Jacob Rees-Mogg Issues Unusual Style Guide for Staff, Banning Words ‘Equal’, ‘Yourself’

Issuing a style guide in the first week of his job, he also bans colleagues from using various words in correspondence with other MPs and the public. Rees-Mogg is known for his formal dress and love of tradition and nicknamed the ‘Honourable Member for the 18th Century' according to ITV News.

In the note, he also asked that all MPs be addressed with the title Esq after their name and told staff to “CHECK your work”.

The phrases and words include, but are not limited to: “Very”, “due to”, “ongoing”, “hopefully”, “unacceptable”, “equal”, “yourself”, “speculate”, “no longer fit for purpose”. It also bans some stylistic decisions, including double spaces. He also insisted on the use of imperial measurements, most of which were phased out from the mid-1960s, instead of metric ones accepted by EU directives.

The guidance was drawn up by Rees-Mogg's North East Somerset constituency team some years ago, according to BBC, but has now been shared with officials in his new office.

Many of his MP colleagues were discouraged by the new rules, sparking a debate that spread to fellow netizens.

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According to the Guardian, the official transcript of parliamentary proceedings, Hansard, records more than 700 instances of Rees-Mogg using one or other of the banned words or phrases.