Rees-mogg’s Edwardian purr makes him man of the ‘mayment’

There are plenty of Tory MPS with similar views, and they aren’t drawing crowds this eager, this adoring, this cooingly indulgent

No doubt about the star of Tory conference. It’s Jacob Reesmogg, by a mile – which is roughly the length of the queues to see him. It’s remarkable.

Every event he’s down to speak at, queues jam the corridor an hour before he even arrives. If you want to get down the front, you need a sleeping bag and a Thermos. It’s full-on Mogg-mania. Before one fringe event, a woman rushed up, breathless, at the last minute – only to be told by the door staff that there was simply no more room. The woman was Mr Rees-mogg’s wife. It was not, she sighed, the first time this had happened.

What is it about this man – a mere backbencher, after all – that’s inspiring such devotion? No doubt party members love his politics, but there are plenty of Tory MPS with similar views, and they aren’t drawing crowds this eager, this adoring, this cooingly indulgent.

I think there’s something else they’re coming for. I think they’re coming to hear his voice.

Yes, his voice: that costume-drama