Mr. Hubert Benjamin Hughes will go down in the annals of Anguilla as the longest serving politician on the island. He was born in Anguilla on October 15, 1933. He was one of the first Anguillian students to attend the St. Kitts-Nevis Grammar School. It was there, in St. Kitts, that he took an early and keen interest in the Labour Union Movement, the governance of the then Colony of St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla and its place in Caribbean politics and leadership.
He was part of an early exodus of Anguillians to England in search of a better way of life and also took an interest in British politics. After a successful and profitable sojourn, he eventually returned to Anguilla in 1961. In November, that year, he was one of four Anguillians who stood for election as Anguilla’s single island representative in the then St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla Legislative Council. He ran as a member of the Robert Bradshaw St. Kitts Labour Party but, like two of his colleagues, Kenneth Hazell and Walter Hodge, he was defeated by Peter Adams.
Mr. Hughes took a low profile in the 1967-1969 Anguilla Revolution and the local elections during that period. But, when the ministerial system of government was introduced in Anguilla by the British Government, he contested the general elections on March 15, 1976, as an independent candidate in the Road South Electoral District. He won that seat and became the sole opposition member in the Legislative Assembly. In February, 1977, he successfully moved a motion of no confidence against Ronald Webster, then Anguilla’s first Chief Minister and Revolutionary Leader, and was appointed political adviser to the new Chief Minister, Emile Gumbs.
In the May 28, 1980, general elections, Mr. Hughes contested and won the Road South seat as a member of the Ronald Webster-led Anguilla United Movement. He was appointed Minister of Natural Resources, Tourism and Communications. That Government, in which Ronald Webster was the Chief Minister, only lasted one year and fresh elections were called on June 22, 1981, when Mr. Hughes was defeated.
He was back as an elected member when Mr. Webster called a snap election on March 9, 1984, when he (Hughes) ran as an independent and re-captured the Road South seat. On March 11, 1994, Hughes became a member of the Anguilla National Alliance, led by the new Chief Minister, Emile Gumbs, and was appointed Minister of Finance. His appointment was however revoked by Governor Baillie on February 19, 1985, on the advice of the Chief Minister after a difficult working period.
Following his expulsion from the Anguilla National Alliance, Mr. Hughes again entered another political relationship with Ronald Webster as a member of his (Webster’s) Anguilla United Party (AUP). He again won the Road South seat in the 1989 general elections but, by the March 16, 1994 elections, he parted company with Webster who formed the new Anguilla for Good Government party. Hughes, along with his colleague, Belto Hughes, held on to the AUP.
Following the 1994 elections, Hubert Hughes became Chief Minister of Anguilla when his AUP formed a coalition government with Victor Banks’ Anguilla Democratic Party. Hughes also became Chief Minister in the general elections held on February 23, 1999, but, on May 23, that year, Banks left the coalition. With his departure the government was unable to have a quorum in the House of Assembly to transact business. As a result, Hughes eventually demitted office in January, 2000.
When general elections were called on March 3, 2000, Hughes, as leader of the Anguilla United Movement, won his Road South seat and retained his membership in the House of Assembly as Leader of the Opposition. He won again in the 2005 elections and also served as Leader of the Opposition.
In the 2010 general elections, Hughes was appointed Chief Minister for a third time, winning four of the seven seats and forming the government of Anguilla without any other party’s involvement. He retired from active politics in 2015, at the end of his five-year term, with his Anguilla United Movement transitioning to the Anguilla United Progressive Movement which is now the new government of Anguilla.
In summary, Mr. Hughes began his political journey in Anguilla in 1961, at the age of 28 years old. He was unsuccessful to be elected as the island’s representative in the St. Kitts Legislative Council. But he has maintained a commendable interest as a most active and formidable political aspirant in Anguilla. He has been involved in the island’s electoral process for more than five decades. He contested a total of ten general elections in Anguilla and won nine – losing only one in 1981. This is an unbeatable record in the electoral history of Anguilla.
A road-naming ceremony and a thanksgiving service were held on October 15, 2020, on his 87th birthday, in honour of his political leadership and contribution to Anguilla.
