Polls suggest the divisive Tory’s 14-year stint as MP for North East Somerset may be coming to a close – but his mother still backs him

There is little enthusiasm for Jacob Rees-Mogg among the crowd of parents gathering at the ­sun-dappled primary school close to his family’s 17th-century manor house in the rolling hills of north-east Somerset.

“We have learned the hard way that politicians who we feel are just a little bit of a joke can be dangerous,” says Nikki Joseph, 36, who is picking up her son. “I’m not voting for Jacob Rees-Mogg. I don’t know anyone who is voting for him … in my age group. It is either Lib Dem or Labour.”