “modern man” and left baby-changing duties to his nanny.

“The nanny does it brilliantly,” he told LBC host Nigel Farage when asked how nappy-changing was going.

Mr Farage said: “You’re on Twitter, you’re on Instagram, but you’re not exactly a modern man are you?”

Mr Rees-Mogg replied: “I’ve made no pretence to be a modern man at all, ever. I’m probably as modern as you.”

Pushed on whether he had ever changed a nappy, Mr Rees-Mogg replied: “No I haven’t. I don’t think nanny would approve because I’m sure she’d think I wouldn’t do it properly.

“Bearing in mind this is the nanny that has worked for my family, in September, for 52 years – so she knows a thing or two about doing it properly.”

The eccentric Conservative backbencher caused a stir earlier this month after using Instagram to announce the birth of his sixth child, named Sixtus Dominic Boniface Christopher Rees-Mogg. The newborn joins siblings Peter, Mary, Thomas, Anselm and Alfred.

It helped boost an online campaign to elect Mr Rees-Mogg as the next leader of the Conservative Party.

However, the backbencher said he was a “huge admirer” of Theresa May and wanted her to stay in office.

“If you look at the history of who becomes leader of the party or the country, it has never in its whole history been a backbench MP," he said.

“I think it would be vanity on my part to think on these terms.”

Asked how he was coping with being a cult hero, he said: “It’s all great fun. Politics is enjoyable as well as serious. I’ve always thought one should take pleasure in politics and enjoy the bits of it that are amusing.

“There are amusing parts of politics and one shouldn’t be too po-faced about it.”

Mr Rees-Mogg became an internet sensation soon after being elected in 2010 when he spoke openly about having a nanny, who he has appeared with at official events and refers to in public as “Nanny”.

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