Ann Widdecombe dies aged 78

Catholic convert and former Strictly contestant Ann Widdecombe has died.

“It is with great sadness that today we announce the death of the Rt Hon Ann Widdecombe, DSG. We send our deepest condolences to Ann’s family and friends. We ask that the family’s wish not to be contacted at this sad time is respected,” said her agents, Cloud 9 Management.

The agents said she was driven by her strong Christian values and commitment to public service, that she loved the cut and thrust of political debate.

“For many, of course, she will be best (or worst?) remembered for her unforgettable appearances on Strictly Come Dancing, defying the judges week-after-week as the public delighted in her unsuccessful attempts to follow the choreography of the long-suffering Anton Du Beke.”

Widdecombe, who served as a Conservative minister, was briefly an MEP for the Brexit Party and went on to become a spokeswoman for Reform UK, which she continued to do for the rest of her life, was a member of the Church of England until she was received into the Catholic Church in 1993, soon after the General Synod voted to ordained women priests.

Besides Strictly, she took part in Celebrity Big Brother in 2018.

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Tom Rogers, chair of Reform UK Peterborough Branch, said on X, “Rest in peace Ann Widdecombe. On the side of the angels and definitely a woman after my own heart on so many things. A great champion of the pro-life cause.”

Reform UK’s Dame Andrea Jenkins, Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, said, “Rest in peace, Ann Widdecombe. A true political titan who served her country as an MP, Minister, and MEP with unwavering devotion to her principles. She was a giant of public life, completely unapologetic in her views, and a one-of-a-kind character who left an indelible mark on Westminster and beyond. She will be greatly missed.”

Widdecombe was a leading advocate for protections for the unborn and the elderly and vulnerable.

A long-serving patron of Right To Life UK, she consistently voted in favour of greater protections for unborn babies and against attempts to legalise assisted suicide.

As early as 1990, in a debate on the Abortion Act 1967, she argued that abortion should not be treated as any other medical intervention and that existing protections for unborn babies should not be eroded further.

In the same year, when debating amendments to the then Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, Widdecombe insisted that unborn babies not be left out of the discussion, arguing that, due to medical advances, the abortion limit should be lowered. In another debate in the same year, Widdecombe raised concerns that an amendment to abortion legislation, allowing the Health Secretary to designate “a class of places” as suitable for abortions, would inadvertently pave the way for at-home abortions.

In 2007, she supported a Bill that would have required parents to be informed if their child under 16 had an abortion. In 2008, she voted in favour of a series of amendments to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, including an amendment to lower the abortion limit for abortions performed under Section 1(1)(a) of the Abortion Act to 12 weeks.

Widdecombe also served in a senior role in the All-Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group and fought against attempts to make assisted suicide legal in 1997, 2000 and 2004. Even after leaving the Commons, she continued her vocal opposition to assisted suicide. In 2012 she strongly opposed the notion, advanced by Dignitas founder Ludwig Minelli, that clinically depressed people should be assisted in suicide. “It is absolutely ludicrous. The answer to clinical depression is to get people help not to end their lives,” she said.

She spoke out regularly in the ongoing debate over Kim Leadbeater’s, now Lauren Edwards’, assisted suicide Bill, warning, “It is impossible to introduce adequate safeguards to protect the mentally ill, disabled and the frail elderly.”

Chris Whitehouse, a Right To Life UK trustee, said: “For 40 years, Ann was to me a personal and family friend, a political mentor and a remarkable heroine of the pro-life cause. To have known her was a pleasure and a privilege, if sometimes a challenge. She was unflinching in her politics, constant in her friendships and steadfast in her defence of the principle of the right to life, both for the unborn and for those approaching the end of their lives.”.

Friend and former colleague Lord Alton, said: “Ann’s forthright views, whether you agreed with her or not, were always trenchantly, intelligently, and honestly expressed and never with malice. Beyond the well-known public figure, there was also a less well-known private person, capable of great kindness in responding to people facing personal challenges and tragedy. As they will attest, she was never a fair-weather friend. At a time when the national debate needs respectful disagreement and intelligent debate, Ann’s voice will be missed. I will not be alone in mourning her passing.”

Simon Caldwell, Master of the Keys, said, “It is with huge sadness that I learn today of the death of Ann Widdecombe, my predecessor as Mistress of the Keys – Catholic Writers’ Guild – in the early 1990s. Ann is remembered with tremendous affection for her humour, courage and commitment to the faith. May she rest in peace.”

Peta founder Ingrid Newkirk said, “Animals need all the friends they can get in this world, and Peta remembers Ann Widdecombe as one of their best. Her compassion for animals extended from the rescue cats she shared her home with to her steadfast advocacy for animal protection. She fought to end the use of wild animals in circuses in Britain, spoke up for donkeys and other vulnerable animals, and campaigned against the slaughter of Canadian black bears for the King’s Guard’s bearskin caps. She challenged the notion that tradition should come at the expense of wildlife, saying, ‘It’s high time we ended our war against these beautiful animals.’ And indeed, it is. A fitting tribute to Widdecombe’s compassion for animals would be to realise one of the causes she championed: replacing the King’s Guard’s bearskin caps with humane faux fur, thereby ending the UK’s association with a bloody trade that kills bears for pomp and so-called prestige.

(More follows.)

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