Simon Hughes | |
|---|---|
 Hughes addressing the Liberal Democrat conference in theACC Liverpool, 2010 | |
| Minister of State for Justice and Civil Liberties | |
| In office 18 December 2013 – 8 May 2015 | |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | The Lord McNally |
| Succeeded by | Dominic Raab |
| Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats | |
| In office 9 June 2010 – 28 January 2014 | |
| Leader | Nick Clegg |
| Preceded by | Vince Cable |
| Succeeded by | Malcolm Bruce |
| President of the Liberal Democrats | |
| In office 1 January 2005 – 1 January 2009 | |
| Leader | |
| Preceded by | The Lord Dholakia |
| Succeeded by | The Baroness Scott of Needham Market |
| Member of Parliament for
| |
| In office 24 February 1983 – 30 March 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Mellish |
| Succeeded by | Neil Coyle |
| Liberal Democrat portfolios | |
| 1999–2003 | Home Affairs |
| 2009–2010 | Energy and Climate Change |
| 2015 | Justice |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1951-05-17)17 May 1951 (age 74) |
| Political party | Liberal (1971-1988) Liberal Democrats (since 1988) |
| Alma mater | |
| Website | Official website |
Sir Simon Henry Ward Hughes (born 17 May 1951) is a British former politician. He is now theChancellor of London South Bank University, and a strategic adviser toTalgo, a Spanish manufacturer of trains. Hughes wasdeputy leader of theLiberal Democrats from 2010 to 2014, and from 2013 until 2015 wasMinister of State at theMinistry of Justice. He was theMember of Parliament (MP) for the constituency ofBermondsey and Old Southwark (and its predecessors) from 1983 until 2015. He declined a position in the House of Lords in 2015.[2]
Until 2008, he was president of the Liberal Democrats (the party president chairs the Federal Executive board of the party, is the senior elected party official and also represents the party atofficial functions). Hughes has twice run unsuccessfully for the leadership of the party and was its unsuccessful candidate forMayor of London in the2004 election.
He was appointed as aPrivy Councillor on 15 December 2010.[3] In December 2013, Hughes was appointed as a Minister of State for Justice and Civil Liberties, and announced he would stand down as Deputy Leader upon the election of a successor. Hughes is also the deputy Chair of Millwall Community TrustMillwall Community Trust and the Rose Theatre Trust, and the Friends of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital Trust. In 2023 Hughes was appointed a Commissioner of the UK Trade and Business Commission. He is also a member of theChurch of England Bermondsey andRotherhithe Deanery Synod.
Hughes was born on 17 May 1951 to James Henry Annesley Hughes and his wife, Sylvia (née Ward).[4] He was privately educated atThe Cathedral School, Llandaff, where he was Dean's Scholar and Head Boy in 1964;Christ College, Brecon;Selwyn College, Cambridge, where he graduated in law; and theCollege of Europe inBruges, where he earned a postgraduateCertificate of Advanced European Studies (equivalent to a master's degree). Hughes was called to thebar at theInner Temple in 1974. He moved toCamberwell in 1977 andBermondsey in 1983
Hughes was first elected to Parliament in theBermondsey by-election of 24 February 1983, in which he defeatedLabour candidate andgay rights campaignerPeter Tatchell. The by-election was described byGay News as "the dirtiest and most notorious by-election in British political history" because of the slurs against Tatchell's character by various opposing campaigners. The Liberal campaign leaflet described the sixteen-candidate election as "a straight choice" between Simon Hughes and the Labour candidate. Hughes won the seat with 57.7% of the vote.
Hughes apologised for the campaign in 2006, during the same few days as revelations of his ownhomosexual experiences, and confirming that he isbisexual, after being outed byThe Sun newspaper. Hughes told the BBC'sNewsnight programme: "I hope that there will never be that sort of campaign again. I have never been comfortable about the whole of that campaign, as Peter knows, and I said that to him in the past ... Where there were things that were inappropriate or wrong, I apologise for that."[5]
In an apparent attempt to bring the controversy over the 1983 Bermondsey byelection to a close, Peter Tatchell formally endorsed Simon Hughes for Liberal Democrat leader on 25 January 2006, saying: "Simon Hughes is the best of the Lib Dem leadership candidates. If I was a party member, he'd get my vote. I want to see a stronger lead on social justice and green issues. Despite his recent drift to the centre, Simon is the contender most likely to move the Liberal Democrats in a progressive direction." In the same statement, Tatchell added: "Since his election, Simon has redeemed himself by voting for gay equality. That's all that matters now. He should be judged on his policies, not his private life."[6]
However, Hughes subsequently chose to abstain from the final vote for gay marriage. Earlier in the debates he voted for the second reading, but also backed what was seen as a "wrecking amendment"[7] and expressed the view that marriage was "traditionally ordained by God as between one man and one woman" and that civil marriage and faith-based marriage should be separated in law.[8]
At the1983 general election, held a matter of months after the by-election victory, the constituency had been redrawn asSouthwark and Bermondsey. By the1997 election it had been redrawn again, asNorth Southwark and Bermondsey, with a further change prior to the2010 election at which the seat was titledBermondsey and Old Southwark.[citation needed]
The election result in North Southwark and Bermondsey in the2005 general election was a worse one for Hughes than those he had achieved in previous battles. He held the seat, but the Labour Party saw a 5.9% swing in its favour—the biggest swing to Labour anywhere in the UK. When interviewed on election night television byJeremy Paxman, Hughes suggested that the fall in his vote might reflect the unpopularity ofSouthwark Council, which had been controlled by the Liberal Democrats since 2002. In 2010 Hughes won a record majority of 8,530.
Hughes lost the seat in2015 to Labour'sNeil Coyle, after being an MP for 32 years. He stood again at the2017 general election in his former seat, gaining 18,189 votes, but was defeated for the second time by Coyle who polled 31,161 votes, a majority of 12,972. Hughes stood down as a parliamentary candidate in September 2018.[9][10]
Hughes first joined theLiberal Party in 1971, when he signed up toCambridge University Liberal Club as a student.[11] As part of theSDP–Liberal Alliance, he was spokesman for the environment from 1983 to 1988. Along with the majority ofLiberals, he joined the newly foundedLiberal Democrats in 1988, acting as spokesman for education until 1992, then the environment again until 1994, then health until 1997, and thenhome affairs until 2003. He was the Liberal Democrat candidate in the2004 Mayor of London elections and came in third with 15.22% of the first preference vote.
In 1986, Hughes—along with two other MPs,Archy Kirkwood andMichael Meadowcroft, and theNLYL and other parts of the party—producedAcross the Divide: Liberal Values on Defence and Disarmament. This was the rally call that defeated the party leadership in the debate over the issue of an independent nuclear deterrent. Many believe it was Hughes' speech that won the day for the rebels by 23 votes.[citation needed]
Among other party offices, Hughes was vice-president of theLiberal Democrat Christian Forum. He has also stated that "the present constitutional arrangements for making English decisions are unacceptable and need to be changed."[12]He was a member of the centre-leftBeveridge Group within the Liberal Democrats.[13]
He was investigated by theParliamentary Commissioner for Standards for failing to declare a £10,000 donation from a scrap metals company, Southwark Metals, to his local party. There was no suggestion that Mr Hughes benefited personally from the donation. The commissioner found that none of the breaches of the rules was intentional and that there was no attempt to conceal any donations. Simon Hughes apologised to parliament for his mistakes.[14]
In December 2013, Hughes was appointed as a Minister of State for Justice, following the resignation ofLord McNally who had become Chair of theYouth Justice Board. Hughes announced he would stand down as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats once a successor was elected, following a decision that the Deputy Leader should not hold any office in the coalition government.
Hughes was an important figure in the fight to grant a young gay man,Mehdi Kazemi, asylum so he would not be deported to his homeland ofIran, which had executed his boyfriend, on the basis that it almost certainly would have executed him. Kazemi thanked Hughes in a letter to people across the world who fought to prevent deportation: "I would like to say thank you to my local MP, Mr Simon Hughes, and his team who gave me the chance to live and made a miracle happen when he heard that my life was in serious danger and asked the Home Office to suspend my deportation in December 2006. I would not be here if it hadn’t been for his intervention. He was here for me then and he was here for me again when I was eventually sent back to the UK in April this year. I do not know if I would have been granted my refugee status without him."[15]
On 12 January 2006, Hughes announced his candidacy in the leadership election triggered by the resignation ofCharles Kennedy. He had initially delayed any announcement while carrying out presidential responsibilities in drawing up the timetable for the contest. Speaking to reporters he said: "What I have to offer is my ambition, enthusiasm and passion. ... What I have to offer is my experience over many years in Parliament and campaigning around the country to motivate people to join us."[16]
After revelation about Hughes' long-rumoured sexuality,[17] which came four days afterMark Oaten resigned from the Liberal Democratfront bench and gave up on the leadership race, Peter Tatchell confirmed his view that, despite the 1983 Bermondsey incidents: "I hope Simon is elected as party leader because of all the contenders he is the most progressive on human rights, social justice and environmental issues."[18]
Hughes apologised after hisouting byThe Sun, saying "I gave a reply that wasn't untrue but was clearly misleading and I apologise."[19] He also admitted during theQuestion Time leadership candidate debate onBBC One on 9 February that he hadn't handled the matter very well.[20]
Hughes campaigned under a slogan of "Freedom, fairness and sustainability".[21] Hismanifesto was also released inPDF format, and was available from his campaign website. Of the three candidates in the contest, he was generally considered the mostleft wing.
Thecampaign was marked by a series ofhustings around the UK. One was held inEdinburgh,[22] where Hughes stressed hishuman rights andgreen-friendly background; another inManchester.[23] The finalhustings was held in London on 23 February 2006.[24][25][26]
He said he was proud to have played some part in the success of the Lib Dems across the country.[27]
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In the final result, Hughes came third in the ballot of party members with 12,081 votes, behind Campbell and Huhne. In the autumn of 2007, as speculation overMenzies Campbell's leadership continued, Simon Hughes publicly criticised him in aGMTV interview, stating that he had to do better.[28]
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The2010 general election, held on 6 May 2010, was the first since1974 to result in ahung parliament—with the Conservative Party having the most votes and seats, but no party having an overall majority. On 11 May 2010,Labour Party leader and prime ministerGordon Brown announced his resignation, which allowedDavid Cameron to become Prime Minister, after forming acoalition with the Liberal Democrats.
Among the Liberal Democrat MPs to be given roles in the cabinet was the deputy party leaderVince Cable, who becameBusiness Secretary and resigned from his role as deputy party leader. Cable's resignation as deputy leader caused a deputy leadership election, with Hughes defeatingTim Farron by 38 votes to 18.
Outside politics, Hughes is a supporter ofMillwall Football Club.
Hughes has never married, although in an interview withThe Daily Telegraph in 2006, he said he had been turned down by "several women". He denied persistent rumours about hissexuality, when asked if he was gay, saying "The answer is no, as it happens, but if it were the case, which it isn't, I hope that it would not be an issue." Two days later, in an interview withThe Independent he again denied being gay,[29] and later in an interview withThe Guardian he repeated the denial.[30]
However, on 26 January 2006, afterThe Sun newspaper told him that they had proof that he had used a gay chat service known as 'Man Talk', Hughes admitted that in the past he had had relationships with both women and men.[31]
Referring to his change from previous denials about his sexuality and recent Liberal Democrat difficulties he said, "I hope that any colleague in any party at any time who might not have been entirely honest for good reason or who may have made a mistake is accepted back at the right time", and also "I gave a reply that wasn't untrue but was clearly misleading. I apologise." He confirmed toPinkNews that he is bisexual.[32]
In an interview broadcast on the same day onBBC Radio 5 Live, when asked if he considered quitting the race for leadership of his party, he replied: "Of course. I considered also whether I should stand in the first place. It is a balance I have always had to take."[33]
He once appeared onTop of the Pops.[34]
On 13 May 2010 Hughes was sworn in as a member ofthe Privy Council.[35] This gave him theHonorific Prefix "The Right Honourable" for Life. In the2015 Queen's Birthday Honours List, Hughes wasknighted "for public and political service".[36] This allowed him to be known as "Sir Simon Hughes".
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forBermondsey 1983 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forSouthwark & Bermondsey 1983–1997 | |
| Member of Parliament forNorth Southwark & Bermondsey 1997–2010 | ||
| Member of Parliament forBermondsey & Old Southwark 2010–2015 | Succeeded by | |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | President of theLiberal Democrats 2004–2008 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats 2010–2014 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
