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Jacob Rees-Mogg’s SISTER Annunziata quits Tories to join Nigel Farage’s new Brexit party
JACOB Rees-Mogg's sister Annunziata has quit the Tories to join Nigel Farage's new Brexit party today.
The top Brexiteer's sibling, 40, has caused a family split by joining ranks with Mr Farage's new venture as it was launched this morning.
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She was unveiled as a surprise candidate earlier today for the party which is on track to cause a Tory bloodbath at the polls next month.
Her brother Jacob, the MP for North East Somerset, told The Sun it was "careless" to lose people from both wings of the party - just weeks after three Tories quit to join The Independent Group.
Ms Rees-Mogg said today she felt "democracy has been so betrayed" she's returned to politics after being a full-time mum for eight years.
"My country needs to be recognised in the democratic way that it has called for," she said.
"Our politicians need to listen to what the people have said."
Theresa May was refusing to take note of the deep concerns from the Tory membership and the 17.4million people who voted for freedom from the EU, she argued.
"I can't sit by and let her do it," she added. "It is our fight and we must fight to win.
"We must leave for a greater future and better politics."
Mr Farage said today that the party would "put the fear of God" back into MPs after being betrayed by them - and it was "no more Mr Nice Guy".
We should trust the people. We must fight back for control of our own democracy.
Annunziata Rees-Mogg
"We have a Parliament which is now completely out of touch with our country," he told the rally earlier.
"Politics is broken.
"I believe that we can again put the fear of god into our Members of Parliament in Westminster.
"They deserve nothing less than that for the way they have treated us over this betrayal."
Ukip are finished because "the brand is now tarnished", he said.
His new Brexit Party would take large chunks out of Ukip, Tory and Labour votes, he said, by telling them we should have left the EU on March 29.
It's raked in three quarters of a million pounds in just over 10 days, mostly made up of smaller donors, he claimed in an article for The Daily Telegraph today.
And describing Brexit is a "national humiliation" he insisted Britain was still being governed by a "ruling class" who didn't believe in the country.
"We are a great nation and a great people. But we are being held back by weak leadership. The time to change this is now," he wrote.
"We see the next few weeks as the beginning of a fightback against an establishment that has wilfully betrayed our trust."
Today he put a whopping £1,000 bet that his new party would win the European elections and get the most seats if Britain is forced to take part in them.
Paddy Power make the Brexit Party 2/1 to win the most seats on May 23.
Jacob Rees Mogg said today after the news of his sister's split from the Tories: "The Brexit party is fortunate to have such a high calibre candidate but I am sorry that Annunciata has left the Conservative party.
"From Mrs May’s perspective to lose one wing of the party may be regarded as a misfortunate; to lose both looks like carelessness."
But he wouldn't say whether he'd even known of her switch in advance.
The backbencher revealed it had been him who had "signed her up" as a member of the party when they were young, but he understood the "frustration" many Tories had been feeling over Brexit.
However, he insisted: “I definitely wouldn’t join any other party. I’m a Tory to my fingertips" and vowed not to let political divisions get in the way of his family.
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Who is Jacob Rees-Mogg's sister Annunziata?
- Annunziata Rees-Mogg used to be active in the Conservative Party and was one of David Cameron's A-list politicians
- She failed to win a seat as a Tory in 2005 and 2010
- She's the youngest sibling of Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Brexiteer Tory MP for North East Somerset
- And she's been campaigning for a Brexit referendum since 2003
- She's pro-hunting and has said the invasion of Iraq was a 'terrible mistake'
Tories fear their own party will face a battering at the local polls next month, and the European elections if we have to hold them.
Conservative MEP David Campbell Bannerman said today the party "will get a kicking" on May 23 and lose half of their 18 MEPs.
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