The Mogcast, a fortnightly conversation with Jacob Rees Mogg about the topics of the day.

Welcome to the 74th Moggast. This is Paul Goodman, editor of Conservative Home in conversation with Jacob

Rees-Mogg. Jacob, good afternoon. Good afternoon, Paul. Thank you for coming in. Here we are.

And before the listeners hear my introduction, they hear a generic form of words each week,

which is that I'll be talking to you about the issues of the day.

And there's only one issue of the day this week, which is the war.

So what I thought we'd try and do in this conversation, since exploring the implications of

the war for Russia, Western Europe in the world, I think is so complicated to toss, it's probably best left,

is just to look ahead at what the implications for Britain might be.

So I want for a start to assume that if there isn't a swift coup or a swift Russian withdrawal or a swift

negotiated settlement, this war will go on for some time and that if it does, there will be

consequences for politics here and the way we live. Do you think that's right?

Yes, I do.

That a number of the things that are happening in Ukraine and because of the Russian invasion

of Ukraine exacerbate trends that were already occurring.

I'm thinking obviously of the cost of living crisis.

So you've got the rise in the oil price that has been very steep already.

Closed the end of the last week at nearly $120 a barrel.

And bear in mind, at the low point at the beginning of COVID, it was in negative territory.

People actually pay you to take a barrel of oil. So the change in price

over two years is extraordinary. The price of petrol and diesel at the pumps has gone up

accordingly. But it's the threat to Odessa, which is the main port through which a lot of the grain

...