Ann Widdecombe, The Former Conservative Minister And Reform UK Spokeswoman, Has Died At 78

Ann Widdecombe, the former Conservative MP who served as Home Office minister under John Major, became one of Britain's most recognisable political figures and spent her final years as immigration and justice spokesperson for Nigel Farage's Reform UK, died on Thursday July 10. She was 78.

Her management company Cloud 9 announced the death Friday morning. No cause was given. The family has asked not to be contacted.

Widdecombe served as MP for Maidstone and The Weald from 1987 to 2010, 23 years in Parliament, during which she became famous for her combative style, her deeply held Christian convictions and a phrase she coined about her then-Cabinet colleague Michael Howard that has never quite left British political shorthand: she said he had "something of the night about him."

She opposed abortion, assisted dying and the extension of legal rights to LGBT people. She was never shy about any of it.

She was elected as a Brexit Party MEP in 2019, joining Nigel Farage's campaign to leave the European Union at a moment when the parliamentary deadlock had produced the snap European elections no one wanted.

Farage said Friday she had played "a decisive role in getting Brexit over the line." She joined Reform UK in 2023.

She also appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, partnered with Anton du Beke, surviving to the semi-finals purely on public vote, and was runner-up on Celebrity Big Brother in 2018.

She was still planning her schedule for Reform UK's September conference as recently as last week.