Tory MP suggests Somerset timezone

[Sheilbh]

Moggy Time


With his tweeds, specs and patrician manner, Jacob Rees-Mogg is the epitome of the young fogey backbencher.

Aptly enough, it now seems that the Moggster (who has an impressive fan club) is rather literally keen on taking us back in time.

Or to be more precise, on taking the West Country back in time.

For an idle glance at the new amendments to the Daylight Saving Bill suggests that he wants to give Somerset its own time-zone.

Rees-Mogg, 42, has an amendment that states:
"The county of Somerset as defined by the Lieutenants Act 1997 shall revert to the customary time used prior to the Great Western Railway time established in 1840."

Now, for the uninitiated, Great Western Railway time was introduced to ensure trains ran on time in a standardised way across England.

Prior to its introduction, the locally agreed time was often set by local churches and was roughly 10-15 minutes behind London. So Rees-Mogg wants Somerset to run literally at least 10 minutes behind the rest of the UK.

For the anoraks among us, it may be worth pointing out some of the historical background to this. Railway companies faced local opposition when they introduced the new standard time in 1840. For a while, there were two different times shown in some towns and cities: station clocks would show 'London Time' (ie GMT), while others (particularly church clocks) would be set locally.

As a temporary compromise, public clocks in Exeter and Bristol added a second minute hand that showed the London Time for those who wanted it. In Exeter, local time was 14 minutes behind London, while Bristol was 10 minutes behind.
Anyway, it looks as though Rees-Mogg* is determined to go back to the future.

Some say he already lives in the past, but few thought he wanted to stay there permanently.


*FOOTNOTE: This may of course be an elaborate joke by the Moggster to highlight the need to strengthen the Union. Who knows..

His father Lord Rees-Mogg tried to get judicial review of the ratification of the Maastricht treaty.  In the run-up to the EU summit, at PMQs, young Rees-Mogg asked a rather bizarre question about whether Cameron would be a 'British lion or Bagpuss?'  So this isn't necessarily too odd...

[Richard Hakluyt]

I think it was Private Eye that used to refer to his father as "Mystic Mogg" 

They are both harmless IMO 

[Monoriu]

The guy should work in China.  All of China is one big timezone 

[Josquius]

Make the world one time zone and be done with it!

[jimmy olsen]

The guy should work in China.  All of China is one big timezone 

That's foolish and counterproductive.

[Brazen]

Just 10 minutes? In my experience, Somerset runs 30 years behind the rest of the UK.

[Martinus]

Aristocrats like this make me fond of Robespierre.

[Sheilbh]

He's not an aristocrat. Far less posh than Cameron who wanted Jacob's sister, Anunziata Rees-Mogg, to call herself 'Annie' when running to be a Tory MP

[Valmy]

So...why wouldn't this be a joke against devolution and that fracturing of the union?  It makes so little sense for it to be anything else.

[Gups]

He's not an aristocrat. Far less posh than Cameron who wanted Jacob's sister, Anunziata Rees-Mogg, to call herself 'Annie' when running to be a Tory MP

He's as close to being an aristocrat as is possible to be without a title. Father editor of the times, Eton, Trinity, double-barrelled surname. Runs his own financial service company, married to an heiress.

[Valmy]

Runs his own financial service company

Are aristocrats the new banking class?

[Gups]

There's always been lots of aristocrats involved in banking, expecially private banking.

[Valmy]

There's always been lots of aristocrats involved in banking, expecially private banking.

Well I am glad they are making themselves useful then.

[Razgovory]

Personally I prefer this useless Conservative quackery over the type we have here.  Such as abolishing the Federal reserve.

[Jacob]

He's not an aristocrat. Far less posh than Cameron who wanted Jacob's sister, Anunziata Rees-Mogg, to call herself 'Annie' when running to be a Tory MP

Does his family own a castle?