Rees Mogg uses common sense to flee burning building.

[longwayoff]

Or, he would, if he were to find himself in that situation. Having previously insulted the medical knowledge and expertise of a leading neurologist, he now advises ignoring fire service advice, saying those who died in Grenfell lacked common sense and should have left the building. AIBU to say this man's ignorance is an embarrassment and he is unfit for public service?

It’s all very well for people to say ‘Oh yes, I’d have ignored the Fire Service’, when they’re sitting safely in a building which is not on fire, not in the middle of the night, and not with their children with them. But in the night, in fear, and with someone that you trusted to know best telling you that staying put was safest? I think a great many people would have followed that advice. To suggest in any way that those poor people were wrong is appalling.

I am aware that Rees-Mogg is back-pedalling his remarks - he is however an experienced, senior politician and he should choose his words more carefully. They are quite literally his stock in trade, after all.

I remember several threads on Mumsnet where posters were throwing their ovaries at JRM, describing him as cute and cuddly and adorable. Hope those morons are hanging their heads in shame at their utter ignorance and stupidity.
He is an awful example of the upper class so completely isolated from the life of most people in Britain, yet those people still vote for him, even though he clearly despises the idea of dirtying his hands with the lower muck.
I don’t get it.

I'm happy to be corrected but in relation to Lakanal House I thought there were no faults found with the building construction...so it was the advice to stay put then that was just wrong irrespective of the building.

Evil man. I suppose he's one of these tories who also thinks victims of genocide just didn't try hard enough. Fucker.

He's apologised. As if that makes any fucking difference.

He's got nothing but contempt for anyone who's not a public-school pillock like him.

@otterturk, he is completely wrong. You’re sitting on the top floor of a building on fire, with the stairs full of smoke and there’s fire spreading. How clearly would you think especially as the fire brigade advised you to stay put? The whole report and those remarks blaming the people and the Fire Brigade are clearly meant as a diversion from the fact that the building wasn’t safe and what would be a sound advice somewhere where basic safety measures were observed failed here because how was the Fire Brigade supposed to know that the building was built as a death trap on purpose?

If I lived in a flat like that I would have a fire extinguisher, a parachute and some abseiling equipment. I’m not even joking, it’s all that would qualm my anxiety. It would probably make no difference in an emergency but I’d need it just to be able to get to sleep at night.

What terrifies me is that he clearly thinks this will play well with their 'base'. That and the 8% of people on this thread who think his remarks are just fine. What the hell is happening to us?

He's a cunt.

No, @MaxNormal, you're doing cunts a disservice there. He lacks the requisite warmth and usefulness to be a cunt.

He's a smug, weasel faced wee arse. How dare he I just don't know what he hoped to achieve by these remarks.

I can’t imagine the utter horror of having to make a decision whether to stay or flee especially with small children or elderly relatives. The problem the fire service will have no is people will be less likely to stay or to listen to advice which may cause more problems in the future. He should have chosen his words better. He knew what topic he was there to talk about so he has no excuse really to go on about common sense. He will have had lines to take and will have been briefed.

You need to understand that this was Grenfell and the fire was at the middle of the night. Nobody in their right mind would have escaped into that neighbourhood at that time unless they had to. And in this case the fire service told them it was safe to stay in their homes. And when you talk to survivors you realise that most of them were living in the lower floors and only ran when the smoke became obvious / the stairs weren’t visible any more.

This was a tragedy and a major communication failure by the fire service. I absolutely deplore Jacob Rees Mogg’s attempts to politicize this for his own gains.

He is a cunt. The Tories are all cunts. Every single one of them. Anyone voting Tory in this election will be complicit in any future deaths of the poor in this country.

I also listened to the comment in context and while I think it’s a ill thought out and insensitive comment it’s very different to what the OP claimed he said.

He didn’t advise people to ignore the fire brigades advice
He didn’t say that the people who died on Grenfell Towers lacked common sense and should have left the building.

Yes it was still a stupid comment by a man I find obnoxious, pompous and lacking any self awareness whatsoever but I don’t think he was victim blaming. He repeated again and again what a terrible tragedy it was. He was sympathetic.

This type of discussion detracts from the things we should actually be thinking about such as the point raised by PigletJohn

JRM is a dick. People were being told by authority figures to override their common sense.

The FB were trying to get people to stay in the building. One of DH’s friends left with his family and they told him to go back. He ignored them.

Rees Mogg would never be in a building with unsafe cladding, because they wouldn't be penny pinching around a building where rich people live.

Too true, @MrsMaiselsMuff, have a look at his gaff

mogg.wikia.org/wiki/Gournay_Court

English Heritage would (rightly) have something to say about it if he wanted to cover his house in highly flammable plastic.

no amount of common sense would have saved you in these
conditions
emergency-services.news/?p=12798&fbclid=IwAR0cwh3lcD8KNn6y2mVlKk2Cl9noYsVX-_atRU8L---0y9Phx3Kc62hn8ps

Jesus Christ, he's a cunt

@velvetspoon

"The inquest focused on the cladding panels that had been fitted as part of the refurbishment in 2006/07, which were found to offer less fire resistance than the panels they replaced, and enabled the fire to spread more rapidly than expected. According to the jury; ‘This was due to a serious failure on the part of Southwark Council’s building design services, its contractors and its subcontractors’.

The coroner made recommendations to Southwark Council, the Department of Communities and Local Government, and the London Fire Brigade. Chief among these was that guidance on the scope of fire risk assessments and on the building regulations should be made clearer. "

www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Lakanal_House_fire

I absolutely deplore Jacob Rees Mogg’s attempts to politicize this for his own gains

How on earth was he trying to politicise it for his own gains?? Did you even listen to the interview? He was answering a question. He didn’t answer it well or tactfully but he was trying to avoid politicising if anything.

Can’t believe I’m defending JRM but there is no need to make up shit about him when there are plenty of crap and obnoxious things he has actually said and done.

He reminds me of the people that say things such as 'poor people should just try harder at not being poor'. Despicable man.

Can anyone take this thread even remotely seriously? The comments say more about the people who post them than they do about JRM.

It’s all very well for people to say ‘Oh yes, I’d have ignored the Fire Service’, when they’re sitting safely in a building which is not on fire, not in the middle of the night, and not with their children with them. But in the night, in fear, and with someone that you trusted to know best telling you that staying put was safest? I think a great many people would have followed that advice.

I agree - I'm certain we would have and most people would.

I've seen and read some analysis of people behaviour in disaster situations - it's not the Hollywood panic it's back to troop animal behaviour - you look to see what everyone else is doing and copy and you listen and follow people in authority. If everyone else on your floor is staying put – you’re more likely to and if firemen on stairwells and via phone are telling you to stay you’re more likely to follow than in normal situations.

I'm sadly not suprised by Rees Mogg - it seems to fit the whole it's your fault when bad stuff happens narrative he seems to embody at times.