'Boris Johnson will return to politics - if Donald Trump can do it so can he'

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg became one of the best known Conservatives in British politics during the Tories' 14 years in power and he would love to return to the green benches of the House of Commons. The veteran Brexiteer has carved out a new career as a GB News presenter but he is excited at the thought of getting another chance to "deliver proper Conservative policies". Sir Jacob, 55, says: "I would love to get back. I think there is an enormous amount to be done. And I think the next election could potentially be extremely exciting."

He also believes former Prime Minister Boris Johnson may have a further act in politics ahead of him. Pointing to Donald Trump's dramatic comeback as US President, he says: "I wonder if Boris is sitting at home in Oxfordshire watching the revivification [of] the Trump presidency and thinking, 'Oh my goodness, I could do that, too.'"

Sir Jacob believes many Tories now regret ousting the man who won two terms as Mayor of London, persuaded the country to vote for Brexit in 2016 and delivered the 2019 election.

The former Business Secretary says: "I think a lot of Conservatives realise how stupid it was to have got rid of him.

"It was like the Lilliputians tying down Gulliver and this was badly received by voters who had voted for Boris, not for unheard-of Conservative MPs, and some MPs failed to recognise that he could win elections, he could appeal to people."

Sir Jacob was in Westminster for one of the most tumultuous eras in modern politics, arriving under David Cameron in 2010 before losing his Somerset seat in 2024 on Rishi Sunak's watch. Despite the scale of Labour's win, he is confident the country has a small-c conservative majority - and he insists it is "absolutely essential" the Tories and Nigel Farage's Reform UK "work together before the next election".

"I hope both sides have realised that arguing among ourselves and letting Labour have a big majority isn't clever, isn't a good way to work, isn't in the interests of the country," he says.

He has not yet decided whether cooperation should involve "an electoral pact as the SDP and the Liberals did in the 1980s" or whether it should be informal "as Labour and the Lib Dems did at the last election".

But he wants to ensure Sir Keir Starmer's party is not granted another term in power.

Labour is vulnerable, he argues, because it won its landslide with a mere 34% of the vote; the Tories won 24% and Reform 14%. This encourages him to think it could be out of Government in just one term.

He says: "This is not a criticism of first past the post - I mean, you win some, you lose some - but they didn't win it with a vast number of people enthusiastically voting Labour; they won it on a surprisingly low share of the vote and they are now, if the polls are to be believed, very unpopular."

Crucially, he believes the spectacle of Labour in power will focus minds, claiming "the Government's been much worse than anybody expected - particularly in its economic policy and in its vindictiveness towards people like farmers, people in business who don't naturally vote Labour, and indeed pensioners."

Despite his aversion to Left-wing policies, in Westminster the former Leader of the Commons was known for his warm cross-party friendships. He takes the view that "good people end up with different political views and there is no monopoly on knowledge".

Remembering friends on the Labour benches, he says: "Though I haven't seen her recently, I very much liked getting to know Jess Phillips, who I think is a very effective political operator. I think - on a personal level - highly of Ed Miliband.

"On a policy level I think he's the most dangerous man in the country but he's fundamentally decent and he's in politics for the right reasons."

He does not expect David Miliband - once the darling on the Labour Right - to make a spectacular comeback.

"I think his hour has past," he says. "Boris was forced out whereas David Miliband went off in a bit of a huff and I think that's different."

Sir Jacob shares Mr Johnson's conviction that Britain should continue to stand with Ukraine as the country fights to defend its sovereignty against the Russian invaders.

"I think we should support the Ukrainians and provide them as much armaments as we can supply, and military intelligence and so on and not let them down," he says. "Russia could go on a long time but Russia probably can't go on forever.

"I think it's important we allow Ukraine to decide what it wants to do rather than trying to force them into a solution of our devising."

The former chairman of the European Research Group has no regrets Britain quit the European Union. He is "more and more convinced" the nation's best future is found outside the bloc.

"We are saving billions of pounds every year - as the EU budget gets bigger and bigger - that we would have to pay," he says.

The US tariffs Britain faces would be twice as high if we were part of the EU, he notes, adding: "We have the opportunity to get free trade with the US if we're willing to cope with a little bit of chlorinated chicken. It seems to me a very small price to pay."

He admits to watching American politics with "absolute fascination". Trump, he says, is "doing what he promised his voters he would do" and "an awful lot of politicians fail to do that".

The father-of-six, who gave TV cameras access to his family life for Discovery+ reality show Meet the Rees-Moggs last December, would not hesitate to recommend a career in politics to his own children if they have the right temperament.

"Oh, politics is a great career," he says. "It's really very interesting and it's very important.

"I would strongly recommend a political career as long as the children are thick-skinned because it's fun if you're thick-skinned; it's not bruising if you're thick-skinned, you take the rough with the smooth.

"If you're a sensitive soul politics is probably not for you."

His London home is within a few minutes' walk of Westminster but his life is no longer governed by the signal to rush to a vote.

"I don't have to listen like one of Pavlov's dogs waiting for the ringing of the bell," he remarks.

But he is clear how he will decide if he wants to stand for election once more.

"The Conservatives need to be showing that they are serious again," he says. "And I think Kemi is doing a good job of that."