As the curtain comes down on 2014, it also brings to an end the active political career of our Honourable Chief Minister Hubert Benjamin Hughes. The Honourable Chief Minister has publicly announced that he will not be contesting the next general elections constitutionally due in 2015. He delivered his last budget address in the House of Assembly on Friday 12th December 2014. The tragic passing of Mr Brian Hughes, son of the Honourable Chief Minister on 17th December, brought the budget debates to a halt. As a nation we join with the Chief Minister and his family in mourning the loss of such a kind and generous young man. After the conclusion of the budget debates, this week, it is unlikely that Mr Hughes will ever appear again as a member of the House of Assembly. We expect that very soon the House will be dissolved and an election date announced; unless, of course, there is urgent business that needs to be addressed prior to the dissolution of the House.
Mr Hughes has had a long and eventful political career dating back to the 1960s. What will be his legacy after all these years? A similar question was posed to the candidates in the political debates organized by the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School’s Literary and Debating Society. I think it is fair to say that Mr Hughes got mixed reviews from the political candidates. But that is no surprise. Mr Hughes is one of those politicians whom you either like or dislike. There are no in-between feelings when it comes to him. I cannot say what his legacy will be, but I can say that he will be missed. He was and is an iconic figure in Anguilla’s political development. We will miss his lengthy speeches in the House of Assembly; his reminders of the historical background of every issue; his “in your face” confrontational approach to tackling a problem; his grassroots, fatherly manner of relating to people.
Unfortunately, Mr Hughes also has a style of leadership that is troubling. He manages to cast a cloud over the character and reputation of anyone he believes (whether verified or not) is posing a challenge to his Government. One can easily bring to mind his continuous rebuke of the civil servants – the “technocrats’ – especially Permanent Secretaries whom he has alleged have undermined his administration and are thus the cause of the lack of progress on several plans the AUM wanted to implement. I had hoped that this style would not be his legacy but, sadly, this mantra has been repeated by almost every member of the AUM in various settings. The good news is that I heard his son, the Honourable Haydn Hughes, indicate – in the District 6 political debate – that, with a new leader, the AUM is looking at a new direction. I am therefore hopeful that Haydn informed Dr Lorenzo Webster about this, and that the AUM will practice a different kind of politics than that of blame and character smearing which, in my view, seems to have been its preferred style for the last four years.
As our Chief Minister takes his final bow, and exits the political stage, it marks the end of an era of the ‘old school’ politicians including the Father of Nation Mr James Ronald Webster, Sir Emile Gumbs and Mr Albert Hughes. I am sure that the Chief Minister’s retirement from active politics, however, does not mean that he will not still be engaged in political activism in some way. I think we can still expect to see and hear from him on any issue of national significance. He may have taken his final bow, but he is not out cold. I am certain that once there is breath in his body, his voice will be heard.
Regardless of one’s views about him – as Chief Minister, former Leader of the Opposition or just a politician – we must admit that the Honourable Hubert Hughes added colour and flavor to Anguilla’s politics. There has never been, and probably never will be, anyone quite like him.
Happy Retirement, Mr Chief Minister!
