John Hughes (English politician)
Encyclopedia
John Hughes was Labour
Member of Parliament
(MP) for Coventry North East in the United Kingdom
from 1987 to 1992.
Born in Tanfield Lea, County Durham
, he served in the Royal Navy aboard HMS Victorious
during the Second World War. A former Durham and Keresley
miner, storeman and transport union convener, in 1986 he successfully fought and received compensation following a claim of unfair dismissal
as a result of his union activities from Austin-Rover's Unipart works in Coventry.
Mr Hughes served as a Coventry City councillor for the Holbrook Ward, and chair of the Coventry
District Labour Party from 1977 to 1981. In his time on the Council, he was expelled three times from the ruling Labour group for defying the party whip over spending cuts, rent rises and school meal price rises.
He was MP for Coventry North East at a time when his Constituency Labour Party
was the scene of particularly fraught left-right battles, even by the standards of the Labour Party in the 1980s. In the run-up to the 1987 general election
the left wing won control of the CLP at the AGM. Hughes had not been a particularly prominent figure in the period leading up to this, but he came out of political semi-retirement as an "elder statesman" figure to become CLP chair when the left won control. A few weeks later the sitting MP, George Park
, announced his intention to retire at the next election, if he had not done so there would probably have been an attempt to deselect him. The CLP then went into the procedure for selecting a parliamentary candidate. At the selection meeting the right wing voted for Hughes as he seemed the weakest of the left-wing candidates, mainly because he was aged around 60 and so might only serve one term as an MP. (The losing candidates were, in decreasing order of votes, Ted Knight, Bob Ainsworth
, Kate Allen and Reg Race
.)
Hughes was elected at the age of 62, old for a first-time MP but by no means unknown. In his time as an MP he hit the headlines when, on Monday 11 January 1988, the Speaker
ordered him out of the chamber, when during prayers he asked the clergyman not to bless the house in protest at the social impact of the government's policies. The focus of this protest was the case of Matthew Mulhall, a constituent of Hughes, whose condition required a life-saving operation by the end of February, 1988. The local hospital had repeatedly delayed the treatment that could save Matthew's life. Hughes, himself a practicing Catholic, subsequently escaped punishment for his outburst by the Labour leadership. Then-Labour Chief Whip, Derek Foster went on to endorse the protest by Mr Hughes as "utterley sincere." Hughes also attempted to have the law changed, preventing gas and electricity companies from cutting-off supplies of essential fuel and energy to individual homes. His Fuel and Energy Provision Bill was given its first reading on Wednesday, 27 July 1988, but progressed no further due to lack of time.
In the run up to the 1992 general election
his Constituency Labour Party had shifted to the right, and it de-selected him in favour of Bob Ainsworth
. He fought the election as Independent Labour, polling 4,008 votes (8.5% of total votes cast).
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Coventry North East in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
from 1987 to 1992.
Born in Tanfield Lea, County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, he served in the Royal Navy aboard HMS Victorious
HMS Victorious (R38)
HMS Victorious was the second Illustrious-class aircraft carrier ordered under the 1936 Naval Programme. She was laid down at the Vickers-Armstrong shipyard at Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in 1937 and launched two years later in 1939...
during the Second World War. A former Durham and Keresley
Keresley
Keresley is a village and civil parish in the City of Coventry, West Midlands, England, about north of Coventry city centre. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 791...
miner, storeman and transport union convener, in 1986 he successfully fought and received compensation following a claim of unfair dismissal
Unfair dismissal
Unfair dismissal is the term used in UK labour law to describe an employer's action when terminating an employee's employment contrary to the requirements of the Employment Rights Act 1996...
as a result of his union activities from Austin-Rover's Unipart works in Coventry.
Mr Hughes served as a Coventry City councillor for the Holbrook Ward, and chair of the Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
District Labour Party from 1977 to 1981. In his time on the Council, he was expelled three times from the ruling Labour group for defying the party whip over spending cuts, rent rises and school meal price rises.
He was MP for Coventry North East at a time when his Constituency Labour Party
Constituency Labour Party
A Constituency Labour Party is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular UK parliamentary constituency in England, Scotland and Wales. The Labour Party in Northern Ireland has, since February 2009, been organised as a province-wide Constituency Labour Party...
was the scene of particularly fraught left-right battles, even by the standards of the Labour Party in the 1980s. In the run-up to the 1987 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1987
The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
the left wing won control of the CLP at the AGM. Hughes had not been a particularly prominent figure in the period leading up to this, but he came out of political semi-retirement as an "elder statesman" figure to become CLP chair when the left won control. A few weeks later the sitting MP, George Park
George Park
George Maclean Park was a British Labour Party politician.Park worked in the motor industry in Coventry he was the Union Convenor at the Ryton Plant of the Rootes Group...
, announced his intention to retire at the next election, if he had not done so there would probably have been an attempt to deselect him. The CLP then went into the procedure for selecting a parliamentary candidate. At the selection meeting the right wing voted for Hughes as he seemed the weakest of the left-wing candidates, mainly because he was aged around 60 and so might only serve one term as an MP. (The losing candidates were, in decreasing order of votes, Ted Knight, Bob Ainsworth
Bob Ainsworth
Robert William Ainsworth is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Coventry North East since 1992, and was the Secretary of State for Defence from 2009 to 2010...
, Kate Allen and Reg Race
Reg Race
Denys Alan Reginald Race, known as Reg Race, is a British Labour politician.He unsuccessfully contested the Conservative-held constituency of Ruislip-Northwood at the February 1974 general election and again at the October 1974 general election.At the 1979 general election, Race was elected as...
.)
Hughes was elected at the age of 62, old for a first-time MP but by no means unknown. In his time as an MP he hit the headlines when, on Monday 11 January 1988, the Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
ordered him out of the chamber, when during prayers he asked the clergyman not to bless the house in protest at the social impact of the government's policies. The focus of this protest was the case of Matthew Mulhall, a constituent of Hughes, whose condition required a life-saving operation by the end of February, 1988. The local hospital had repeatedly delayed the treatment that could save Matthew's life. Hughes, himself a practicing Catholic, subsequently escaped punishment for his outburst by the Labour leadership. Then-Labour Chief Whip, Derek Foster went on to endorse the protest by Mr Hughes as "utterley sincere." Hughes also attempted to have the law changed, preventing gas and electricity companies from cutting-off supplies of essential fuel and energy to individual homes. His Fuel and Energy Provision Bill was given its first reading on Wednesday, 27 July 1988, but progressed no further due to lack of time.
In the run up to the 1992 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1992
The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...
his Constituency Labour Party had shifted to the right, and it de-selected him in favour of Bob Ainsworth
Bob Ainsworth
Robert William Ainsworth is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Coventry North East since 1992, and was the Secretary of State for Defence from 2009 to 2010...
. He fought the election as Independent Labour, polling 4,008 votes (8.5% of total votes cast).