The city centre was slammed as “dirty” and like it has “given up”
17:10, 28 Aug 2025Updated 17:16, 28 Aug 2025
Broadmead is set for major changes in the coming years (Image: Jake McPherson / SWNS)
A Broadmead business leader has hit back against a former Brexit Party and Tory politician for her damning description of a visit to Bristol’s shopping quarter.
Annunziata Rees-Mogg, who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) before Britain left the EU, recently took to X, formerly Twitter, to post a lengthy rant about her experience during a visit to Broadmead on Tuesday (August 26).
Ms Rees-Mogg, sister of former Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, said she had seen several drug-affected and homeless people during her trip to the city centre. She described a scene of general urban decay including abandoned shopfronts and dirty buildings and streets.
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The post, which has been liked by almost 5,000 people and viewed hundreds of thousands of times, read: “Took two teenage girls shopping in Bristol today. As we circled the car park two drug addicts were getting their gear ready. As we walked to the big shopping centre a man high as a kite was trying to pick his phone off the floor and finding it highly amusing that he kept failing to do so.
“The ticket machine wasn’t working, the escalator was broken, and numerous shops empty including the massive old Debenhams. The streets were dirty, the building too. Closing down sales and “to let” signs seemed to be everywhere you looked.”
She went on to describe beggars on the pavement, a security guard at Poundland and shuttered shops, saying the decline in the city felt “so much worse” than Skegness. She concluded: “Bristol really brought home the malaise we are suffering from in our country. It felt like a city that had given up.”
Annunziata Rees-Mogg, formerly of the Brexit Party and the Conservatives, decried the state of Bristol after a recent shopping trip in the city(Image: Derby Telegraph)
In response, director of Broadmead Business Improvement District (BID) Vivienne Kennedy pointed out the issues Ms Rees-Mogg had pointed out with Broadmead were playing out on high streets and in city centres around the country, and said Bristol was in better shape than most places.
‘Vibrant and resilient’
“These challenges are not unique to Bristol; they reflect the wider pressures being felt across towns and cities nationally,” Ms Kennedy said.
“That said, Bristol remains a vibrant, resilient and changing city. Our city centre is in a period of transition, with major investment and regeneration already underway.”
Vivienne Kennedy (right) said Broadmead was in a ‘period of transition’.(Image: Plaster PR)
Bristol’s centre is set to transform in the coming years, with plans approved to demolish the Galleries, and the massive project to transform the area of St Philip’s near Temple Meads Station well underway.
In the short term, the city centre is set to welcome new outlets from some major brands. A massive new £21m Marks & Spencer store is due to open in Cabot Circus this autumn on the site which formally housed House of Fraser. Uniqlo has also submitted plans to open in the former Topshop unit at Cabot Circus.
“Together, these projects will bring new homes, jobs and experiences that strengthen both the daytime and evening economy,” Ms Kennedy said.
Cabot Circus and other parts of Broadmead will also be going through significant broader changes. Hammerson, which jointly owns Cabot Circus, has recently submitted plans to build a huge new student accommodation tower on land in front of the shopping centre’s car park, adjacent to a major route into Bristol from the M32.
There is also a huge planned redevelopment of the Quakers Friars area, also owned by Hammerson.
While Ms Kennedy did not directly address the incidents of anti-social behaviour Rees-Mogg allegedly witnessed during her visit to Bristol, she said work was being done by a range of partners to make the city centre as safe as possible.
“We are working closely with the council, police, businesses and community partners to keep the centre safe, welcoming and economically strong,” she said.
“Independent research shows that large city centres, including Bristol, record lower vacancy rates than many other places across the UK. While there is still work to do, the fundamentals here are strong and new brands are moving into the city all the time as the high street evolves.”
