Simon Hughes

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Simon Hughes, Source: David Spender, Flickr
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Simon Hughes was the UK Liberal Democrats member of Parliament (MP) for Bermondsey (1983), Southwark and Bermondsey (1983-1997) North Southwark and Bermondsey (1997-2010) and Bermondsey and Old Southwark (2010-2015).[1]

He lost his seat in the 2015 general election to the Labour Party's Neil Coyle by 4,489 votes.[2]

Ministerial roles

Hughes was appointed a minister of state at the Ministry of Justice in December 2013 the resignation of Lord McNally on his appointment as chair of the Youth Justice Board.[3]

Unregistered donations

In November 2013, the House of Commons Standards Committee found that Hughes had failed to formally declare six donations worth over £30,000 to his local party , failing to observe the parliamentary 'code of conduct'. Four of them came from IPA Consulting Ltd, one from City Cruises Plc, and one from Southwark Metals Ltd. [4]

The leader of his constituency's council said his failure was 'not just embarrassing for him, it more importantly falls well short of the standards people in Southwark would expect from their MP'. Hughes later apologised , saying he was not 'not as attentive as he should have been to the rules of the House.'. [5]

Turned down peerage

After the 2015 general election, Hughes turned down an offer of a peerage from Nick Clegg in the dissolution honours list. Former Lib Dem MPs David Laws, Vince Cable and Danny Alexander are also understood to have turned down the offer.[6]

New lobbying role after politics

Having left his role as minister of state at the Ministry of Justice, Hughes sought the advice of Advisory Committee on Business Appointments regarding a new position as head of public affairs at the Open University, which he took up in February 2016. [7]

Affiliations

Notes

  1. Rt Hon Simon Hughes, www.parliament.uk, accessed 15 May 2013.
  2. BBC News Bermondsey & Old Southwark, accessed 15 May 2015.
  3. Ministerial changes: December 2013, Prime Minister's Office, 18 December 2013.
  4. London MP Simon Hughes apologises for donations mistake, The Docklands & East London Advertiser, 7 November 2013, accessed 12 December 2016.
  5. Christopher Hope, Simon Hughes apologises to Commons over £30,000 in undeclared donations, The Telegraph, 8 November 2013, accessed 12 December 20166.
  6. Patrick Wintour Vince Cable among four Lib Dems to turn down Lords offers from Clegg Guardian, 15 May 2015, accessed 18 May 2015.
  7. SImon Hughes business appointments ACOBA, www.Gov.uk, accessed 16 February 2016

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