Jacob Rees-Mogg is worried his nanny might have to start cutting his hair with a pudding bowl
Jacob Rees-Mogg joked that he would have to ask his nanny to cut his hair with a pudding bowl while hairdressers remain closed under partial lockdown.
The leader of the house of Commons launched into something of a bizarre comedy routine when asked when hairdressers might reopen.
Rees-Mogg told the Commons:
When I was a child, I remember there being a song called Long Haired Lover from Liverpool. I had never aimed in my whole career to end up looking like the long haired lover from Liverpool. But I fear I'm heading in that direction. I have never had longer hair and I'm beginning to wonder whether I oughtn't to ask nanny if she can't find a pudding bowl and put it on and see if something can't be done as an emergency measure. Of course a nanny's part of the household, what a daft question.
As guffaws from his fellow Tory MPs died down, Rees-Mogg then rattled off the serious answer that he is working with the industry to find "safe ways" to reopen at the "earliest point". He then quipped that "many of us will feel there is a burden lifted from our shoulders".
Rees-Mogg later took to Twitter to share a photo of his great-great grandfather with abundantly long hair.
Jacob Rees-Mogg's family does actually have a nanny, who has worked for them for more than 50 years. Veronica Cook helped to raise Rees-Mogg and now cares for his own children.
Obviously, his jokes are extremely out of touch with people who aren't old-Etonian multi-millionaires.
And his quaint Victorian gentleman act can also be dangerous, helping him to get away with imposing cumbersome rules on the Commons.
Recently, Rees-Mogg implemented rules that mean MPs have to return to the Commons to vote, putting them at potential risk to coronavirus and creating a ridiculous 'Mogg conga' around parliament. He's also had difficulty following his own rules himself.
Jacob Rees-Mogg is known for wearing a top hat and responds to emails from his constituents by letter.
He helped to establish himself as the 'right honourable member for the 18th century' with appearances on TV shows like Have I Got News For You.
But when MPs are being put needlessly at risk because of his outdated rules and struggling businesses need serious answers on when they might expect to see customers again, his quaint stabs at comedy can be something less than helpful.