Ann Widdecombe
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The Right Honourable Ann Widdecombe DSG |
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Widdecombe in April 2010
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| Shadow Home Secretary | |
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In office 13 January 1999 – 18 September 2001 |
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| Leader | William Hague |
| Preceded by | Sir Norman Fowler |
| Succeeded by | Oliver Letwin |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Health | |
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In office 24 May 1998 – 13 January 1999 |
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| Leader | William Hague |
| Preceded by | John Maples |
| Succeeded by | Liam Fox |
| Minister of State for Prisons | |
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In office 28 February 1995 – 2 May 1997 |
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| Prime Minister | John Major |
| Preceded by | Michael Forsyth |
| Succeeded by | Joyce Quin |
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Member of Parliament for Maidstone and The Weald Maidstone (1987–1997) |
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In office 12 June 1987 – 12 April 2010 |
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| Preceded by | John Wells |
| Succeeded by | Helen Grant |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
4 October 1947 Bath, Somerset, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Residence | Haytor, Devon |
| Alma mater |
University of Birmingham Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Ann Noreen Widdecombe, DSG (born 4 October 1947) is a former British Conservative Party politician. She is a Privy Councillor and was the Member of Parliament for Maidstone from 1987 to 1997 and for Maidstone and The Weald from 1997 to 2010. She was a social conservative and a member of the Conservative Christian Fellowship. She retired from politics at the 2010 general election. Since 2002 she has also made numerous television and radio appearances, including as a television presenter. She is a convert from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism.
As an MP, Widdecombe was known for opposing the legality of abortion, her opposition to various issues of LGBT equality such as an equal age of consent and the repeal of Section 28, her support for the re-introduction of the death penalty, the retention of blasphemy laws and her opposition to fox hunting.
Born in Bath, Somerset, Widdecombe is the daughter of Rita Noreen (née Plummer; 1911-2007) and Ministry of Defence civil servant James Murray Widdecombe. Widdecombe's maternal grandfather, James Henry Plummer, was born to an Irish Catholic family of English descent in Crosshaven, County Cork in 1874. She attended the Royal Naval School in Singapore, and La Sainte Union Convent School in Bath. She then read Latin at the University of Birmingham and later attended Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE). She worked for Unilever (1973–75) and then as an administrator at the University of London (1975–87) before entering Parliament.
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