William Rees-Mogg

Profile: Full name: Area of interest: Europe, British Politics and Society Journals/Organisation: The Times | The Mail on Sunday Email: Websites: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/columnists/williamreesmogg | http://www.dailymail.co.uk/mailonsunday/columnist-1017028/William-Rees-Mogg.html Blog: Representation: Networks:

Biography: About: Leading political commentator, member of the House of Lords, and a former editor-in-chief for The Times. He has been credited with forecasting the glasnost and the fall of the Berlin Wall and also the financial crash of 1987 Education: Charterhouse School; Balliol College, Oxford Career: Joined Financial Times, 1952 - became chief leader writer and assistant editor; The Sunday Times, 1960 - city editor, became deputy editor, 1964; Editor of The Times, 1967/81; appointed head of newly formed Broadcasting Standards Council, 1988; Times' columnist since 1992. Also a regular guest columnist for the Daily Reckoning Current position/role: Political commentator also writes/written for: Other roles/Main role: Other activities: a former Vice-Chairman of the BBC Board of Governors and a former Chairman of the Arts Council and Broadcasting Standards Council Disclosures: Viewpoints/Insight: Broadcast media: Video: Controversy/Criticism: In a famous editorial in 1967 Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel? he defended Mick Jagger, following his arrest on drugs charges, attacking Britain's law on cannabis usage. Defended Conrad Black - Why I am standing by Conrad Black - The Times, 19th March 2007. Also see The Great Conrad by Peter Stothard discussing the article Awards/Honours: Knighted in 1981, made a life peer in 1988 - Baron Rees-Mogg of Hinton Blewitt in the County of Avon (sits as a cross-bencher in the House of Lords) Scoops: Other: His youngest daughter Annunziata is a journalist and failed Conservative party candidate, and his son Jacob is an investment banker and Conservative MP

Books & Debate: Blood in the Streets, 1989, Pan Macmillan ISBN 0283998091 The Great Reckoning, 1992, Pan Books ISBN 0330327925 The Sovereign Individual, 1997, Humanity Press/prometheus Bk ISBN 0333662083 All three above books co-authored with James Dale Davidson The case of gold, OCLC721920264, Pickering & Chatto, 2002 Latest work: Memoirs, OCLC721920264, HarperPress, July 2011. Review by Roland White: here Speaking/Appearances: Debate:

The Times: Column name: Remit/Info: Europe, British Politics and Society Section: Role: Commentator Pen-name: Email: Website: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/columnists/williamreesmogg Commissioning editor: Day published: Monday Regularity: Fortnightly Column format: Average length: 1000 words

Articles: 2011 Why talk of a bank tax? To embarrass the UK - Barroso is playing politics by throwing the Tobin tax at London. He knows we will say no - 30th September We pretend to care so they pretend to be sorry - It’s a weary ritual. Politician is accused of taking drugs, public expects apology. But neither side really means it - 16th September Banks are now the danger, not the safety net - The UBS outrage clinches the case for reform, but only Germany can resolve the deeper financial crisis in Europe - 16th September Writing a memoir? Let the past be your guide - I don’t share Gibbon’s idea of amusement, but his duty to truth is an example to all biographers - 2nd September A three-way division could cure Europe’s ills - Germany resents carrying the others, Britain resents Brussels. Even the weaker powers no longer love the EU - 19th August The rapid rise and faster fall of the US empire - Just as Britain ceded world dominance in the 1930s, so power is shifting again after a surprisingly short period - 5th August For a sport to savour, Twenty20 isn’t cricket - The five-day match plays to the patience of the elderly and upholds ancient traditions - 22nd July This elderly cash cow had to meet its end - The decision to close the News of the World is one that the public itself would probably have made - 8th July At last, an act of social barbarism is reversed - After decades of fudge, the Conservatives are shifting on grammar schools. Their policy still needs to go farther - 24th June The Archbishop is not only wrong, he’s rude - Rowan Williams’s attack on the coalition ignores why it had to be formed and shows a lack of Christian charity - 10th June Oratory still has the power to change the world - I have not heard a speaker as eloquent as Obama since the days of Churchill and Bevan - 26th May No one country can make laws for cyberspace - Websites will fight for absolute liberty just as fiercely as the print media have done - 13th May Gold always has the measure of paper money - Despite an apparent spike in its price, the precious metal’s value is remarkably consistent over 350 years - 29th April Council seats swing, but AV would be for ever - Though the Lib Dems may suffer heavy losses on May 5, it could be even worse for the Tories - 15th April Science will never entirely vanquish religion - Humans are genetically programmed to think spiritual experiences are real. Even Richard Dawkins says so - 1st April China must talk to the Dalai Lama while it can - It will be much harder to do a deal with Tibet after its spiritual leader has quit politics - 18th March The LSE’s prestige makes this more painful - To get so close to Gaddafi was a failure of judgment, but it was following Blair’s lead - 4th March Reward marriage and rescue British society - It’s not the State that drives our country, but the family. It would be right to support it in the tax system - 18th February MPs watch out. The Lords have learnt to snarl - AV is bad, filibusters are bad. But botched reform of the Upper House would be far worse and peers will resist it - 4th February Some hick: the world owes Reagan an apology - A hundred years after his birth, we still underestimate the man who ended the Cold War - 24th January

Articles: 2010 Entrapping Lib Dems was random trickery, not investigation - Relations between politicians and journalists are in a critical state after ‘fishing expeditions’ by one newspaper - 27th December Student anger will last as long as their debts - We must prepare for further riots, but these young people cannot expect the taxpayer to fund their education - 13th December Plato would have agreed with Michael Gove - The Education Secretary’s reforms follow principles established 2,400 years ago - 29th November A return to the golden era will not be easy - Without a stable basis for world currencies, politicians will find it hard to resist inflationary temptations - 15th November Osborne is right. The Keynesians are wrong - Those who are sceptical about the coalition’s cuts forget that market confidence is critical to recovery - 25th October You won’t split the casino and the high street - Separating retail from investment banking reduced risk, but hurt performance. The banks won’t let it happen again - 27th September On balance, Prince Charles is a force for good - The Prince may take financial risks, but that should not stop us from taking him seriously - 13th September Don’t go it alone, Lib Dems. There’s another way - Lloyd George and Ramsay MacDonald had a strategy for a winning coalition. This Government could follow suit - 30th August An older workforce? Bring it on, we need it - We should value grey-haired colleagues – not just for the extra taxes they pay but for their maturity of style too - 16th August A blast of honesty in foreign policy - So where does Pakistan stand in the War on Terror? Cameron has tried to clear the air with a few home truths - 2nd August AV could be the wedge that splits the coalition - The Tories are right to insist on redrawing the electoral map if we are to have voting reform - 5th July Was Mary Whitehouse right all along? - If Joan Bakewell is worried, we need to ask if liberal attitudes have gone too far - 7th June Tory MPs need their safety valve more than ever - Cameron’s move against the 1922 was an unnecessary error that may return to haunt him - 24th May Leaders want a deal. Their followers may not - In 1974, opposition to electoral reform derailed Heath’s hopes of a coalition. But history may not repeat itself - 10th May People want change — but they also fear it - We mustn’t underestimate the importance of immigration, even down here in the West Country - 26th April It’s not just the Lords that needs reforming - Whoever wins the election will have to review our whole system of government - 12th April Resignation is not an option for the Pope - It is Benedict XVI’s duty to implement worldwide the reforms already made by Catholic leaders in Britain - 29th March Don’t be sniffy about personality politics - In an age of complicated technical issues, voters are wise to put great store by a leader’s character - 15th March The Tories still have one priceless asset . . . - . . . and he is residing at 10 Downing Street. But David Cameron is steering the right economic path too - 1st March To kill or not to kill terrorists: that’s the question - Christians find themselves in a moral maze when it comes to assassinations - 22nd February We ignore the lessons of history at our peril - In a game of brinkmanship over swingeing university cuts cherished faculties could be obliterated – it has happened before - 15th February ‘Modern’ people are awfully dated - Contemporary religion, art and voting - 8th February Blair the dictator bulldozed us into war - Not since Churchill was a leader so determined to get his own way. But he was fatally misguided - 1st February Obama is busy making powerful enemies - The mid-term elections will show us whether his friends are numerous enough - 25th January They know it’s all over bar the shouting - The bickering, the bunker mentality — even an academic study says No 10 is out of control - 18th January Who would want to replace Brown? - The obvious Labour divisions will remain until someone like Harriet Harman can steady the ship - 11th January Let older women have a voice at the BBC - In praise of Polly Toynbee and P.D. James - 4th January

Articles: 2009 Voters want hope: Mr Glum doesn’t offer it - Gordon Brown’s fatal flaw is his underlying gloom. If a politician doesn’t believe in his own star, how can anyone else? - 28th December Heed the great stabiliser’s words - Paul Volcker, who advises Barack Obama, wants a return to Glass-Steagall rules. He is right - 21st December Labour faces wipe-out if it waits till May - But if Gordon Brown goes to the polls in March his prospects, though better, are still bleak - 14th December Darling can’t please Brown and do his own job - The Prime Minister wants to win an election, the Chancellor has to borrow £175 billion, and never the twain shall meet - 7th December Big guns wheeled out for battle of the marginals - Lords Ashdown and Ashcroft are spearheading campaigns for the vital few votes that will decide the next election - 30th November A gross insult to the people of Europe - The EU should be trying to woo the public, not alienate them. They should listen to the sceptics - 23rd November It would be wrong for Brown to try to cling on - The Prime Minister has lost voters’ confidence. They will not want to wait for a second general election to bring change - 16th November Which will come out on top: paper or gold? - Printing presses have been pumping out dollars and pounds. Little wonder many are seeking a more trusty store of value - 9th November In grief, Dr Johnson unearthed wisdom - When his beloved 90-year-old mother died, the great man was moved to write his only novel - 26th October A hung Parliament is in the balance - Labour could still deny the Tories not just a handsome majority but any majority - 19th October Is it over between Britain and Europe? - After the forced Yes vote in Ireland we can ask if the benefits outweigh the sacrifices of staying in the EU - 5th October Yet more rules? Can Mr Brown be serious? - The Prime Minster seems to want Britain ever more tangled in the kind of regulations that trapped Baroness Scotland - 28th September Rule Britannia? Not if the EU gets its way - We should have the referendum we were promised, whatever the result of the Irish vote on Lisbon - 21st September Cameron must fight the quangocracy - The Tories must win control over the plethora of bodies that dole out public money - 14th September We will sink in a sea of new rules - Leaders from Edward III to Edward Heath have discovered that pay controls do not work - 7th September Does appeasement look so bad, 70 years on? - It is easy now to deride the efforts of Neville Chamberlain. But at the time there seemed to be a realistic chance of peace - 31st August By jingo, we’re short of ships, men and money - Over there and underfunded: young soldiers are paying a heavy price for the Government’s neglect of the Armed Forces - 24th August High office is no longer such a golden prize - Victoria’s last prime minister earned the equivalent of £450,000. It’s time to rethink our attitude to ministers’ salaries - 17th August A new political army marches on Parliament - Whips beware – resignations, open primaries and a swing to the Conservatives will transform the House of Commons - 10th August Mandelson for next Labour leader: why not? - It is hard to think of a performance to rival Lord Mandelson’s past 12 months. He could change the political weather - 3rd August This was the war that shaped our world - The death of Harry Patch makes me think of my father and the debt we all owe to their generation - 27th July Beware the leopard of the Lords - If we allow life peers to renounce their titles, Lord Mandelson could put a daring plan into operation - 20th July This Bill is a panic measure in a tarnished age - Labour’s attempt to restore standards in Parliament further strips away power from the elected heart of our democracy - 13th July In 2009 as in 1931, debts must be repaid - No matter who wins the next election, there will be cuts. The global financial market demands it - 6th July This ipsy-dipsy quango won’t save democracy - We should be deeply concerned that panicking MPs are on the verge of throwing away their hard-won freedoms - 29th June Hamstrung by broken treaty promise - An autumn election is Labour's best hope. But calling one then would scupper Lisbon - 22nd June Rising oil prices will buy off democracy - States such as Iran and Russia do not have to listen to their people when they are resource-rich - 15th June Victory: how Somerset turned blue - Despite the expenses scandal, West Country voters are taking the Conservative message to heart - 8th June Who will be the real winners? - The polls tell us Labour will do badly on Thursday. Gordon Brown will have to say something, even if it’s only ‘Goodbye’ - 1st June The House where time stood still - Underpaid and underpowered: we deny MPs the tools to do a proper job. And here’s the sad fact – I was saying it 45 years ago - 25th May This crisis calls for an elected House of Lords - Parliamentary reform is vital to convince the public that Britain is honestly governed. There should be an autumn election - 18th May Damage limitation is Labour’s only option - This Parliament is exhausted. We need new MPs, a new Speaker and a new Prime Minister - 11th May The Labour leadership: no change, no chance - The party may be reluctant to do it, but the only hope it has of winning the next election is to replace Gordon Brown - 5th May New Labour is old hat - Under Brown the party is moving uncomfortably close to the semi-socialist trade union past Blair tried to leave behind - 27th April The Labour smear machine backfires - The latest polls show that Gordon Brown has damaged the office of Prime Minister - 20th April Of great verses and the great poets I sing - The past masters of poetry are familiar friends to be revisited and worthy mentors for the aspiring writer - 13th April We can't allow Strasbourg to lay down the law - The European Court of Human Rights is overweening and inefficient. The law lords should take over as our ultimate court - 6th April Reform the monarchy? Let's wait for a century - The Act of Settlement 1701 discriminates against women and Catholics. But modernising it risks imperilling the Crown - 30th March The Pope's message is not the problem - The image of an ultra-conservative pontiff is false. The Vatican must overhaul its PR machine - 23rd March Brown cannot shirk blame for Lloyds - The Prime Minister and the two top men have ruined a good bank by a failure of due diligence - 9th March Good people + impossible task = collapse - Non-executive directors failed to prevent the banking mess. But with beefed-up powers they could stop it happening again - 2nd March This slump is stirring a political storm - From Japan and France to Swanley, the effects of recession will be felt not only in the economy - 23rd February In times of crisis, never forget gold - The dollar is simply a piece of paper. Gold is the best insurance against future shocks - 16th February Link risk to failure, not just to reward - Traditional banking must be separated from global speculation to restore prudence and security - 9th February Cameron starts to show true Tory colours -The Opposition leader cares about the burden of debt - and that is a very Conservative concern - 2nd February SOS - save our savers, unfairly punished - The Government should remember it was debt, rather than sensible saving of money, which led to the banking crisis - 26th January Obama has courage of a great leader - If anyone can renew the progress of American it is he who has studied the lessons of history - 19th January Will anyone lend to our borrowers? - The Government faces a dilemma. Reflating the economy needs stronger balances than plans allow - 12th January For Britain in 1847, read America in 2009 - What better than a surprise Christmas book by an American praising the English and The Times - 5th January

Articles: 2008 Six vital lessons of the 1931 depression - As we enter a second year of slump, history has some key pointers to the best way forward - 29th December 2008 Bad for investors, good for lawyers - Grandchildren of Madoff investors will still be suing grandchildren of hedge fund managers in fifty years - 22nd December 2008 (Summary of Bernard Madoff news articles here) Listen to the Swabian Prudence - ... Hers [Angela Merkel] is the true voice of German opinion, whatever the declarations of European unity may suggest to the contrary - 15th December 2008 Sit by the fireside to hear Obama's New Deal - The President-elect's relationship with the people will be crucial in his attempt to tackle America's huge problems - 8th December 2008 An historic attack on liberty and democracy - The Damian Green affair has damaged both the police and government. It threatens 700 years of parliamentary tradition - 1st December 2008 You can print money, but not confidence - A £100 billion deficit that damages the Government's credit will leave it unable to offer more support to the banks - 24th November 2008 Good intentions put us on road to hell - If world leaders want to restore financial stability, they should not shy away from clear-sighted analysis - 17th November 2008 Obama's first economic lesson: blame Bush - As in 1933, the President-elect faces a disaster not of his making. Today, however, he may be able to stabilise the depression - 10th November 2008 An early general election is back on the cards - If Labour can see off the SNP threat in Glenrothes, Gordon Brown may again be tempted to go to the country - 3rd November 2008 The banks must rediscover Victorian values - A mutual trust between client and bank was once the foundation of our financial system - we need to get it back - 27th October 2008 Déjà vu: six steps that make up a great panic - For 2008, read 1907. This time, however, China and India have emerged well, unlike America, Britain and Europe - 13th October 2008 Could Obama be the new Roosevelt? - We are facing another crisis of financial confidence - and we need an exceptional president to deal with it - 6th October 2008 It's the best Tory team in 50 years - But they will need all their skill to cope with Labour's ballooning public debt - 29th September 2008 No theory can stop recurrent boom and bust - Since the 19th century, economists have sought to stabilise the trade cycle and prices at the same time, but without success - 26th September 2008 No theory can stop recurrent boom and bust - Since the 19th century, economists have sought to stabilise the trade cycle and prices at the same time, but without success - 22nd September 2008 Labour's best hope lies with the Palin effect - Gordon Brown is guilty of boring the nation. His party should look to its women to make itself interesting again - 15th September 2008 This culture clash is drowning out the issues - The four contenders for the White House each represent a different America. Which can win over the swing voters? - 8th September 2008 Palin has 65 days to prove herself - Senator McCain has found a running-mate who is not a neocon but a genuine American conservative - 1st September 2008 Biden is no threat or asset to Obama - In rejecting Hillary Clinton, the presidential candidate may have lost the White House - 25th August 2008 Russia cannot afford to be isolated - Kremlin hawks may be in the ascendant now, but in a world of global trade they will pay a price in the end - 18th August 2008 Georgia: another Sarajevo moment avoided - The great powers learnt in 1914 that small conflicts can easily and quite accidentally trigger world wars - 11th August 2008 A policy of running on empty won't do - The idea of ‘nationalising' the British nuclear industry under French control was always a dubious one - 4th August 2008 Labour should choose Hillary, not Obama - If Gordon Brown goes, Harriet Harman should take over. Only a woman can change the climate of political debate - 28th July 2008 Mosley did not deserve the law's protection - Reducing the ability of the press to investigate will have serious consequences for the welfare of society - 25th July 2008 The Europhiles are not the future, Mr Obama - Most US Presidents share the common American view that Europe will naturally evolve into a United States of Europe - 21st July 2008 This recession could easily tip into a depression - The experience of the 1930s makes me think that the present downturn will be relatively long and difficult - 14th July 2008 I admire McCain, but I bet on Obama to win - An economic slowdown is usually followed by a change of party in the White House - the tide is with the Democrats - 7th July 2008 Gordon Brown: Not such a good Chancellor, not such a bad Prime Minister - After a year in office, the PM should reflect that he is the architect of his own misfortune - 23rd June 2008 The British are still lovers of liberty - But let's not forget the EU is as much a threat to our freedom as the surveillance state - 16th June 2008 Obama, like JFK, has the wind behind him - The Democrat presidential candidate is trying to create a new kind of politics in the United States - and beyond - 9th June 2008 Jefferson: a lesson for Europeans - The US Constitution is 221 years old... hard to see the Lisbon treaty being so successful - 2nd June 2008 Conservatives are now the reformers - Turn of the wheel: Labour may be out in the political wilderness for at least two terms - 26th May 2008 Duck! The pendulum is swinging - Will the Tories seal the deal at Crewe & Nantwich? The electoral tide is certainly turning - 19th May 2008 King Oil will turf out Gordon Brown - Market rules: it doesn't matter who is leader, the Government is finished at $200 a barrel - 12th May 2008 In deepest Somerset something stirred - Poll position: these local elections show anti-Tory tactical voting is dead and buried - 5th May 2008 Grangemouth: the real culprit - Dont blame Ineos or the unions for the oil strike. Think 10 Downing Street and pensions - 28th April 2008 Cricket: a good game is being ruined - The traditional match is dying - and being replaced by something far less interesting - 21st April 2008 Ethics? There's only bureaucracy - A mother and daughter's sad tale: we should be allowed to give our organs to those we love - 14th April 2008 The power behind the power of TV - Geoffrey Cox, who supported Robin Day's tough approach to interviewing, was a giant of broadcast journalism - 7th April 2008 We're successful - at grand failures - The shambles at Heathrow's Terminal 5 is no surprise - 31st March 2008 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill: whatever happened to the ‘yuk’ factor? - 24th March 2008 Today's market tip: don't buy shares in Labour - Our columnist looks at the political impact of collapsing economic confidence - 17th March 2008 Can Obama break their prison bars? - A symbol of hope for young blacks - 3rd March 2008 The dollar versus gold? No contest - Why China and India have always been heavy-metal fans - 25th February 2008 Barack Obama - a John Kennedy for our times - One man has captured the heart of the new America - 18th February 2008 Darling: a menace to Britain - Global businesses look at the present Labour Government and think about moving away from London - 11th February 2008 Will this be the year the roof falls in? - All the signs point to a worrying downturn - 4th February 2008 Is Barack Obama the next JFK? - The presidential race after South Carolina - 28th January 2008 They lied yesterday; they will lie tomorrow - The Lisbon treaty is a dangerous betrayal - 21st January 2008 Hain; foolish, but not a scoundrel - Minister can be convicted only of arrogance - 14th January 2008 How to lose an election, Lesson One - Our correspondent on the Gordon Brown manifesto for defeat - 7th January 2008 archive

The Mail on Sunday: Column name: Remit/Info: Europe, British Politics and Society Section: Role: Commentator Pen-name: Email: Website: MailOnline / William Rees-Mogg Commissioning editor: Day published: Sunday Regularity: Weekly Column format: Average length:

Articles: 2009 How China's millions can save the West - The world has been turned upside down. Until last September, many people assumed the world was facing a normal recession, perhaps longer than usual, but nothing worse than had quite recently been experienced - 7th March 2009 Stuckey's Bank... and Fred's barrow load - Banking has a long and informative history, which too few bankers study - 28th February 2009 Just hang on - Berlin's billions will save you - In the history of the Great Depression of the Thirties, one particular banking insolvency stands out, as did the insolvency of Lehman Brothers in the crisis of 2008. On May 11, 1931, the Austrian Kreditanstalt bank suspended business - 21st February 2009 We've got rid of marriage - but at a terrible cost - The major English authors have discussed the institution of marriage endlessly, with the women often showing a shrewder understanding than the men. When it comes to the relationships between the sexes, no man equals Jane Austen - 14th February 2009 Carol may have a tin ear, but she's no racist - In the cultural wars fought over language, there is no absolute right or wrong. But it is wrong to give unnecessary offence and to take more offence than was intended - 7th February 2009 Caught in the crossfire of a world jobs war - If the recession forces governments to adopt more protectionist policies, it will leave Gordon Brown uncomfortably stuck in the middle - 31st January 2009 Can Obama pull us out of the mud? - Who will win? The recession or the President? The jobs of many British workers will depend on the winner being the new American President, Barack Obama - 25th January 2009 How long can PIGS feed at the German trough? - In the early months of the current recession, it was widely assumed that the impact on Europe would be less serious than the impact on Britain and America - 17th January 2009 It’s all down to confidence and Obama has it - The world needs a great President of the United States, and perhaps the Americans have elected one - 11th January 2009 A giant disaster doesn’t make Gordon a giant - This is going to be a long year for the Tories. In the next 12 months, Gordon Brown can call a General Election whenever he thinks he can win it. If he does not choose to call one this year, he will have to call one by the following June - 3rd January 2009 full archive

Links: Wikipedia Powerbase