“I left the Church of England because there was a huge bundle of straw. The ordination of women was the last straw, but it was only one of many. For years I had been disillusioned by the Church of England's compromising on everything. The Catholic Church doesn't care if something is unpopular.”

British politician and media personality

Ann Widdecombe is a British politician and media personality. A Conservative MP from 1987 to 2010, she represented Maidstone and The Weald, and earlier Maidstone, in the House of Commons. She later joined the Brexit Party, later Reform UK, in 2019. She served as a Member of the European Parliament for South West England from 2019 to 2020, and as the party’s immigration and justice spokesperson from 2023 until 2026.