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from Cathy (cathyvpreece@aol.com)
The Sunday Times April 14, 2002

Fame & fortune: Vet bill shows MP value of insurance When her cats died, Ann Widdecombe discovered that private health cover is not just for people, writes Natalie Graham ANN WIDDECOMBE, MP for Maidstone and The Weald, and former shadow home secretary, has been a member of parliament since 1987 In June l998 she became shadow secretary of state for health. A year later she was appointed shadow home secretary, although she retired from the position last September.

Ann, 54, grew up with her older brother Malcolm, today a vicar in Bristol. Their father was a senior civil servant and their mother, now 90, looked after the family. Ann was educated at the Royal Naval School, Singapore, La Sainte Union Convent in Bath, Birmingham University and Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. She has honours degrees in Latin, politics and economics, and an MA from Oxford.

From l976 to l978 Ann was a Runnymede district councillor. In l988 she was appointed to serve on the select committee for social services.

From November l990 until May l993 she was parliamentary under- secretary at the Department of Social Security, then at the Department of Employment. In July l997 she was appointed to the House of Commons standards and privileges select committee.

Ann’s first novel, The Clematis Tree, published in April 2000, became a bestseller. Her second novel, An Act of Treachery, comes out in July.

Ann, who is single, shares her homes in London and Kent with her mother.

How much money do you have in your wallet?

About £90, which should last for the week. It will be for incidental expenses such as taxis, necessities such as milk and bread, and buying my teas, lunches and dinners here at the House of Commons.

Do you have any credit cards?

I have one credit card and one debit card, both with Barclays. I use the debit card constantly, as a substitute for cash. The credit card usually comes out for more significant purchases, such as a new sofa.

Are you a saver or spender?

It is quite hard to say because I do neither on a large scale, but I never forget the taxman. I am self-employed when it comes to writing articles and books, so I hold those earnings in my Barclays account until I need to pay the Inland Revenue.

How much did you earn last year?

I could not tell you because I have to tot it all up. The parliamentary salary is £51,800, but on top of that I have fees from writing. In l999 I signed a two-book contract for £100,000. A large part of the publisher’s advance was paid last year because I had the paperback production of my novel, plus the delivery of my second book, An Act of Treachery.

I also make television appearances that pay irregular fees, so it is never possible to say there is a set sum. I would have to look at my income-tax return to say exactly what it was last year.

Have you ever been really hard up?

Yes, I have. I went through a tough time in the recession in the early 1990s, when I had two properties and two mortgages. But I have never been starving or faced some of the choices my constituents had to make.

What is the most lucrative work you have done? Did you use the fee for something special?

By far the highest paid work I ever did was in l999. I had to produce one article a week for the Sunday Express, for which I was getting £1,250. The work wasn’t difficult because it was not deep political thought.

I had the column for a year, during which time I was moving from a flat in Kennington to a house in Elephant & Castle. I used the money to help furnish and decorate the house.

Do you own a property?

Yes, the house in Elephant & Castle, and a bungalow in Sutton Valence, Kent. I bought my first property in l981, a flat in Fulham. Then I moved to a bigger flat in Kennington. It was within a mile of the House of Commons. By the time I bought it I had been selected for a seat. This purchase was so successful I stayed there for 13 years, gradually modernising the place. I sold it in l999, the year that I was earning all this money. I made a huge profit but I can’t say how much, because a fellow MP bought it.

Do you invest in shares?

I shun them. As far as I am concerned they introduce a degree of complexity that I haven’t got time for. My father had a lot of shares, and the wind-up of his estate wore me out. I swore that I would never inflict these reams of paperwork on myself.

Do you have a pension, or other retirement plan?

Yes I do. I am extremely fussy about pensions. It is one aspect of my financial life to which I have given great thought. I have an occupational pension here at parliament, into which I transferred my previous pension fund from London University, where I worked for 12 years.

I was pensions minister during the Maxwell crisis and I have seen what happens when you don’t have enough money for old age.

Do you believe pensions are a good thing?

I think they are utterly essential. You can’t always rely on property to increase your capital, either. I think if I were in a different job I would still have tried to earn the second income. When I retire I plan to go on writing for a bit.

What has been your worst investment?

The flat in Fulham, which turned out to have extensive dry-rot problems. I paid £33,000 to buy the flat in l981, but it was hugely expensive to put right. I left it in l985, with great relief.

And your best?

The home in Kent. When I first bought it, I didn’t think that it was a good investment, but because I have stayed there so long, it has gone up in value, and has never needed any serious work. All I have to do is to maintain it. The village is an extremely pleasant place to live at the weekends. If a good investment is one that gives you both pleasure and money, the bungalow has certainly been my best.

Do you manage your own financial affairs?

I have an accountant, and I have an agent who negotiates writing fees, but other than that I manage on my own.

What aspect of our taxation system would you change?

I would make tax relief available to both employers and employees who want to have a comprehensive company private healthcare scheme. That’s how we got pensions off the ground.

What is your top financial priority?

To have a good retirement income, which I think is going to be possible. My pension is a defined benefit, and will be two-thirds of my final salary. The second priority would be to make sure that I am mortgage- free before retirement.

Do you have a money weakness?

Yes, I do. I would probably save a great deal if I walked instead of taking taxis — and do my figure a lot of good at the same time.

What is the most extravagant thing you have ever bought?

When I went on a cruise last August with my mother, we decided to take a top grade of cabin with a private verandah, which cost thousands for 15 nights. It was a once-in-a- lifetime experience. We went to the Arctic Circle.

Do you play the lottery? What if you won?

I play the lottery every week. My mother does three lines and so do I. I was lucky over Christmas. One week I had £65, another week £67, then £10.

If I got the big one, I would give a lot away to causes that I support, such as the Zambian Open Community Schools. Then I would buy in advance my retirement home on Dartmoor, in as remote a location as possible.

What is the most important lesson you have learnt about money?

The importance of having sufficient, which you never find out until you don’t. It’s easy to be good with money when you have made a steady income over and above your salary, but the real test is when you haven’t got very much.

I’ve learnt that owning animals is a serious business, which has consequences on your budget.

Until early February I had two cats, Pugwash and Carruthers, who both died within a fortnight. They were mogs that I got from a rescue centre. I have a huge box of condolence letters from the public.

The second one died unexpectedly, but a week later I had a vet’s bill for more than £500. I was fortunate to have a healthy savings balance.

Though I am fastidious about maintaining health insurance for myself, I have never done it for the animals. I am now having a rethink before I get the next ones.

(posted 8019 days ago)

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