Beverley June Hughes, Baroness Hughes of StretfordPC (born 30 March 1950) is a British politician who most recently served asDeputy Mayor of Greater Manchester for Policing and Crime between 2017 and 2023. A member of theLabour Party, Hughes was theMember of Parliament (MP) forStretford and Urmston from1997 to2010. In 2004, she was appointed to thePrivy Council. From 2005 to 2009, she served in theGovernment as theMinister of State forChildren, Young People and Families.[1]
Beverley Hughes was born in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire in 1950 and was educated at Ellesmere Port Girls' Grammar School (now calledThe Whitby High School) on Sycamore Drive in Whitby,Ellesmere Port. She moved toFlixton in 1976, and has lived there ever since.
Hughes studied for aBSc in Social Science at theUniversity of Manchester, graduating in 1971. After graduation she continued her studies at the University of Manchester, carrying out postgraduate research into the care of people withschizophrenia, for which she was awarded aMaster of Science degree in 1978. She also gained a Diploma in Applied Social Studies in 1974 from theUniversity of Liverpool. She worked as a probation officer in Merseyside from 1971 to 1976.
From 1976 to 1997 Hughes worked first as a research associate, then lecturer (from 1981) and then a senior lecturer in the Department of Social Policy at theUniversity of Manchester, a department that she became the head of in 1994.
Hughes' political career began with election toTrafford Borough Council in 1986. She established herself, and was appointed leader of the council's Labour Group in 1992. She became Trafford Borough Council Leader in 1995, remaining in the post until her election to theUK Parliament at the1997 general election.
From June 1997 to July 1998, she was a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee, until she was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Hilary Armstrong, Minister for Local Government and Housing. In July 1999 she was appointedParliamentary Under-Secretary of State in theDepartment of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. In 2001, she was appointed the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prisons and Probation in theHome Office.
In July 2001, she received significant ridicule and criticism in the media after it was revealed that along with other politicians she had repeatedly denounced an edition of the Channel 4 television showBrass Eye as being "unbelievably sick", but then subsequently admitting that she'd never seen it and refused to ever watch it.[2] The programme was in fact parodying hysteria surrounding the issue of paedophilia and the media, thus commentators suggested that extreme reactions such as those by Hughes had in fact emphasised the need for such programming. SirPaul Fox criticised Hughes and her colleagues suggesting they "have to have the courtesy to have seen the programme before they go in at the deep end",[3] with Christopher Howse even more critical, suggesting "it was as if paedophilia were sacred and not to be blasphemed against" and that the idiocy of Hughes' performance on the affair was "hard to beat".[4]
In 2002, Hughes was appointedMinister of State for Immigration, Citizenship and Counter Terrorism, but was forced to resign in April 2004 when it was shown that she had been informed of procedural improprieties concerning the granting of visas to certain categories of workers from Eastern Europe – she had earlier told theHouse of Commons that if she had been aware of such facts she would have done something about it.[5]
Upon resignation, she made clear that she had not set out to "intentionally mislead anyone", but she could not "in conscience continue to serve as immigration minister". The prime minister replaced Hughes with Work and Pensions MinisterDes Browne.
She was re-appointed into government after the2005 general election as the Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families in theDepartment for Education and Skills. She became theRegional Minister for the North West as of 19 July 2007.[6]
On 2 June 2009, Hughes announced she was resigning her ministerial position of Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families within that week following the Local and European elections with a cabinet reshuffle anticipated. She stood down at the 2010 General Election for "personal reasons" and specifically denied that she was standing down due to the ongoing expenses scandal.[7] She was made alife peer on 15 July 2010 taking the titleBaroness Hughes of Stretford, ofEllesmere Port in the County ofCheshire.[8]
On 6 May 2017, Hughes was appointed asDeputy Mayor of Greater Manchester for Policing and Crime byGreater Manchester Combined Authoritymayor, and former Shadow Home Secretary,Andy Burnham.[9] On 9 January 2023 Hughes retired as Deputy Mayor, withKate Green succeeding her.[10]
She married Thomas McDonald in 1973 inWest Cheshire and has three grown up children: one son and two daughters.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forStretford and Urmston 1997–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded byas Minister of State for Asylum and Immigration | Minister of State for Immigration, Citizenship and Counterterrorism 2002–2004 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded byas Undersecretary of State for Children and Families | Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families 2005–2009 | Succeeded by |
| New office | Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester for Policing and Crime 2017–2023 | Succeeded by |
| Asylum and immigration 1999–2002 | .svg) | |
|---|---|---|
| Immigration, citizenship and counter-terrorism 2002–2005 | ||
| Immigration, citizenship and nationality 2005–2006 | ||
| Borders and immigration 2006–2010 | ||
| Immigration 2010–2023 | ||
| Legal migration and delivery 2023–2024 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
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