Ann Winterton

Conservative MP Congleton

Date of birth

6 March 1941

Political profile

Ann Winterton's Commons career peaked in 2001 when she was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet, as Shadow Minister for Agriculture.

However, she was sacked from this position in May 2002 after telling a racist joke at a function in her constituency.

As a backbencher, she remained a strong supporter of Iain Duncan Smith, whose campaign for the leadership she had supported from the beginning.

She first formed an alliance with the man deposed as Tory leader at the end of 2003 when they were both rebels against John Major over Maastricht.

Since Michael Howard replaced Mr Duncan Smith as Tory leader she had kept a relatively low profile.

She is one of the most committed campaigners against the European Union on the Conservative benches.

Maastricht was not her first experience of rebellion.

During the Thatcher government, she opposed the abolition of corporal punishment in schools, and proposed its reintroduction as a criminal sanction along with capital punishment.

She is an opponent of abortion, and introduced a private bill seeking to clarify the law against euthanasia. She has also in the past denounced IVF treatment for childless couples.

Her husband Nick is the Conservative MP for Macclesfield; he was knighted in 2002, making her technically Lady Winterton.

Contact

Constituency office 01260 278866