William Hughes, Baron Hughes

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

PC (22 January 1911 – 31 December 1999), was a Scottish Labour party politician who served in the governments of

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

Background

Hughes was born in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, and was elected to Dundee Town Council at the age of 22. In 1954 he became

Lord Provost of Dundee The Lord Provost of Dundee is the chair and civic head of the Dundee City Council in Scotland. They are elected by the city council and serve not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead and Lord Lieutenant for the city. They are equ ...

, a post he held until 1960, while he remained a councillor until 1961. He was also a Justice of the Peace for the city from 1943 until 1974. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Hughes was Dundee's civil defense controller until 1943, when he joined the armed forces. He was commissioned in 1944, becoming a Captain by the end of the conflict. He served in the

Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equi ...

in India.

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

and

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

. He stood in the

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

and

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

general elections as the Labour Party's candidate for

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

(known as Perth and East Perthshire from 1950), but was not elected, before becoming a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

on 7 February 1961 as Baron Hughes, of Hawkhill in the City of

, Scotland.

House of Lords

Hughes resigned as councillor in March 1961, as he felt that 'he could not guarantee to be a fully effective member' of the body following his appointment to the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. In

's first government, he served under

Scottish Secretary The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...

Willie Ross as

Under-Secretary of State for Scotland The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland is a junior ministerial post (of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State rank) in the Government of the United Kingdom, supporting the Secretary of State for Scotland. The post is also kn ...

from 1964 to 1969, and then as

Minister of State for Scotland The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland is a junior ministerial post (of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State rank) in the Government of the United Kingdom, supporting the Secretary of State for Scotland. The post is also kno ...

from 1969 to 1970 and again from 1974 to 1975. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1970. His obituary in '' The Herald'' noted he 'played a key role in persuading the government to proceed with the

Tay Road Bridge The Tay Road Bridge carries the A92 road across the Firth of Tay from Newport-on-Tay in Fife to Dundee in Scotland, just downstream of the Tay Rail Bridge. At around , it is one of the longest road bridges in Europe, and was opened in 1966, rep ...

, at the time the longest road bridge in Europe'. While serving in government, he also laid the foundation stone for

Ninewells Hospital Ninewells Hospital is a large teaching hospital, based on the western edge of Dundee, Scotland. It is internationally renowned for introducing laparoscopic surgery to the UK as well as being a leading centre in developing fields such as the manag ...

on 9 September 1965. Hughes chaired both the

Glenrothes Glenrothes ( ; ; , ) is a town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It had a population of 39,277 in the 2011 census, making it the third largest settlement in Fife and the 18th most populous locality in Scotland. Glenroth ...

and

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; ), sometimes referred to as EK, is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland, and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. Historically a small village, it was designated Scotland's first "new town" on 6 Ma ...

development corporations, and was also chairman of a royal commission on reforming Scottish legal services. After leaving ministerial office he remained an active peer and was noted for his attacks on the Thatcher and

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

governments, on issues such as the introduction of the

Poll Tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...

in Scotland, and Conservative claims about the possible economic impact of

Scottish home rule Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance ...

Personal life and death

Hughes married Christian Gordon in 1951; they had two daughters. His wife died in 1994, and Hughes died at his home in

Comrie, Perth and Kinross Comrie (; ; Pictish: ''Aberlednock''; Roman Empire, Latin: ''Victoria'') is a village and parish in the southern Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland, towards the western end of the Strathearn district of Perth and Kinross, west of Crieff. ...

, on 31 December 1999, at the age of 88.

Honours

His honours included the

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1942, raised to a

in 1956, receiving the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(Chevalier) in 1958 and becoming a Privy Counsellor in 1970. He was also appointed as Deputy Lieutenant of the City of Dundee in 1992.

Footnotes

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, William Hughes, Baron 1911 births 1999 deaths 20th-century Scottish politicians British Army personnel of World War II Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Deputy lieutenants of Dundee Knights of the Legion of Honour Labour Party (UK) life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Lord provosts of Dundee Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Wilson governments, 1964–1970 Nobility from Dundee Politicians from Dundee Royal Army Ordnance Corps officers Scottish Labour parliamentary candidates