Simon Hughes - Leadership Election 2006

Leadership Election 2006

On 12 January 2006 Hughes announced his candidature in the Leadership Election triggered by the resignation of Charles Kennedy. He had initially delayed any announcement while carrying out Presidential responsibilities in drawing up the timetable for the contest.

Speaking to reporters he said: "What I have to offer is my ambition, enthusiasm and passion.... What I have to offer is my experience over many years in Parliament and campaigning around the country to motivate people to join us."

After revelation about Hughes' long rumoured sexuality, which came four days after Mark Oaten resigned from the Liberal Democrat front bench and gave up on the leadership race, Peter Tatchell confirmed his view that, despite the 1983 Bermondsey incidents: "I hope Simon is elected as party leader because of all the contenders he is the most progressive on human rights, social justice and environmental issues."

Mr Hughes apologised after his outing by The Sun, saying "I gave a reply that wasn't untrue but was clearly misleading and I apologise." He also admitted during the Question Time leadership candidate debate on BBC1 on 9 February that he hadn't handled the matter very well.

Simon Hughes campaigned under the rubric of 'Freedom, fairness and sustainability.' His manifesto was also released in pdf format, and was available from his campaign website. Of the three candidates in the contest, he was generally considered the most leftwing. For example, he said in his manifesto that "Britain has become less, not more fair, in recent years. Few people would have expected the Tories to deliver a fair society. But more might have hoped that a Labour government would deliver fairness. The reality has been bitterly disappointing. Inequalities in health have increased under Labour, not decreased."

The campaign was marked by a series of hustings around the UK. One was held in Edinburgh where Hughes stressed his human rights and Green friendly background; another in Manchester, where Chris Huhne rebutted criticism from Sir Menzies Campbell that his call for a rise in petrol duty would harm people living in rural areas dependent on using their cars. The final hustings was held in London on 23 February 2006.

He said he was proud to have played some part in the success of the LibDems across the country.

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 he must do better.