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Moggmentum logo used by the group Moggmentum

Moggmentum is an online conservative campaign and grassroots movement supporting Jacob Rees-Mogg in a similar fashion to the 2015 phenomenon of Milifandom and Labour's Momentum. The movement includes pressure for Rees-Mogg to become the Conservative Party leader in the United Kingdom. Comparisons between Moggmentum and the US Tea Party movement have been made with regards to supporting "rightwing ideas, grassroots activism and shaking up the conservative establishment".[1]

History

In May 2017, during the 2017 election campaign Rees-Mogg posted a picture on Instagram of himself and his son standing outside a tattoo parlour in his constituency that was displaying a Vote Labour poster alongside a poster reading "Keep sane and don't vote Tory"; his picture was captioned: "We shall have to take our business elsewhere".[2][3] As a result #Moggmentum began to trend on Twitter.

Jacob Rees-Mogg

In June 2017 #Moggmentum began to trend again as a result of Rees-Mogg interrupting Jeremy Corbyn during the queen's speech debate, an act that was criticised by Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow.[4] Following the speech a series of memes were created with Rees-Mogg as the subject.[5] A petition was started to make Rees-Mogg Prime Minister which gained £7,000 in support funding[6] and 13,000 signatures over the next two days.[7]

On 7 July 2017 Jacob Rees-Mogg gained significant publicity as the potential next Conservative Party leader when major news outlets began releasing articles about the subject. At the time Rees-Mogg had an opinion polling of 60% to take over as conservative party leader according to Pollstation[8] with Boris Johnson following with 12% of the votes. The same day betting odds were "slashed" from 50/1 to 16/1 on Oddschecker; this was directly attributed to the campaign.[9][10]

In late July and early August 2017 Moggmentum went international and was featured in a number of foreign media, including prominent publications such as: Belgian De Redactie,[11] American The National Interest[12] and Polish Wprost.[13] In early August it was reported that Ross Atkinson, a Rees-Mogg supporter, had been tattooed with the Moggmentum logo. After this gained social media attention, Rees-Mogg responded by inviting Atkinson to "have tea in parliament".[14][15]

In August newspapers began to predominantly use Moggmentum in headlines that were about Rees-Mogg. With headlines such as "Moggmentum isn’t about him—it’s about the Tories’ youth vote problem",[16] "Moggmentum: could Jacob Rees-Mogg really become prime minister?"[17] and "“Moggmentum” is building: could he split the Tories?".[18] In September Rees-Mogg emerged as the favourite to replace Theresa May as Tory leader.[19]

Responses

On 3 July 2017, the BBC released a trending subject article on the movement and on 5 July a two-minute video was added to the BBC website summarising the phenomenon.[20][21]

On 12 and 17 July, the New Statesman and The New European wrote articles calling the movement a cult.[22][23] The latter published another piece on 19 August, penned by Bonnie Greer who called Rees-Mogg a "false memory".[24]

See also

References

  1. ^ Stewart, Heather; Mason, Rowena (1 December 2017). "Jacob Rees-Mogg met Steve Bannon to discuss US-UK politics". the Guardian. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  2. ^ "Instagram post by Jacob Rees-Mogg • May 31, 2017 at 8:11pm UTC". Instagram.
  3. ^ "Jacob Rees-Mogg's social media posts gain mass following as the local MP enters the digital age". Chew Valley Gazette. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  4. ^ Ovens, Ruth (4 July 2017). "5 times Jacob Rees-Mogg became an internet star with #Moggmentum".
  5. ^ "#moggmentum: unlikely movement to make Jacob Rees-Mogg Prime Minister". 30 June 2017.
  6. ^ Nickalls, Amy (28 August 2017). "Gillingham resident starts petition for Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg to run for party leader". Kent Online. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  7. ^ Ovens, Ruth (7 July 2017). "'Moggmentum' continues with North Somerset MP's Question Time appearance".
  8. ^ "Who Should be the Next Conservative Party Leader?".
  9. ^ Morrison, Caitlin (7 July 2017). "Odds slashed on Jacob Rees-Mogg to replace Theresa May as Tory leader".
  10. ^ "Jacob Rees-Mogg in "serious contention" to become the next leader of the Conservative party". 7 July 2017.
  11. ^ De Paepe, Harry (15 July 2017). "Stoot de "Mogg mania" Theresa May van haar troon? - Harry De Paepe". De Redactie. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  12. ^ Mills, Curt (26 July 2017). "This Outlandish Aristocrat Could Be the Next British Prime Minister". The National Interest. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  13. ^ Mielnik, Jakub (20 August 2017). "Buława w butonierce". Wprost. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  14. ^ Gye, Hugo (2 August 2017). "Jacob Rees-Mogg invites die-hard fan with a 'Moggmentum' tattoo to have tea with him in Parliament". The Sun. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  15. ^ "Rees-Mogg: 'It isn't realistic' to be next Conservative leader". ITV News. 14 August 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  16. ^ "Moggmentum isn't about him - it's about the Tories' youth vote problem". The i newspaper online. 16 August 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  17. ^ "Moggmentum: could Jacob Rees-Mogg really become prime minister?". The Guardian. 14 August 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  18. ^ Partridge, Matthew (18 August 2017). ""Moggmentum" is building: could he split the Tories?". MoneyWeek. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  19. ^ "Jacob Rees-Mogg tops Conservative poll on next party leader". Sky News. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  20. ^ "Social media appeal of Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg". BBC News.
  21. ^ Trending, Hannah Henderson BBC. "Jacob Rees-Mogg: The Conservative MP who's an unlikely social media star". BBC News.
  22. ^ Garnier, Mark (12 July 2017). "Understanding #Moggmentum: the hollow cult of Jacob Rees-Mogg". New Statesman. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  23. ^ Tapley, Nathaniel (17 July 2017). "Moggmentum: Rees-Mogg mania and what it says about us". The New European. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  24. ^ Greer, Bonnie (19 August 2017). "Jacob Rees Mogg and the Prime Ministry of Silly Season". The New European. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
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