Simon Hughes

Last updated

1997–2003
The Right Honourable Sir
Simon Hughes
Simon Hughes MP Liverpool cropped.jpg
Hughes addressing the Liberal Democrat conference in the ACC Liverpool, 2010
Minister of State for Justice and Civil Liberties
In office
18 December 2013 –8 May 2015
Preceded by The Lord Dholakia
Succeeded by The Baroness Scott of Needham Market Home Affairs

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 over Menzies Campbell's leadership continued, Simon Hughes publicly criticised him in a GMTV interview, stating that he had to do better. [29]

Deputy leadership election, 2010

The 2010 general election, held on 6 May 2010, was the first since 1974 to result in a hung 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 minister Gordon Brown announced his resignation, which allowed David Cameron to become Prime Minister, after forming a coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

Among the Liberal Democrat MPs to be given roles in the cabinet was the deputy party leader Vince Cable, who became Business Secretary and resigned from his role as deputy party leader. Cable's resignation as deputy leader caused a deputy leadership election, with Hughes defeating Tim Farron by 38 votes to 18.

Personal life

Outside politics, Hughes is a supporter of Millwall Football Club.

Hughes has never married, although in an interview with The Daily Telegraph in 2006, he said he had been turned down by "several women". He denied persistent rumours about his sexuality, 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 with The Independent he again denied being gay, [30] and later in an interview with The Guardian he repeated the denial. [31]

However, on 26 January 2006, after The 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. [32]

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 to PinkNews that he is bisexual. [33]

In an interview broadcast on the same day on BBC 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." [34]

He once appeared on Top of the Pops . [35]

Honours

On 13 May 2010 Hughes was sworn in as a member of the Privy Council. [36] This gave him the Honorific Prefix "The Right Honourable" for Life. In the 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours List, Hughes was knighted "for public and political service". [37] This allowed him to be known as "Sir Simon Hughes".

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Biography - Simon Hughes". Simon Hughes. Archived from the original on 1 March 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  2. ↑ Wintour, Patrick (15 May 2015). "Vince Cable among four senior Lib Dems to turn down Lords offer from Clegg". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  3. ↑ "Privy Council" (PDF). Privy Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  4. ↑ "Hughes, Rt Hon. Simon (Henry Ward)" Archived 29 October 2021 at the Wayback Machine . Who's Who 2014. A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2014; online ed. Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online ed., November 2014; retrieved 8 May 2015. (subscription required)
  5. ↑ "Simon Hughes apologises for homophobic smears in 1983". Pink News. 24 January 2006. Archived from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  6. ↑ "Tatchell Backs Simon Hughes". Peter Tatchell. 25 January 2006. Archived from the original on 6 September 2012.
  7. ↑ "Gay marriage: The MPs who voted for Tim Loughton's 'wrecking' amendment". Telegraph. 21 May 2013. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  8. ↑ Profile Archived 9 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine , pinknews.co.uk, 21 May 2013; accessed 9 May 2015.
  9. ↑ "Express News". 9 June 2017. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  10. ↑ May, Josh (18 April 2017). "Coalition bigwigs Vince Cable, Simon Hughes and Ed Davey prepare to stand again for the Liberal Democrats". Politics Home. Archived from the original on 22 April 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  11. ↑ Keynes Society website Archived 25 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine , keynessociety.wordpress.com; accessed 9 May 2015.
  12. ↑ No English parliament – Falconer Archived 14 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine , BBC News , 10 March 2006. Retrieved 2 October 2007.
  13. ↑ About us Archived 5 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine – The Beveridge Group 28 October 2007
  14. ↑ "Liberal Democrat Simon Hughes faces probe over donation". BBC News. 8 December 2012. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  15. ↑ Gay Iranian Refugee Thanks His Supporters Across the World Archived 27 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine , UK Gay News, London, 23 May 2008; retrieved 14 May 2008.
  16. ↑ "Hughes enters Lib Dem leader race". BBC News. 12 January 2006. Archived from the original on 16 January 2006. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  17. ↑ Barnes, Eddie; Brady, Brian (29 January 2006). "Hands up if you think the Lib Dems have lost the plot". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2006. The cited article quotes an unnamed Hughes volunteer on the Bermondsey by-election campaign in 1983: "We were all happy to see the kicking [Peter] Tatchell took over his sexuality, when every one of us knew very well that Simon was gay, too."
  18. ↑ "Lib Dem candidate gets gay backing". Pink News. 17 January 2006. Archived from the original on 13 May 2006. Retrieved 24 January 2006. Peter Tatchell reaffirmed his opinion on the leadership election after Hughes' outing by The Sun , stating "it is time to forgive and move on. ... I am on the left of the Green Party. I don't support the Lib Dems, but if I was a member I would vote for Simon as leader"
  19. ↑ "Gay revelation 'is leader test'". BBC News. 26 January 2006. Archived from the original on 28 December 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  20. ↑ "Question Time". BBC. 9 February 2006. Archived from the original on 27 May 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  21. ↑ "Freedom". Simon Hughes Leadership Campaign. 8 February 2006. Archived from the original on 10 August 2011.
  22. ↑ "Simon Hughes Leadership Themes" (PDF). Simon Hughes Leadership Campaign. 8 February 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 August 2011.
  23. ↑ Stephen Glenn's Linlithgow Journal Archived 6 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine ; accessed 9 May 2015.
  24. ↑ Grice, Andrew (21 February 2006). "Lib Dem leadership contenders battle for the green vote". The Independent. London, UK. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  25. ↑ "Lib Dem Leadership Election 2006, Last chance to meet the candidates – An evening with The Independent". The Independent. London, UK. 11 February 2006. Archived from the original on 22 January 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  26. ↑ "Lib Dem leadership contenders clash on tax in final pitch for votes" Archived 1 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine , The Independent, 24 February 2006.
  27. ↑ Lib Dem contenders in final bid Archived 29 October 2021 at the Wayback Machine , bbc.co.uk, 24 February 2006.
  28. ↑ "Simon Hughes' speech to London hustings". Simon Hughes Leadership Campaign. 23 February 2006. Archived from the original on 10 August 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  29. ↑ "Menzies Campbell must do better" Archived 25 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine , The Telegraph, 13 October 2007.
  30. ↑ McSmith, Andy (16 January 2006). "I'm not gay, I'd like to get married, says Hughes". The Independent . London. Archived from the original on 8 October 2006. Retrieved 1 November 2007.
  31. ↑ White, Michael; Branigan, Tania (24 January 2006). "I can win this time". The Guardian . London. Archived from the original on 25 September 2006. Retrieved 1 November 2007.
  32. ↑ "Hughes explains his gay admission". BBC News . 26 January 2006. Archived from the original on 26 July 2008. Retrieved 1 November 2007.
  33. ↑ Shoffman, Marc; Cohen, Benjamin (26 January 2006). "Hughes considered quitting over bisexual revelations". Pink News. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 1 November 2007.
  34. ↑ "Hughes considered quitting over bisexual revelations". PinkNews.co.uk. 26 January 2006. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  35. ↑ "Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes danced on Top of the Pops". BBC News. 31 March 2011. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  36. ↑ "BUSINESS TRANSACTED AND ORDER APPROVED AT THE PRIVY COUNCIL HELD BY THE QUEEN AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE ON 13th MAY 2010" (PDF). The Privy Council Office. 13 May 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  37. ↑ "No. 61256". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 June 2015. p. B2.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Bermondsey
1983 		Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament for Southwark & Bermondsey
1983–1997
Member of Parliament
for North Southwark & Bermondsey
1997–2010
Member of Parliament
for Bermondsey & Old Southwark
2010–2015 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by President of the Liberal Democrats
2004–2008		Succeeded by
Preceded by Deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats
2010–2014		Succeeded by
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