JACOB REES-MOGG has failed to name the leader of the Welsh Conservatives when challenged in the House of Commons. 

The question follows the leader of the house dismissing Scottish Tory leader Douglass Ross as a ‘lightweight’. 

In the Commons today Cardiff West MP Kevin Brennan asked Mr Rees-Mogg if he could name “the leader of the Welsh Conservatives”. 

Mr Rees-Mogg rose to laughter and paused before answering the question, drawing in breath and replied: “My honourable friend, the secretary of state for Wales is called Simon Hart.” 

Labour MP Mr Brennan had asked for a statement from Mr Rees-Mogg following the comments he made on the BBC’s Newsnight programme in which he dismissed Mr Ross, a backbench MP, who had yesterday called for Boris Johnson to resign as prime minister. 

Mr Brennan asked: “Following his disparaging remarks about the leader of the Scottish Conservatives can we have a statement from him about what exactly he meant by that? Does he think the leader of the Welsh Conservatives is a lightweight figure and can he name him?” 

It was then that Mr Rees-Mogg named the UK Government’s secretary of state. 

The exchange has been shared on Twitter by Welsh BBC reporter David Cornock.

 

Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire MP Mr Hart is the secretary of state but isn’t regarded as the leader of the Welsh Conservatives with the leader in Wales seen as Andrew RT Davies. 

Officially the Welsh Conservatives do not have a party leader but the Senedd group leader is considered the de facto Welsh leader and the position is normally filled by a ballot of all party members in Wales. 

Andrew RT Davies became leader of the Senedd Tory group in January last year after Paul Davies resigned.  

Paul Davies had been elected leader of the Welsh Conservatives in a ballot of party members in September 2018.

  • This article originally appeared on our sister site The National.