John Hughes (English politician)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Hughes (born 29 May 1925) was Labour Member of Parliament for Coventry North East in the United Kingdom from 1987 to 1992.

He was previously a Coventry City councillor and chair of the Coventry District Labour Party.

He was MP for Coventry NE 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 sitting MP, George Park, announced his intention to retire. In the internal Labour Party selection 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 seemed unlikely to serve more than one term as an MP.

In his time as an MP he hit the headlines when 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.

In the run up to the 1992 general election he was de-selected by his Constituency Labour Party in favour of Bob Ainsworth. He fought the election as an independent, but did not do particularly well for a sitting MP who had fallen out with his party, winning just over 4,000 votes.

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by George Park	Member of Parliament for Coventry North East 1987–1992	Succeeded by Bob Ainsworth

[edit] References

Times Guide to the House of Commons 1992