Ann Widdecombe

Ann Widdecombe
Widdecombe in 2009
Minister of State for Prisons
In office
28 February 1995 – 2 May 1997
Prime MinisterJohn Major
Preceded byMichael Forsyth
Succeeded byJoyce Quin
Minister of State for Employment[a]
In office
27 May 1993 – 5 July 1995
Prime MinisterJohn Major
Preceded byPatrick McLoughlin
Succeeded byLord Henley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Social Security
In office
30 November 1990 – 27 May 1993
Prime MinisterJohn Major
Preceded byGillian Shephard
Succeeded byWilliam Hague
Member of the European Parliament
for South West England
In office
2 July 2019 – 31 January 2020
Preceded byJulia Reid
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Member of Parliament
for Maidstone and The Weald
Maidstone (1987–1997)
In office
11 June 1987 – 12 April 2010
Preceded byJohn Wells
Succeeded byHelen Grant
Shadow Cabinet offices
1998–1999Shadow Secretary of State for Health
1999–2001Shadow Home Secretary
Personal details
Born
Ann Noreen Widdecombe

(1947-10-04) 4 October 1947 (age 77)
Bath, Somerset, England
Political partyReform UK (2023–present)[1]
Other political
affiliations
Conservative (1976–2019)
Brexit Party (2019–2021)
Independent (2021–2023)
Residence(s)London, England
Sutton Valence, Kent, England
Haytor Vale, Dartmoor, Devon, England
Alma materUniversity of Birmingham
Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford
Widdecombe at a book club hosted by Edwina Currie in Clapham, 2010

Ann Noreen Widdecombe DSG (born 4 October 1947) is a British politician and television personality who has been Reform UK's Immigration and Justice spokesperson since 2023.[2] Originally a member of the Conservative Party, she was Member of Parliament (MP) for Maidstone and The Weald, and the former Maidstone constituency, from 1987 to 2010. She was a member of the Brexit Party from 2019 until it was renamed Reform UK in 2021, and served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South West England from 2019 to 2020;[3] she rejoined Reform UK in 2023.

Born in Bath, Somerset, Widdecombe read Latin at the University of Birmingham and later studied philosophy, politics and economics at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. She is a religious convert from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism, and was a member of the Conservative Christian Fellowship. She served as Minister of State for Employment from 1994 to 1995 and Minister of State for Prisons from 1995 to 1997. She later served in the Shadow Cabinet of William Hague as Shadow Secretary of State for Health from 1998 to 1999 and Shadow Home Secretary from 1999 to 2001. She was appointed to the Privy Council in 1997.

Widdecombe stood down from the House of Commons at the 2010 general election. Since 2002, she has made numerous television and radio appearances, including as a television presenter. A prominent Eurosceptic, in 2016 she supported the Vote Leave campaign to withdraw the United Kingdom from the European Union (EU). Widdecombe returned to politics as the lead candidate for the Brexit Party in South West England at the 2019 European Parliament election, winning the seat in line with results nationally, serving until the country left the EU on 31 January 2020. In the general election of December 2019 – as with all other candidates for the Commons fielded by the Brexit Party – she did not win the seat she contested (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport), but retained her deposit and came third.

Ideologically, Widdecombe identifies herself as a social conservative and stresses the importance of traditional values and conservatism. As a member of the House of Commons, she opposed the legality of abortion, opposed granting LGBT people legal rights such as the same age of consent as heterosexuals, and opposed the repeal of Section 28. She supported reintroduction of the death penalty for murder, though more narrowly applied than previously. She is opposed to all forms of assisted dying. She has a history of supporting rigorous laws on animal protection and opposition to fox hunting.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Langford, Eleanor (20 March 2023). "Nigel Farage insists 'Brexit is not completely done' as Reform UK calls on Tory MPs to defect". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  2. ^ "Reform UK Departmental Team Responsibilities". Reform UK. March 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  3. ^ "Ann Widdecombe demands Tories 'end cancel culture' in the lead-up to the leadership election". YouTube.