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'''Ann Widdecombe''' (1947-2026) was a former [[Conservative Party|Conservative]] [[Member of Parliament]] in the [[United Kingdom]].  First elected to Parliament in [[Margaret Thatcher|Margaret Thatcher's]] 1987 victory, she stood down at the 2010 election.  Between 1990 and 1997 she served in the [[government]] of [[Prime Minister]] [[John Major]].  After the election loss of 1997, she served as shadow [[Health Minister]] and shadow [[Home Secretary]].  She moved to the backbenches in 2001.

'''Ann Widdecombe''' (1947-2026) was a former [[Conservative Party|Conservative]] [[Member of Parliament]] in the [[United Kingdom]].  First elected to Parliament in [[Margaret Thatcher|Margaret Thatcher's]] 1987 victory, she stood down at the 2010 election.  Between 1990 and 1997 she served in the [[government]] of [[Prime Minister]] [[John Major]].  After the election loss of 1997, she served as shadow [[Health Minister]] and shadow [[Home Secretary]].  She moved to the backbenches in 2001. Later, she was a Member of the European Parliament for the [[Brexit Party]] (later [[Reform UK]]) from July 2019 until the UK's withdrawal from the European Union in January 2020. She also served as Reform UK's spokesperson on Immigration and Justice from 2023 until her death in 2026.

Remarkably for a British politician, Widdecombe is a vocal [[Christian]] whose faith has often being a feature of her political life.  She insisted that should the Conservative Party be elected to government again she would be unable to serve as Health Secretary since the [[NHS|National Health Service]] performs [[abortion]]s.  She has been a strong campaigner for family values and is a publicly-acknowledged practitioner of [[abstinence]].  When the [[Church of England]], of which she was a member, decided to allow women to become priests, she left and joined the [[Catholic Church]].  She once boycotted [[British Airways]] in protest at the airline refusing to allow a member of staff to display a [[crucifix]], and only returned to using the carrier when the decision was reversed.

Remarkably for a British politician, Widdecombe is a vocal [[Christian]] whose faith has often being a feature of her political life.  She insisted that should the Conservative Party be elected to government again she would be unable to serve as Health Secretary since the [[NHS|National Health Service]] performs [[abortion]]s.  She has been a strong campaigner for family values and is a publicly-acknowledged practitioner of [[abstinence]].  When the [[Church of England]], of which she was a member, decided to allow women to become priests, she left and joined the [[Catholic Church]].  She once boycotted [[British Airways]] in protest at the airline refusing to allow a member of staff to display a [[crucifix]], and only returned to using the carrier when the decision was reversed.