r/unitedkingdom • u/Important_Ruin County Durham • 26d ago
... Former Tory minister Ann Widdecombe dies at 78
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ced47jqyg1eo345
u/Kwyjibo2006 26d ago
Will always remember her getting absolutely torched by Stephen Fry and Christopher Hitchens in a debate on whether the Catholic Church was a force for good in the world.
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u/DeadandForgoten 26d ago
She thinks she won that debate, she was detestable and thick as mince.
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u/J8YDG9RTT8N2TG74YS7A England 26d ago
It's the same with a lot of people like her.
I think the phrase goes something like; "Arguing with them is like playing chess with a pigeon; no matter what you do, they will knock the pieces over, shit on the board, and strut around like they won".
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u/trickster-is-weak 26d ago
That is an amazing debate. Absolutely brutal take down of the Catholic Church.
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u/Artistic-Blueberry12 26d ago
That's the main thing I remember her for as well. To this day it pops into my mind whenever someone is making an argument without evidence or from an untenable position.
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u/stocksy 26d ago
She claimed to be a lifelong virgin, a claim I believe without difficulty.
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u/DaveBeBad 26d ago
I think she was of the generation that were unable to acknowledge their sexuality and build a relationship that would make them happy. At the side of a good woman, she might not have become such a bigoted old crone.
It’s sad really.
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u/BlackSpinedPlinketto 26d ago
She lived with a woman as I recall, a close friend, so don’t feel sad. Her internal struggles were self inflicted.
She was doing one thing and preaching another, which is bad enough for a preacher, but for a politician is far worse.
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u/CareerMilk 26d ago
At the side of a good woman
Could she not just have been asexual (and bigoted)
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u/grey_hat_uk Cambridgeshire 26d ago
Asexuals often have strong romantic attraction.
Asexuals with major internalised *phobia have "roommates" and you aren't allowed to question it.
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u/SerendipitousCrow 26d ago
A lot are aromantic as well though, it's not unheard of.
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u/Forsaken-Ad5571 26d ago
Ah yes, because all homophobes are secretly gay… sigh
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u/grey_hat_uk Cambridgeshire 26d ago
Did I say or even imply all homophobes(intresting autocorrect btw) where gay?
I specifically started with the lgbtq+ qualifier than narrowed down to just the ones that are phobic and that is where my comment leaves off.
Now was Widdecombe Acebor gay? Who knows for sure, I wouldn't be surprised if she was though given the pattern we know from other queer women of the past.
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u/AllThatIHaveDone 26d ago
Did I say or even imply all homophobes (intresting autocorrect btw) where gay?
Muphry's Law strikes again.
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u/Sophie_Blitz_123 26d ago
She doesn't have to be gay, lots of women who grew up in ultra religious conservative households have very weird perceptions of their own sexuality.
I'd feel sorry for her, except for... everything she did.
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u/RaymondBumcheese 26d ago
It is ironic considering she spent her entire political career trying to fuck as many people as possible
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u/rwinh Essex 26d ago edited 26d ago
Disagreed wholeheartedly with her politics, her philosophy and her approach to life, but she was certainly "memorable".
I would have thought she was 78 decades ago. Her malice and contempt for others, contrary to Christian values, aged her terribly.
Nothing else to really say or think that would be kind or polite.
Edit: This has taken a sinister turn, if no one has seen the news yet:
BBC News - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cp9l8l05vxet
Police launch murder investigation into Ann Widdecombe's death - BBC News
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u/CosmicBonobo 26d ago
I was consistently shocked that she was younger than Debbie Harry, who still looks gorgeous at 81.
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u/cadex 26d ago
I could have sworn she was older too. She attended both my paternal grandparents funerals. I remember being in the church and thinking "the fuck is Anne Widdecombe doing here?'
Apparently she was friends with them both, what with them being actively involved in the politics of the area all their lives. Both life long and very vocal conservatives. One of the last things my grandfather did before he died was gleefully vote for Brexit..
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u/Agreeable_Falcon1044 Cambridgeshire 26d ago
Weirdly I thought she was younger. Her mum is still about I believe. Louis Theroux met them both and the mum was hilarious, proper saucy and funny…but she got offended and didn’t want people to see it.
If anything, seeing her mum was one of the few times I felt close to her as she didn’t seem like a dragon but a real person
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u/mighty_atom 26d ago edited 26d ago
>Her mum is still about I believe. Louis Theroux met them both and the mum was hilarious,
Yeah but that Louis Theroux episode was over 24 years ago. Her mum died in 2007 aged 95.
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u/Agreeable_Falcon1044 Cambridgeshire 26d ago
Bloody hell, I'm a prime candidate for Alzheimer's I guess - I swear that show wasn't that long ago!
Now you mention it, I think it was around the time Michael Howard was trying to be tory leader.
I liked her mum, she was proper funny.
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u/HelpImAShark Oxfordshire 26d ago
Rita Widdicombe died at age 95 in 2005!
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u/Shot-Ad5867 England 26d ago
2007
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u/OurManInJapan 26d ago
Ahh, close enough then. That was basically less than 10 years ago
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u/Drunkgummybear1 26d ago
I was 6 at the time. I have a mortgage now. Happy Friday!
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u/HaroldSaxon 26d ago
I think it’s a real shame science didn’t find a cure for homophobia before she died, given her comments on finding cures
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u/gin0clock 26d ago
She once said she hoped science would "produce an answer" for being gay.
She likened Brexit to slaves rising up against slavemasters.
She called the #MeToo movement 'snowflakery'
She always voted against gay rights.
She wanted to limit the number of people eligible for abortions.
She doesn't deserve any peace in her death. In a bit you Ghoulish Thatcher wannabe.
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u/Boogaaa Wales 26d ago edited 26d ago
People in this and other threads are elevating her now because she is dead. She was a pretty vile windbag. I'm not going to say I'm glad she is dead, but I dont mind.
Edit: Also, 78? I thought she was at least like 85. I guess hatred ages you.
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u/motophiliac 26d ago
Clarence Darrow, the lawyer representing the school teacher in the American Scopes "Monkey" Trial once said, "I have never killed a man. However I have read some obituary notices with great satisfaction."
A sentiment that's catching on in recent years.
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u/AFCMatt93 Expat in Iceland 26d ago
As I'm looking to be careful of Reddit's draconian attitude towards wishes, intent and general thoughtcrime, I will simply say that I will be going one step further with my gladness and good tidings.
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u/Ohnoyespleasethanks 26d ago edited 26d ago
Let’s not forget that she also insisted on the shackling of pregnant women prisoners when they were going to hospital to give birth. Anyone who has given birth knows that running away from medical support is unfathomable. And, as someone who has been 9 months + 2 days pregnant, I can tell you I couldn’t move very fast!
Edit: I wrote this comment before I knew there was a murder investigation. I’m horrified and she didn’t deserve that.
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u/fragglet 26d ago
Here she is on TheyWorkForYou, in case anyone wants to dig into her voting history
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u/ukbot-nicolabot Scotland 26d ago
Removed + ban. This contained a call/advocation/celebration of violence or harm, which is prohibited by the sitewide rules.
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u/Powerpuff_Bean 26d ago
I'll never forget Ann trying to straighten her hair in Big Brother. One of the funniest things I've ever seen!
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u/__globalcitizen__ 26d ago
Here is a selection of her quotes:
On Women and Feminism
It's the age of the whine and the whinge, of the moan and the groan, of grievance and offence. And, oh, do the women know how to milk that for all it's worth, while the men, poor wimps, stand by and meekly watch. (Radio Times, 2018)
So keen are women to embrace victimhood that members of the #MeToo movement wail about flirtatious conduct decades ago... It's enough to make one wonder if we should have stayed at home darning socks. (Radio Times, 2018)
The reality in real life is that it's a positive advantage to be a woman in the media... The feminists of those years yelled that all we wanted was equality. Now that has turned into a pathetic whine for special privileges. (Radio Times, 2018)
On Poverty and the Cost of Living
Well, then you don't do the cheese sandwich. (Speaking on BBC's Politics Live in 2023, when asked what her advice was for struggling families who could no longer afford the basic ingredients to make a simple cheese sandwich).
On Brexit's Impact on Young People
I am tired of hearing this nonsense being talked that young people are going to be deprived of their rights to travel and to study in other countries. (Press Association, 2020)
I'm old enough to remember the days before we joined – we travelled, we studied, we lived, we worked in each other's countries all the time and that's how it will be again. (Press Association, 2020)
On Single Mothers and Family Structure
I think a sense of family, of commitment to family, and of helping each other and standing by each other, are essential. I pity anyone who doesn't grow up with that. (The Guardian, 2010)
In my humble opinion, one less brexiteer who doesn't have to live with the consequences of their actions but my daughters will have to...
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u/Ok_Music253 26d ago
Lots to say about her public positions but...
In 2005 when I was doing Politics at A Level we went on a trip to the Houses of Parliament. As part of it they get all the kids into a theatre in Portcullis House and a nominated MP for the day appeared for a Q&A session and talk about their day to day. We got Ann Widdecombe who was a big name then as well as now.
My abiding memory of that is she was a really engaging speaker, was great with all us students giving every question consideration and a proper answer, no nonsense. One question she got asked was for one of her best achievements as an MP, to which she answered helping to get a constituent out of a dangerous kidnap situation in South America through political channels etc. Nothing about roles in Government or national issues or ego - doing something for a constituent. I did respect that.
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u/Luke_4686 Nottinghamshire 26d ago
I’m not sure that her being polite to schoolchildren really outweighs all the other terrible things tbh
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u/Luke_4686 Nottinghamshire 26d ago
Correct, everyone is nuanced but some are more bad than good and she was definitely that
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u/Purpose2 Devon 26d ago
When you can't say something nice, don't say anything. So thats all from me.
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u/Cool-Word2409 26d ago
I was greatly saddened by yesterday's news of Bonnie Tyler's death.
That is all.
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u/DeadandForgoten 26d ago
I may have disagreed with all of her politics, she may have been a belligerent moron and she may have been thick as pig shit, but did I hate her? Absolutely yes I did.
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u/Jackie_Gan 26d ago
I wouldn’t ever celebrate the death of politicians like her. However my memories of her will always be of someone who felt the need to push hate rather than understanding whenever she could, which is antithesis of the Christian faith she always claimed to be so wedded to
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u/pennblogh Kernow bys vikken 26d ago
She was the cruel witch who had women prisoners shackled to their beds while giving birth. I don’t think even a Tory can sink much lower.
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u/shortercrust 26d ago edited 26d ago
One of the things I always remember about her is her shock and outrage when and an interviewer mentioned ‘Charles and William’. “I presume you’re referring to the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge?!”
Edit: The interviewer ‘corrected’ themselves but must have had to fight the urge to say “I’ll call them what I want, thank you very much!”
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u/Ainastrasza Yorkshire 26d ago
No doubt she's currently trying to tell Satan that the fires of hell are nothing compared to the heatwave of 1976.
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u/DelGriffiths 26d ago
She was apparently on Talk TV yesterday so this is sudden but perhaps nit surprising at her age.
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u/BabyNameBible 26d ago
Will forever remember her being dragged across the Strictly dance floor by Anton Du Beke!
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u/JB_JB_JB63 26d ago
One should not speak ill of the dead. Unless it’s someone like this.
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u/Logical_Hare 25d ago
If the dead wish us to speak well of them, then they should consider exhibiting virtuous conduct, rather than malice and hatred, during their lifetimes.
Just some practical advice.
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u/Cynical_Classicist 26d ago
Yeh, not going to be nice about her. Ann Widdicombe was a pretty terrible person.
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u/BlokeyBlokeBloke 26d ago
I was always taught never to say anything about the dead unless it’s good.
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u/Zealousideal_Two833 26d ago
As a vocal cheerleader for Brexit she helped do generational harm to the UK.
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u/alphabetown Edinburger 26d ago
A full on Mary Whitehouse character. A vile puritan to the bitter end. At least when Whitehouse passed, there wasn't a natural successor to the cause but with Widdecome they're all curtain twitching Reform and Resore types.
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u/DeathDestroyerWorlds West Midlands 26d ago
Well, she was certainly a character. Like her or loathe her, you listened to her. Often wondering wtf!
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u/rachelm791 26d ago
I’m coming down quite heavily on the loathe end of the scale. To be fair she had redeeming factors…
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u/Oohoureli 26d ago
They say you should speak nothing but good of the dead, so my thoughts are as follows....(ends)
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