Campaigner Annunziata Rees-Mogg calls for Tories and Reform to work together at event in Skegness

Following a whirlwind year for the Tories, which saw them ousted from Parliament after 14 years, the Head of Communications for Popular Conservatism Annunziata Rees-Mogg has acknowledged that Reform poses a serious threat to the party ahead of May’s local elections.

Speaking at a Christmas coffee morning at the Vine Hotel and Restaurant in Skegness on Saturday, Ms Rees-Mogg – sister to former minister Jacob – shared her thoughts on how the Conservative Party had lost its way and she felt that they deserved to lose in July’s General Election.

Afterwards, she said the party had been led by what she described as “wet Conservatives” for most of the last 14 years, with some notable exceptions. She feels the party has now been presented with an opportunity to rebuild itself.

When asked what the future might look like for the Conservatives in Lincolnshire, she felt it was “looking very positive”.

“One of the huge benefits of the total rout that the Conservatives had is it has shown the men from the boys, those that are left are very dedicated, hard-working people who believe in core conservative values and that is the base we needed to rebuild from.

“We have been stripped back to the bricks and now is the chance to rebuild and I think it is a great opportunity we should seize.

“If we look across Lincolnshire, we lost this constituency [Boston and Skegness], we lost Lincoln and some of the others were touch and go, but we have got to look forward to the county elections and I think Reform do pose a serious threat to the Conservatives.

“I think across the country, Reform and the Conservatives are going to have to find a way of working together.

“If you look at the last two polls, they have come first and second. As a united force, with many similar priorities, there are many things about Reform I completely disagree with – and I’m sure they will say the exact same about me and my priorities – but, for the good of the country, I think they will need to find a way to work together against socialism, which they both oppose.”

Parachute politics

During her speech, Annunziata reproached the current MP for Boston and Skegness, Richard Tice (Reform UK), in a constituency she had recently moved into due to boundary changes ahead of the July General Election.

Mr Tice received a total of 15,520 votes, successfully ousting former Conservative MP Matt Warman who received 13,510 votes, in what was previously considered one of the safest Tory seats in the country.

Ms Rees-Mogg, who had previously worked alongside Richard during her time in the Brexit Party, questioned his intentions, noting the lack of connections he had to the area before being elected.

“I don’t think people should be parachuted in. The Conservatives did it in some seats—I think that was an enormous error,” she said.

“I don’t think people necessarily need to be local, but they have to have empathy, sympathy, and an understanding of local issues, priorities, and concerns. I fear that often doesn’t happen when people act opportunistically from any party, seeing a seat they think they can win, and the powers at the centre shove someone in there.

“However, I very much like Richard. He was the deputy when I was an MEP for the Brexit Party. I have an enormous amount of time for him, and I think he’s a genuine and decent man.

“I do, however, think he is misguided in his almost visceral desire to destroy the Conservative Party.

“I think it is a personal thing and not something he is doing for the best interests of the British people, despite how much he may portray it as that. I don’t think his heart is in it for the right reasons, and I don’t think his heart is in Skegness for the right reasons.”

That being said, she insisted she “couldn’t think of anything worse” than moving to London and being in the “viper’s nest” that is Westminster – something that means she wouldn’t be running as MP for Boston and Skegness under the Conservative banner in any future General Election.

Just a few days after the election, MrTice was promoted within Reform UK to Deputy Leader following Nigel Farage’s decision to oust both Ben Habib and David Bull due to tensions within the party.

When asked if his promotion would mean spending less time in Boston and Skegness, he responded: “What are you talking about?

“It makes no difference at all; my job first and foremost is to do a brilliant job representing all constituents of Boston and Skegness.”

Although he once led the party, in the run-up to the general election, Richard served as chairman after Farage assumed leadership.

Devolution

Local government is currently undergoing one of its biggest shakeups in 50 years after central government formally approved the devolution deal for Greater Lincolnshire, which promises to bring an additional £24 million per year to the region.

The agreement also involves the creation of a new combined authority, with a mayor who will act as a direct link to Westminster.

While supporters claim the deal will bring more power back to the area, and localise the decision-making process, Ms Rees-Mogg joked to attendees that if she were elected mayor, she would simply get rid of the role.

She explained: “I completely and utterly agree with democracy being what it says on the tin – that we should have democratic answerability and decisions made in our name.

“However, the more layers of that you get, the less democracy you end up with because everyone can claim a mandate, and when they disagree it means they can essentially do what they like.

“But with each of those layers comes a new administration, adding not more democracy but yet more cost to taxpayers.

“Now, we know that our local councils are overstretched, we know according to Rachel Reeves there is an imaginary black hole, but the government is genuinely very stretched that it’s raising taxes that no one can afford to pay for services it can’t afford.

“By adding more administration costs, more bureaucracy costs, and not adding any democracy, I think these are fundamentally bad ideas. We want to empower our district councils and county councils and ensure they have the funding they need to carry out their two quite distinct roles without adding yet another layer.”