The suggestion by Jacob Rees-Mogg and Steve Baker that the leaked economic assessment is the result of a Treasury conspiracy rumbles on. Baker was forced to make a grovelling apology in the House on Friday but in spite of this, articles on Conservative Home like this one HERE by Mark Wallace continue to garner publicity and appear to have a lot of support.
That is always the problem with conspiracy theories, once they're out they cannot be put back.
Not content with embarrassing Brexit minister Steve Baker, Jacob Rees-Mogg then repeated the claim that the Treasury is "fiddling" the economic forecasts to make the case for Britain to remain in the customs union (HERE). This is going to be a big problem for Brexiteers in the future. How can an MP attack his or her own government for producing "fiddled" figures and keep the whip? And more importantly, if Rees-Mogg ever became leader how could anyone trust any government figures?
The opposition will accuse him of publishing his own biased statistics rather than accept the forecasts of experts in The Treasury.
The Politico website accuses Rees-Mogg of "doubling down" on his claims (HERE). This is hardly the action of a potential prime minister but this sort of thing comes over as authentic to many activists and some even believe he may be the Conservative answer to Jeremy Corbyn (HERE). We could actually face the prospect of JRM as PM, according to the The Independent. I don't doubt his popularity among Conservative party members because he topped the poll on the Conservative Home website recently.
This morning the Sunday Times (HERE) reveal there is a plot to oust Mrs May and replace her with a "dream team" of Johnson as PM, Gove as his deputy and Rees-Mogg as chancellor. I don't know about dream team it looks like a nightmare to me.
Personally, I don't believe that MPs would be stupid enough to let Rees-Mogg (or any of them) anywhere near the final ballot precisely because he is like Corbyn. Popular in the party but poison at the ballot box.
