Sean Hughes (politician)

Sean Francis Hughes (8 May 1946 – 24 June 1990) was a British history teacher and Labour politician. He was the local successor to Sir Harold Wilson as a Member of Parliament, and served as a whip and a spokesman on defence issues for his party. Respected for his Parliamentary abilities and able to use his historical knowledge in Parliamentary speeches, he played a role in changing Labour's defence policy from unilateral nuclear disarmament to a multilateral approach. His Parliamentary career was cut short by his early death from cancer.

Hughes was born in Huyton to a Welsh father and Irish Catholic mother. His early life was described as "impeccably working class", with his father Francis Hughes working as a ship fender-maker in Liverpool. After his father's death, his mother Mary moved back to Ireland with his five sisters. He attended St Aloysius Primary School, where he proved to be naturally bright and won a scholarship to West Park Grammar School in St Helens; he spent some time at St John's College, Southsea which was, like West Park Grammar School, run by the De La Salle brothers. He went on to Liverpool University where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree and Manchester University for a Master of Arts degree. He attended a Roman Catholic seminary but did not take a religious vocation.

In 1969 Hughes began work as a trainee personnel manager at the Unilever plant in Port Sunlight. However he was very interested in the subject of history; and obtained a Certificate of Education from Liverpool University. In 1970 he joined the staff of Ruffwood Comprehensive School as a history teacher and from 1973 he was head of the history department. Initially a member of the National Association of Schoolmasters, he was later a member of the National Union of Teachers.

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