{"id":3912,"date":"2026-04-13T11:41:58","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T11:41:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/?p=3912"},"modified":"2026-04-13T11:41:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T11:41:58","slug":"jacob-rees-mogg-in-lincoln","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/events\/jacob-rees-mogg-in-lincoln\/04-2026","title":{"rendered":"Jacob Rees-Mogg in Lincoln"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This month Jacob Rees-Mogg brings an evening of keen wit, unabashed opinion and trademark double-breasted charm to Lincoln Theatre Royal. We couldn\u2019t resist a few words with the Tory grandee, businessman and broadcaster whose tailoring and wit are equally sharp…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If ever there was an antithesis to politics at the moment, it\u2019s Jacob Rees-Mogg in his 1936 3.5-litre Derby Bentley. Ahead of an unprecedented and much-anticipated live tour, the politician, broadcaster and businessman was fresh from a weekend enjoying classic motoring in Somerset. Daffodils. Spring sunshine. Optimistic. All is well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elsewhere, UK and global politics was proving rather less cheerful, substantially cooler and much more fast-paced. We spoke in early March when a sulky Trump had just declared Keir Starmer to be \u2018no Churchill\u2019 following Britain\u2019s refusal to allow the US military to make use of Britain\u2019s RAF air bases. Firstly then, a caveat. We are some way off our print deadline so by the time you read this, chances are the \u2018special relationship\u2019 and the conflict in the Middle East will have evolved significantly, never mind how matters may have developed by the time Jacob\u2019s Mogg Unbuttoned tour takes place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a modest tour; just five dates including Lincoln\u2019s New Theatre Royal on Tuesday 19th May. The point, he says, is to gauge how much interest future live tours will arouse. Quite a bit, we reckon. A straw poll in the Pride office revealed plenty of interest in hearing from such an experienced politician and incisive social commentator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt seems to me that politics has just got faster and faster in recent years,\u201d he told me, though not with a sigh. If anything, he sounds invigorated by it. Jacob is almost liberated by being away from frontline politics and is now able to engage in open discussion and debate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is the point of the Q&A sessions on the Mogg Unbuttoned tour and of his willingness to engage with the audiences of his State of the Nation feature on GB News, Monday to Friday from 8pm to 9pm, as well as the audiences of his Substack and YouTube channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is my first live tour,\u201d he says, although Jacob has appeared alongside The Spectator\u2019s Fraser Nelson before. What he remembers most is the peculiarity of performing to an audience you cannot properly see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNormally, if you\u2019re a politician at speaking events, you see your audience, whereas in a theatre you don\u2019t because the lights are so bright.\u201d His solution was ingenious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo that I could see my audience, I sold the ice creams in the interval, which I thoroughly enjoyed. People wanted a selfie so they could have one, as long as they bought an ice cream. I did a roaring trade, especially when I recommended my favourite flavour.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tour promises to \u2018lift the velvet curtain on life in Westminster, from political intrigue to parliamentary peculiarities, as well as inclusion of the moments \u201cone isn\u2019t supposed to mention in polite society.\u201d\u2019 Expect these to be delivered with Jacob\u2019s unmistakable blend of intellect and humour. \u2018Exactly how salacious does it get?\u2019 I asked. \u201cI\u2019m not the most salacious person you could meet,\u201d he replied dryly. \u201cBut there are lots of things that go on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The show is not a lecture, or a party rally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s exciting to have the opportunity to discuss things with audiences and have an open discussion,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is experimental, so we\u2019ll see how it goes. And if people are interested, I\u2019ll probably do it again and add more dates. But this is just to see whether there\u2019s an appetite for it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacob is not looking for admiration, but argument. \u201cI\u2019m very keen on this. And I want the audience to ask difficult questions. I don\u2019t want them to come along and say, \u2018you\u2019re marvellous!\u2019 That\u2019s not very interesting for anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m keen to be challenged. That\u2019s freedom of speech. And I worry that\u2019s something increasingly regulated in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tour is also, in Jacob\u2019s mind, a natural extension of his working life now that he\u2019s out of Parliament. In opposition, he argues, commentary can matter as much as frontline politics. And when you are in the media, rather than in politics, you are even more ideally positioned to provide meaningful commentary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very hard in government to do any thinking because you\u2019re racing from pillar to post to catch up with the meeting for which you\u2019re running a quarter of an hour late. It\u2019s very hard to sit back and think, \u2018is this the right policy?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn government you need to be in the House of Commons and \u2018doing things\u2019 because then you\u2019re making decisions, and the important part of being a minister is making decisions which then have an effect on the future of the country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo I\u2019m very lucky to be able to be a commentator whilst the party is in opposition. It\u2019s proving to be a very interesting thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to serving as a presenter on GB News, Jacob regularly writes op-eds for The Telegraph and the Daily Mail. His father, William Rees-Mogg, edited The Times from 1967 to 1981. Jacob also contributes to his Substack  account and his YouTube channel, where his Moggologue videos have become part of his public voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is not just a technical shift, it\u2019s an ideological one,\u201d he says. \u201cIt changes what can be said and when. Freedom of speech is much greater once you get off the main channels and you\u2019re no longer regulated by Ofcom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The global politics of early March coloured everything we discussed. On the day of our conversation, Donald Trump had just sulkily declared Keir Starmer to be \u2018no Churchill.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf America decides that conflict is necessary, I think it is in our interest to support them. It\u2019s very sad, actually, that the one thing that Keir Starmer had actually got right was maintaining the \u2018special relationship\u2019 and he had managed to get himself into a very good position with Donald Trump, which is important,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the most important foreign affairs relationship a British Prime Minister has. It\u2019s not good for the country to be in this position. You always want a British Prime Minister, regardless of party, to have a good relationship with the President of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacob acknowledged the unease that comes with that. \u201cYou may say that\u2019s a bit weak, we\u2019re allowing America to make our foreign policy, but our long-term interests and alliance with America are so important and so fundamental to our own security that we have to put that at the forefront of our minds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What matters most, Jacob points out, is what happens after any military action. From Sykes Picot and the Balfour Declaration in 1916 and 1917 to Indian partition and a clumsy withdrawal from the Middle East in 1946 to 1948, Britain\u2019s long and illustrious history of our catastrophic interventions in world politics provides precedent for careful dialogue and cautious post-conflict planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always the consequences of war rather than the war itself. Even if you\u2019ve won the war, what do you do next?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Jacob\u2019s Euroscepticism, has not at all softened with time. \u201cI\u2019m still very pro-Brexit,\u201d he said. \u201cBrexit was about our own government having the chance to make decisions, and giving the electorate the right to decide who their government was. That seems to me to be fundamentally important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In domestic politics, Jacob believes that the Labour Party is dithering and very much underperforming whilst Reform gathers momentum and the Conservative Party\u2019s reputation is improving, albeit from a low position in 2024. Does Jacob believe that Starmer and Reeves will last the year?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d be very surprised. A recent poll had Labour down to under 100 seats, which means over 300 MPs losing their seats. Kemi\u2019s performances are getting stronger and stronger and there\u2019s a bit of a spring in the step of the party. She\u2019s moving the Conservative Party further to the right, which is where its members and supporters are, but that\u2019s leaving very little difference between the Conservatives and Reform.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen things are going quite well the country thinks it can afford Labour, but when things become hard, we do always come back to the Conservatives to make the tough economic decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReform, meanwhile, is doing well. It has great people, such as Richard Tice in my sister\u2019s constituency, but it\u2019s still very much the Nigel Farage party. I see a lot of him at GB News and I like him. He\u2019s a very capable man, but parties need more depth and the Tory party has that extra depth and some wonderful MPs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve a huge amount of respect for Alicia Kearns in Rutland and Stamford, she\u2019s absolutely formidable. I used to have an office next door to her in the Commons and she\u2019s very clear sighted. Victoria Atkins and Caroline Johnson are politicians with great capability and integrity, so we need to really work together as a party.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Conservative Party and Reform working together before an election would be a very powerful combination. I think we should try to work out something \u2013 whether it\u2019s a coalition or whether we simply cooperate seat by seat \u2013 before the election. That would be my preferred route because if you try to do it after an election you\u2019ve already lost seats.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we want to achieve is so similar that it makes sense for us to work together,\u201d he said. \u201cSplitting the electorate risks letting others get in on a very low share of the vote.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lincolnshire is the archetype of Britain\u2019s current political mood, as voters express their dissatisfaction with left-leaning politics and demand a stronger leadership. It is also a county that Jacob knows well. His sister, Annunziata, lives in the county and he visits regularly, especially if he has been invited to address a local Conservative association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a wonderful county and Lincoln is very beautiful, especially the approach when you\u2019re some distance from the city and you see the wonderful Cathedral up on the hill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A House of Commons doorkeeper who had also served as a guide at Lincoln Cathedral arranged a guided tour of the building for him, an experience he is happy to recommend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether there is time for Jacob to return to the Cathedral or enjoy any of its other highlights remains to be seen, but for real entertainment in Lincolnshire this month, you\u2019ll be hard-pressed to find anything quite as enjoyable, stimulating and as thought provoking as an evening with Jacob. If you\u2019re lucky he may even serve up a selfie and an ice cream too. Oh… and that favourite flavour? Salted caramel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ufeffJacob Rees-Mogg<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ufeffEducation:<\/strong>\u2008<\/strong>Born in London, attended Eton and Trinity College Oxford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Career: <\/strong>Founded Somerset Capital Management LLP in 2007. MP for North East Somerset from 2010-2024. Served under Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. Leader of the House in 2019-2022. Journalist and GB News presenter since 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scrabble Credentials: <\/strong>Used the longest word ever recorded in Parliament\u2019s record, Hansard, in 2022:\u2018floccinaucinihilipilification.\u2019 That\u2019s \u2018the action or habit of estimating something as worthless.\u2019 His record was broken by 16-year-old student Michael Bryan in 2017, but we still wouldn\u2019t advise playing Scrabble against Jacob.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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