NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Ann Widdecombe

Ann Noreen Widdecombe (born 4 October 1947) is a British Conservative Party politician. She is the Member of Parliament for Maidstone and The Weald and a Privy Counsellor. She is a prominent member of the Conservative Christian Fellowship and an outspoken supporter of traditional family values. The daughter of a senior Ministry of Defence Civil Servant, she attended a Convent School in Bath, read Latin at Birmingham University and later attended Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford to read PPE. Image File history File linksMetadata Ann_Widdi. ... Home secretary The shadow home secretary is the MP within the shadow cabinet of the opposition who concerns themselves mainly with issues surrounding the home office and if the opposition is elected then the shadow home secretary then takes the secretariet of the home office job to become the Home... is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 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For the band, see 1997 (band). ... is the 336th day of the year (337th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... John Cradock Maples (born 22 April 1943) is a politician in the United Kingdom. ... Dr. Liam Fox (born September 22, 1961) is a UK Conservative politician, currently Shadow Defence Secretary and Member of Parliament for Woodspring. ... The modern concept of Small Office and Home Office or SoHo , or Small or Home Office deals with the category of business which can be from 1 to 10 workers. ... is the 99th day of the year (100th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... May 2 is the 122nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (123rd in leap years). ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... For other persons named John Major, see John Major (disambiguation). ... is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England. ... Bath is a city in Somerset, England most famous for its baths fed by three hot springs. ... This article is about the county of Somerset in England. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), the largest in terms of public membership, and the oldest political party in the United Kingdom. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), the largest in terms of public membership, and the oldest political party in the United Kingdom. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box: A politician is an individual who is a formally recognized and active member of a government, or a person who influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... For the local government district, see Maidstone Maidstone and The Weald is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. ... The Conservative Christian Fellowship is an organisation allied with the British Conservative Party, established in 1990 by Tim Montgomerie and Conservative MP David Burrowes. ... This article is about family values as a political concept. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... The University of Birmingham is the oldest of three universities in the English city of Birmingham. ... Star Trek Long-term Medical Hologram, see Emergency Medical Hologram. ... Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) is a popular interdisciplinary degree which combines study from the three eponymous disciplines. ...

Political career

From 1976 to 1978, Widdecombe was a Runnymede District Councillor. She contested the seat of Burnley in 1979 and then Plymouth Devonport in 1983 against David Owen. She was first elected to the House of Commons in the 1987 UK general election as member for the constituency of Maidstone (which became Maidstone and The Weald in 1997). Runnymede is a local government district with borough status in the English county of Surrey. ... A councillor is a member of a council (such as a city council), particularly in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and other parts of the Commonwealth. ... Burnley is a constituency based on the town of Burnley represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 and is regarded as a pivotal point in 20th century British politics. ... Plymouth, Devonport is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... The UK general election, 1983 was held on June 9, 1983 and gave the Conservatives and Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945. ... David Anthony Llewellyn Owen, Baron Owen, CH, PC (born July 2, 1938) is a British politician, Chancellor of the University of Liverpool and one of the founders of the British Social Democratic Party (SDP). ... Type Lower House Speaker of the House of Commons Leader of the House of Commons Michael Martin, (Non-affiliated) since October 23, 2000 Harriet Harman, QC, (Labour) since June 28, 2007 Shadow Leader of the House of Commons Theresa May, PC, (Conservative) since December 6, 2005 Members 646 Political groups... Margaret Thatcher David Steel Election 1987 Titles The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987 and was the third consecutive victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher. ... Maidstone and The Weald is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... For the local government district, see Maidstone Maidstone and The Weald is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...

Widdecombe joined John Major's government as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Social Security in 1991. After the 1992 general election, she became the Home Office Minister in Charge of Prisons, and in that role visited every single prison. After the fall of the Conservative government to Labour in 1997 she served as shadow Health Secretary and later shadow Home Secretary under William Hague. For other persons named John Major, see John Major (disambiguation). ... The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992. ... The modern concept of Small Office and Home Office or SoHo , or Small or Home Office deals with the category of business which can be from 1 to 10 workers. ... The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... Minister of Health redirects here. ... The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the United Kingdom Home Office and is responsible for internal affairs in England and Wales, and for immigration and citizenship for the whole United Kingdom (including Scotland and Northern Ireland). ... William Jefferson Hague (born 26 March 1961) is a British politician, the Member of Parliament for Richmond, North Yorkshire, former leader of the Conservative Party, and current Conservative Shadow Foreign Secretary. ...

During the 2001 Conservative leadership election, she could not find sufficient Conservative MPs to support her as a leadership candidate. She first supported Michael Ancram, who was eliminated in the first round, and then Kenneth Clarke, who lost in the final round. She afterwards declined to serve in an Iain Duncan Smith shadow cabinet (although she indicated prior to the leadership contest that she wished to retire to the backbenches anyway). The 2001 Conservative leadership election was held after the United Kingdom Conservative Party failed to make inroads into the Labour governments lead in the 2001 general election. ... Michael Andrew Foster Jude Kerr, 13th Marquess of Lothian, PC QC, MP, (born 7 July 1945), known as Michael Ancram, is a United Kingdom Conservative Party politician. ... This article is about Kenneth Clarke, the English politician. ... Rt. ... The Shadow Cabinet (also called the Shadow Front Bench) is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition (or the leader of other smaller opposition parties) form an alternative cabinet to the governments, whose... A backbencher is a Member of Parliament or a legislature who does not hold governmental office and is not a Front Bench spokesperson in the Opposition. ...

In the 2005 leadership election, she initially supported Kenneth Clarke again. Once he was eliminated, she turned support towards Liam Fox. Following Fox's subsequent elimination, she took time to reflect before finally declaring for David Davis. She expressed reservations over the eventual winner David Cameron, feeling that he did not have a proven track record like the other candidates for leadership, and she has been a leading figure in parliamentary opposition to his A List policy which she has said is "an insult to women".^[1] She is apparently reconsidering standing at the next General Election so as to thwart any attempt to put someone from the A List in her constituency. Dr. Liam Fox (born September 22, 1961) is a UK Conservative politician, currently Shadow Defence Secretary and Member of Parliament for Woodspring. ... David Michael Davis (born December 23, 1948) is a British politician, Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Haltemprice and Howden and Shadow Home Secretary. ... For the Canadian ice hockey player, see Dave Cameron. ...

In an interview with Metro in September 2006 she stated that if the parliament was of a normal length it was likely she would go at the next General Election.^[2] She confirmed her intention to stand down to The Observer's Pendennis diary in September 2007.^[3] Cover for an issue of the Metro newspaper, October 25th 2004. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

At the October 2006 Conservative Conference, she was Chief Dragon in a political version of Dragon's Den, in which A-list candidates were invited to put forward a policy proposal which was then torn apart by her team of Rachel Elnaugh, Oliver Letwin and Michael Brown.^[4] It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Dragons Den. ... Rachel Elnaugh (born 12 December 1964) is a British entrepreneur, and a judge on the BBC2 TV series Dragons Den. ... Oliver Letwin (born May 19, 1956, Hampstead) is the British Member of Parliament for West Dorset, Chairman of the Policy Review, and Chairman of the Conservative Research Department. ... Michael Russell Brown (b. ...

Political views

Widdecombe is a committed Christian who has made it clear that her views on some issues reflect this - for instance, she would refuse to be health secretary as long as this involved overseeing abortions. Along with John Gummer MP, she changed denomination from the Church of England to the Roman Catholic Church following the decision that women could become priests.^[5] She called for a zero tolerance policy of prosecution - albeit with only fines as the punishment - for users of cannabis in her speech at the 2000 Conservative conference, which was well-received by rank-and-file Conservative delegates. However, she alleges that someone connected with Francis Maude promptly contacted journalists to alert them that fellow Conservative cabinet members were prepared to come out and indicate "something of ambivalence" towards their own past experiences with this drug.^[6] This article or section may be confusing for some readers, and should be edited to be clearer or more simplified. ... The Church of England logo since 1998 The Church of England is the officially established Christian church[1] in England, and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ... â€œCatholic Churchâ€ redirects here. ... Zero tolerance is a strict approach to rule enforcement. ... Cannabis (also known as marijuana[1] or ganja[2] in its herbal form and hashish in its resinous form[3]) is a psychoactive product of the plant Cannabis sativa L. subsp. ... Francis Anthony Aylmer Maude (born 4 July 1953) is a British politician, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Horsham, Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office and a member of the Privy Council. ...

On the 2007 ITV program, 'An Exploration of Faith,' Widdecombe again emphasised her Catholic faith, citing her ardent belief in Dogma, such as transubstantiation, and also condeming Secularism as the enemy of modern society.

In 2003, together with fellow Roman Catholic MP Edward Leigh, Widdecombe proposed an amendment opposing repeal of Section 28 of the Local Government Act, which banned the promotion of homosexuality as equal to heterosexuality. Widdecombe has established herself as being an MP who is ardently opposed to providing equal rights for homosexuals, having voted against equal rights in 12 out of 14 Parliamentary votes, not being present at the other two.^[7] Edward Julian Egerton Leigh (born 20 July 1950) is a politician in the United Kingdom. ... Sir Ian McKellen with Michael Cashman at the 1988 Gay Rights March on Manchester in protest against Section 28. ... The United Kingdom Local Government Act of 1988 was famous for introducing the controversial Section 28 into law. ...

She is a committed animal lover and one of the few Conservative MPs to have consistently voted for the ban on fox hunting. A fox hunt Fox hunting is a form of hunting for foxes using a pack of scent hounds. ...

Controversies

Widdecombe has occasionally stirred up controversy with her words and policies. When the voters of Eastbourne returned a Liberal Democrat candidate, in the by-election caused by the assassination of Ian Gow, Widdecombe told them "the IRA would be toasting their success". Eastbourne is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a liberal political party based in the United Kingdom. ... A by-election or bye-election is a special election held to fill a political office when the incumbent has died or resigned. ... Ian Reginald Edward Gow (11 February 1937 â€“ 30 July 1990) was a British Conservative politician and a solicitor. ... The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Irish: Ã“glaigh na hÃ‰ireann) (IRA; also referred to as the PIRA, the Provos, or by some of its supporters as the Army or the RA.[2]) is an Irish Republican, left wing[3] paramilitary organisation that, until the Belfast Agreement, sought to end Northern...

She also made headlines for her policy of applying the standards for handcuffing prisoners in transit to pregnant women, even on visits to hospitals. Widdecombe claimed that this was necessary because of the risk of their absconding.

During the Conservative leadership election that picked William Hague, Widdecombe spoke out against Michael Howard, under whom she had served when he was Home Secretary. She remarked "there is something of the night about him", and it is for this remark she is probably most famous or infamous. It was considered to be extremely damaging, and Howard was frequently portrayed as a vampire in satire from that time on,^[8] and came last in the poll. However, he went on to become party leader in 2003, and Ann Widdecombe said "I explained fully what my objections were in 1997 and I do not retract anything I said then. But this is 2005 and we have to look to the future and not the past."^[9] The Rt Hon. ... Philip Burne-Jones, The Vampire, 1897 Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings that subsist on human and/or animal lifeforce. ...

Work outside Parliament

Her non-political accomplishments include being a popular novelist. In 2002, she took part in the ITV programme Celebrity Fit Club. In March of 2004 she briefly became the Guardian newspaper's agony aunt, introduced with an Emma Brockes interview.^[10] In 2005 BBC Two showed six episodes of The Widdecombe Project, an agony aunt television programme. In 2005, she appeared in a new series of Celebrity Fit Club, but this time as a panel member dispensing wisdom and advice to the celebrities taking part. Also in 2005, she presented a show Ann Widdecombe to the Rescue in which she acted as an agony aunt, dispensing no-nonsense advice to disputing families, couples, and others across the UK. She was also a guest host of news quiz Have I Got News for You in 2006. A novel is an extended work of written, narrative, prose fiction, usually in story form; the writer of a novel is a novelist. ... It has been suggested that Celebrity Fit Club (British) be merged into this article or section. ... An agony aunt is an advice columnist at a magazine or newspaper. ... Emma Brockes (born 1975) is a British Jewish journalist for The Guardian newspaper, working principally as a profile writer. ... Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show; produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been running since 1990. ...

In 2006, she launched a boycott against British Airways for suspending a worker who refused to hide her cross which ended when British Airways reversed their suspension. For the 1930s airline of similar name, see British Airways Ltd. ...

She awarded the 2007 University Challenge trophy. In the same year, she was cast as herself in The Sound of Drums, the 12th episode of the third series of the science-fiction drama Doctor Who supporting Mr Saxon, the alias of the Master.^[11] The Sound of Drums is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... For other uses, see Doctor Who (disambiguation). ... Since the 2005 revival of the long-running British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, there are several recurring themes and motifs in both Doctor Who and its spin-offs. ... The Master may refer to: Fictional works entitled The Master include: The Master (novel), a novel by Colm TÃ³ibÃn. ...

In 2007, Widdecombe fronted a television series called Ann Widdecombe Versus, on ITV1, in which she speaks to various people about things related to her as an MP, with an emphasis on confronting those responsible for problems she wished to tackle. On 15 August 2007 she talked about prostitution, the next week, about benefits and the week after that, about truancy. In a general sense, a series is a related set of things that occur one after the other or are otherwise connected one after the other. ... ITV1 is the name, in England, Wales and the Scottish borders, for a terrestrial, free-to-air television channel, broadcast in the United Kingdom by the ITV network. ... Look up MP in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... is the 227th day of the year (228th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Whore redirects here. ... Social welfare can be taken to mean the welfare or well-being of a society. ... â€œTruantâ€ redirects here. ...

In September 2007, The Observer reported that she had made her first advertisement, for the Rana pasta company.[1]

Trivia

In November 2006, she moved into the house of an Islington Labour Councillor to experience life on a Council Estate, her response to her experience being "Five years ago I made a speech in the House of Commons about the forgotten decents. I have spent the last week on estates in the Islington area finding out that they are still forgotten".^[12] Image File history File links Broom_icon. ...

Bibliography

References

Cover for an issue of the Metro newspaper, October 25th 2004. ... is the 254th day of the year (255th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 249th day of the year (250th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 249th day of the year (250th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 332nd day of the year (333rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Categories: Articles with trivia sections from June 2007 | 1947 births | British female MPs | Converts to Roman Catholicism | Conservative MPs (UK) | Councillors in South East England | English Roman Catholics | Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford | Living people | Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom | Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies | People from Somerset | Roman Catholic politicians | Alumni of the University of Birmingham | UK MPs 1987-1992 | UK MPs 1992-1997 | UK MPs 1997-2001 | UK MPs 2001-2005 | UK MPs 2005- | Celebrity Fit Club participants The Guardian is a British newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Type Bicameral Houses House of Commons House of Lords Speaker of the House of Commons The Right Honourable Michael Martin MP Lord Speaker HÃ©lÃ¨ne Hayman, Baroness Hayman, PC Members 1377 (646 Commons, 731 Peers) Political groups (as of May 5, 2005 elections) Labour Party Conservative Party Liberal Democrats... John Julius Wells (born 30 March 1925) is a Conservative Party (UK) politician. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... Maidstone and The Weald is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... Margaret Thatcher David Steel Election 1987 Titles The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987 and was the third consecutive victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher. ... The UK general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... For the local government district, see Maidstone Maidstone and The Weald is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... The UK general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997. ...

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