I was just waking up last Friday when I heard the news of Ann Widdecombe’s death. It was still very early here, and at first the story didn’t land properly. Days later, counter-terrorism police said they believed it was a targeted attack. That part is particularly haunting.
Widdecombe’s kind of redoubtable consistency – the instinctive mix of tradition, order and plain speaking is what marks the best of British conservatism
Here in America, while not a household name, Ann Widdecombe was not completely obscure. Not because she spent much time courting American audiences, but because she focused on things that hit close to home for those of us engaged in defending western civilisation. She talked about national sovereignty as if it was still a normal thing to defend. She spoke plainly about borders and the right of a country to decide who comes in and why. On questions of life and family, she didn’t hedge or apologise. Her candour and unapologetic style had appeal beyond Britain. Plenty of American conservatives recognised her arguments and we respected the fact that, like us, she kept making them. She was truculent, certain and refreshingly unafraid of being disliked.
She also seemed to grasp something about the relationship between Britain and America that Britain’s current leaders have forgotten. She saw the US-UK relationship as an essential, non-negotiable anchor for global stability and shared democratic values. She pushed back when others tried to downplay the special relationship. That matters robustly on this side of the Atlantic, with our shared inheritance under siege.
