Ann Widdecombe, a former Conservative minister who later joined Reform UK and found fame on television, was found dead at her Devon home on Thursday, according to the Guardian.
Key facts
- Ann Widdecombe was found dead at her Devon home on Thursday.
- She was a former Conservative minister who joined the Brexit party, later Reform UK, in 2019.
- She became an unlikely celebrity after her political career.
- On Wednesday she appeared by video link on Talk TV to praise Nigel Farage's decision to stand down from his Clacton seat.
Ann Widdecombe, the former Conservative minister who went on to join Reform UK and became an unlikely television celebrity, was found dead at her Devon home on Thursday, according to the Guardian.
Widdecombe was known throughout her career for the forthright conviction that defined both her controversial time in politics and what the Guardian described as her more eccentric parliamentary afterlife.
Formerly a Conservative, she joined the Brexit party in 2019. That party later became Reform UK, the movement led by Nigel Farage.
Just a day before her death, on Wednesday, Widdecombe appeared by video link on Talk TV. The appearance came shortly after Farage announced he would stand down from his parliamentary seat in Clacton to trigger a byelection.
Speaking to the interviewer, she praised Farage’s decision. “This is a very decisive man,” she said, adding that he had shown “the sort of decision taking that is needed in the leader of the country.”
Her Talk TV appearance reflected the same directness that had marked her public life, from her years as a Conservative minister to her later reinvention as a celebrity figure and a supporter of Reform UK.
Why it matters
Ann Widdecombe was a prominent and often controversial figure in British public life for decades, first as a Conservative minister and later as a Reform UK supporter and television personality. Her death marks the loss of a politician whose outspoken style made her a recognisable presence across both politics and entertainment.