Jacob Rees-Mogg mocked in memes after slouching in Commons during debate over no-deal Brexit

Katy Clifton4 September 2019
WEST END FINAL

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Scores of people have mocked Jacob Rees-Mogg after footage of him lounging in his seat and closing his eyes during a key Brexit debate went viral.

The Leader of the House became a meme after reclining in his seat on the front bench of the Commons ahead of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s defeat in a crunch vote on Tuesday.

Mr Rees-Mogg was widely criticised for almost lying down, at times with his eyes closed, during the bid by MPs to take control of the Commons agenda to force through legislation on no-deal Brexit.

In response, Twitter users quickly took advantage of their Photoshop skills to mock the Tory MP’s body language, which was branded “so contemptuous” by Green Party MP Caroline Lucas.

Flat out: Jacob Rees-Mogg lies back on the green benches of the House during the debate over the Commons timetable
AFP/Getty Images

While one person pasted Mr Rees-Mogg onto a graph of the plunging value of the Pound, others added him onto the Simpsons family sofa and one person gave him a set of pyjamas.

Others said the Leader of the House resembled the scene in the Titanic when Kate Winslet’s character Rose asked Jack to paint her like one of his French girls.

One person said his sloping posture resembled the Government’s disappearing majority.

In the Commons on Tuesday, Ms Lucas called Mr Rees-Mogg out for being “spread across around three seats, lying out as if that was something very boring for him to listen to tonight”.

Mr Rees-Mogg appeared to furrow his brow in disagreement in response.

As he laid back, Mr Rees-Mogg could be seen pressing his head against a speaker, a tactic often used by MPs attempting to more clearly hear debates in the chamber.

His apparent repose prompted heavy criticism on Twitter from political opponents.

Jacob Rees-Mogg reclining on his seat in the House of Commons
PA

Shadow transport minister and Labour MP, Karl Turner, tweeted: "As a working class bloke brought up on a council estate in Hull I always feel enormous pride and gratitude when I go into the chamber of the House of Commons to represent east Hull

"I've never felt a sense of entitlement. This is what that looks like!?"

SNP MP Gavin Newlands added: "Jacob Rees-Mogg is literally going for a (u)kip on the front bench. I just asked him if I should call his footman to get him a pillow. He politely declined."

Lib Dem MP Sarah Wollaston questioned if Mr Rees-Mogg had "lost the ability to sit up" or if the move was "just bad manners".

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