Our Branch Campaign Manager Paul Vallis and I spent two days with Ann in December ’25.
We had been thinking for some time about who we could get to speak to our members at our Branch Inaugural Christmas Party, with the idea of topping our previous guest speakers, Matt Goodwin and David Starkey. Who better than Ann Widdecombe, the matriarch of our party, Reform UK.
Who better than Ann Widdecombe, the matriarch of our party?
Our initial feeling was that we would never get her. At 78 years old and living at a remote location on Dartmoor, Ann seemed to us to be doing more and more on Zoom, with the exception of travelling to London for the Jeremy Vine Show.
However, Paul was determined to make it happen. His plan was to offer to collect her personally by car from her home in Dartmoor, take her to the Christmas Party in Lindfield, then put her up in a nice hotel and return her home the next day. We named the plan Operation Widders.
To our surprise Ann accepted, and she arranged to stay the night at her PA’s house, who happened to live not far away.
Paul and I travelled down by car on the day before the Christmas Party. Paul did the driving and I was the navigator! We stayed at the Travelodge in Torquay, where a few beers were sunk followed by a curry.
We were to collect Ann at 10am the next day from her bungalow, Widdecombe’s Rest. Paul’s SatNav was rubbish and my navigation skills were no better. Anyway, we got lost in the middle of Dartmoor. We stopped a farmer on a tractor to ask the way. We were about 10 miles out, but he knew exactly where Ann lived.
We got lost in the middle of Dartmoor. We stopped a farmer on a tractor to ask the way — he knew exactly where Ann lived.
Luckily we were not too late and had not kept her waiting long. I sat in the front with Paul to let Ann spread out in the back of the car.
In the car we had some lovely chats with her. We spoke about everything from what we were doing for Reform to what she was doing for Christmas. I told her we had named this event ‘Operation Widders’ and she laughed, and really approved of the name. At one time I made the mistake of asking her if she knew Mrs Thatcher and she retorted ‘Obviously’. Then she said no more on the subject and went to sleep in the back of the car.
I made the mistake of asking her if she knew Mrs Thatcher. She retorted: ‘Obviously.’
Every time we stopped at a service station we were delayed, as Ann attracted a number of people wanting selfies and thanking her for what she was doing for Reform.
At the Christmas Party, Ann made one of her typical tub-thumping speeches, as usual without notes. She spoke about Reform UK and the current state of politics, and reminisced over her political life, including the Brexit Party years.
She also told us of her celebrity life, ‘Strictly’ and ‘Big Brother’. She confided that she had no intention of ever doing ‘I’m a Celebrity’, however she did admit she would not turn down ‘Traitors’. Ann then drew the raffle and signed copies of her book, ‘Strictly Ann’.
The journey home the next day was in a rain storm. Most of the way the windscreen wipers were on full power, with the car ploughing through driving rain and floods. Ann slept through much of the 220 mile journey.
On our return to Widdecombe’s Rest, we were invited in to use her bathroom facilities and she offered us a cup of tea. Her large lounge had a lovely panoramic view over Dartmoor. I noticed in her hallway she had a number of cartoons of herself framed on the wall. These ranged from the Times to the Mirror, with many from the front pages of the 1990s. None were particularly flattering of her, but she was proud to display them.
It was a surreal moment when Ann gave us both a hug and waved us off from her front door. Both Paul and I were looking forward to seeing her again at this year’s Party Conference, but sadly now that is not to be.
It was a surreal moment when Ann gave us both a hug and waved us off from her front door.
God bless you Ann. You will be missed.
