Rees-Mogg has found himself under fire for an off-the-cuff use of the phrase “yellow peril” in the Commons this afternoon. Labour MP Sarah Owen was the first to spot the phrase, tweeting “It is 2021 not 1821!”. Despite the fact the Tories have used the jokey attack line in reference to the LibDems for years, shadow leader Thangam Debbonaire made a point of order 30 minutes later, accusing Rees-Mogg of using an “extremely offensive racist term”. Woke MPs are already piling on…

According to Hansard, Jacob is now the fourth Tory MP to use the joke in the Commons, after Peter Bone, Tom Purseglove and Simon Hoare. Boris used the phrase in a Telegraph op-ed in 2013. The Independent and Guardian have also run editorials referring to the LibDems as such. The New Statesman’s Kevin Maguire joined in in 2019.

Guido anticipates them both running hit pieces on Rees-Mogg this afternoon…