Shared values

Mr Rees-Mogg is apparently still a favoured contender to replace Mrs May.

Casting an eye over his CV we see that he is a supporter of zero-hour contracts, and wants to reduce benefits and to remove environmental legislation. He has twice voted to repeal the Human Rights Act and he has questioned whether the poor in Victorian times really were hard done by (I recommend he reads some Dickens, a man who was appalled at the condition of the poor at that time and made a significant difference with his novels).

He is an admirer of Mr Trump, another very rich businessman' (“good for the US [because] he is looking to cut taxes and deregulate”), commenting, "We have so many shared values." As the ex-Labour leader Mr Miliband noted, "The idea that we have shared values with a racist, misogynistic, self-confessed groper beggars belief.”

Mr Rees-Mogg also wants immigration to be restricted, was against efforts to make the Conservative party more ethnically diverse, and is a long-time proponent of leaving the EU. Unsurprisingly he pushed for the Conservative party to form an alliance with UKIP.

He advocates reducing our spending on overseas aid (not so Christian after all) and believes that we shouldn't worry about global warming as the UK can't make much difference, we should "put people before polar bears."

No doubt his preferred model for the UK post-Brexit is Singapore-on-Thames: Low business taxes, minimal environmental and employee protection.

Like Mrs May (and Mr Farron, the leader of the Lib Dems until this year) Mr Rees-Mogg is a committed Christian. Unlike them he has consistently voted against same-sex marriage, saying, "I take my whip from the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church rather than the Whip’s Office."

Not only is he strongly against same-sex marriage, he is also absolutely against abortion (including the morning-after pill) in any circumstances, even if the pregnancy is due to rape or incest.

It should come as no surprise then that he strongly supported the Tories getting into bed with the DUP. What's not to like - climate change deniers who are against gay marriage and abortion. If Mr Rees-Mogg really does manage to get his hands on the reins of power it will be interesting to see what the next Tory manifesto contains.