Jacob Rees-Mogg refuses to say if Boris Johnson will keep him in post as Commons leader after election win
Jacob Rees-Mogg has refused to confirm whether Boris Johnson will allow him to continue as Commons leader following his general election win.
As he headed towards Downing Street on Monday, Mr Rees-Mogg was asked whether he had any role in Mr Johnson's government.
"You'll have to ask the prime minister," he responded.
The ardent Brexiteer was a big player on the prime minister's frontbench before the general election, but with the Conservatives winning a huge majority, the need for someone from the right of the party had been questioned ahead of a Cabinet reshuffle.
His inclusion on the frontbench had been seen by many as a way for the prime minister to please the influential Eurosceptic European Research Group of 21 Tory MPs, of which Mr Rees-Mogg was previously chairman.
But with Mr Johnson winning a majority of 80 in the election, he no longer needs to win the approval of the ERG in order to pass legislation.
If Mr Rees-Mogg was to lose his job in government, it would signal a change of tack from the prime minister, who says he plans on uniting a divided country after winning dozens of seats from Labour heartlands.
When asked what the new government would be like, Mr Rees-Mogg said it will be "wonderful".
"It's a really inspiring opportunity for this country to have a government that knows what it wants to do, is going to get Brexit done and is going to deliver for the country," he added.
Mr Rees-Mogg was also asked where he had been during the general election campaign, amid accusations he'd been "sidelined" by Tory HQ following comments on Grenfell Tower.
At the start of the campaign he suggested the Grenfell victims should have used their "common sense" and left the burning tower block, but he was absent from the campaign thereafter.
He insisted he had not been sidelined and said he had been campaigning in his constituency of North East Somerset ahead of the election.