Ann Widdecombe
Ann Noreen Widdecombe (4 October 1947 – 8 July 2026) was a British politician and television personality. As 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 and served as the Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South West England from 2019 to 2020. She joined Reform UK in 2023 and served as the party's Immigration and Justice spokesperson from 2023 until her death in 2026.
Widdecombe was found dead at her home on Dartmoor, Devon, on 9 July 2026, aged 78, when police launched a murder investigation.
Quotes
[edit]- So I may be remembered neither for politics nor for Strictly, but for something else that I can’t even foresee at the moment. And we get one go this side of eternity, one go. It’s not a dress rehearsal. And that’s my philosophy. It’s one go. And you make the most of it. And you take opportunities that come along that you like. And you go for it.
- Our consistent experience of laws is they grow legs and they walk and run away. For example, the 1967 Abortion Act; we were told we’d never have abortion on demand, and it was only for very serious cases; five million children have been aborted in this country since the passing of that Act. The 1969 Divorce Act; we were told this wouldn’t cause disrespect to the institution of marriage, it would just relieve misery in the very few cases. Now we have 40% of all marriages ending in divorce. The 1968 Homosexuality Equality Act; we were told this wouldn’t lead to open displays. Now we’ve got gay news on every street corner. The issue isn’t whether you think you should have abortion on demand or easy divorce or gay news on every street corner, the issue is were the consequences foreseen by the people who introduced those laws? I think if you introduce the euthanasia law in this country, however tightly you drew it, however good your intentions might be, in 10 years time no granny would be safe.
- Quoted in "God & I: Rt. Hon. Ann Widdecombe MP" (March 21, 2003)
- If marriage suddenly is no longer between a man and a woman, and it’s between a man and a man or a woman and a woman, then why not between one man and two women? Why not polygamy?
- We are born either male or female, an arrangement of nature which allows us to reproduce as a species.
- Quoted in "Why do we fall for transgender lunacy, asks ANN WIDDECOMBE", Express (Jun 6, 2018)
- If I needed any convincing at all that the best thing for Britain was to leave here as soon as possible, it was the way that those elections were conducted yesterday. Because if that is this place’s idea of democracy then that is a serious betrayal of every country that is represented here.There is a pattern that is present throughout history of oppressed people turning against their oppressors: Slaves against their owners. The peasantry against the feudal barons. And that is why Britain is leaving, and it doesn’t matter which language you use: we are going, and we are glad to be going.Nous allons, wir gehen, we’re off.
- Quoted on Brexit at: "Ann Widdecombe criticised for comparing Brexit to ‘slaves rising against owners’", Belfast Telegraph (04 Jul 2019)
Quotes about Ann Widdecombe
[edit]- She never let anyone … with any doubt in their minds at all where she stood on all the great issues of the day, and she was formidable too. I mean, I can tell you, the times when I used to get a phone call from Ann, abrupt Ann on the phone, saying she disagreed with what I’d done or what I’d said.She’d come to London and we’d sit down over a coffee and talk things through. But that was the thing about Ann: that all the disagreements she had with us over policy and direction and all the normal debate, that was always kept behind closed doors. In public, she was the most incredibly loyal ally.
- Nigel Farage quoted in "Ann Widdecombe, former Tory minister and Reform UK member, dies aged 78", The Guardian (10 Jul 2026)
- In the midst of the shock, clamour and sometimes unwarranted comment surrounding her death, our response is to pray for the repose of her soul, to give thanks for her fortitude, and offer Holy Mass in this Abbey Church which Ann called her safe haven.
- David Charlesworth, Abbot of Buckfast Abbey, homily, at Widdecombe's funeral. Quoted in "Ann Widdecombe's loved ones gather for her funeral", BBC News (12 Aug 2026).
External links
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