David Hughes

We are very sad to have to report that David Hughes passed away suddenly yesterday at the meeting of the English Council, of which he was the Treasurer.

As stated on the party’s website, David was the current Chair of the Western Counties. He had also been a parliamentary candidate three times, and was a former chair of both the party’s candidates association and its national students’ organisation.

As Treasurer, David also Chaired the English Finance and Administration Committee.

Our heartfelt sympathy go to his family, friends and colleagues.

A full tribute to David will be published later in the week.

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This entry was posted in Obituaries.
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8 Comments

  • Elizabeth Peplow 1st Mar '20 - 4:38pm

    What dreadfully sad news. David combined great political insight – his adroit commentary on the news of the day was not to be missed and never far wrong – with dry but gentle humour. His contribution to the party at all levels was obviously immense but more than that he was simply a lovely man and will be greatly missed.

  • There are very many appreciative comments elsewhere. This was a big shock to all attending EC yesterday. Thankfully David had spent the day doing what he loved; in the company of many friends and colleagues; and had only just sat down to applause after having spoken with his usual insight. He was not aware of what happened and the team of paramedics were professional and caring.
    RIP David.

  • So very sad to hear this. David brought energy, integrity and wisdom to his dealings in the Party. We have lost a good liberal and a hard-working, decent man.

  • Tony Harris 2nd Mar '20 - 8:39am

    I echo everything said here and would add that he was a valued colleague on FFRC. His insights will be sorely missed.

  • Duncan Greenland 2nd Mar '20 - 10:05am

    Such a good,kind,thoughtful man – who quietly over decades made a huge contribution ! Am proud to have been one of his very many friends.

  • Paul Reynolds 2nd Mar '20 - 11:02am

    David’s passing is a sad loss to the whole party as well as his family and friends. I can recall our first meeting many decades ago. I loved his dry and subtle sense of humour, incisive analytical mind and finely-tuned listening skills. He was dedicated to the Party until the very end. A largely unsung hero of the party for 40 years. He is irreplaceable.

  • David was the PPC for the former Westbury Constituency during the late 1980’s gaining a very credible second place. David is well remembered, highly regarded and often spoken about in his former constituency. He will be greatly missed not just as a PPC, Chair of Western Counties but as our true friend. Our thoughts are with his family.

  • Brian Orrell 2nd Mar '20 - 8:41pm

    It is hard to think of David Hughes in the past tense. For many of us, he is a bright living presence. On Saturday afternoon, in the open forum session on the General Election, he had just delivered a characteristically brilliant and incisive analysis of several aspects that had gone wrong. As he walked back to his seat which was directly behind me, he enjoyed a warm and enthusiastic round of applause. He smiled at me and resumed his seat. A minute later, he was gone from us.

    We were all shocked by the sheer arbitrary suddenness of this. Only last Tuesday after an excellent and upbeat meeting of the Finance Committee, we went off to the pub for our usual round of drinks and he was in a very buoyant form with stories laced with superb wit and good humour.

    I had enormous respect for David. He was a great champion of Liberal values and a man of great integrity and intellect. He had a brilliant mind and his political insight was second to none. Over the past thirty-three years, I have worked with many Treasurers some of whom have done an excellent job but David was outstanding in every way. It would be David who would spot a contradiction, duplication or omission in a budget that everyone else had failed to notice and there was no-one I know who could answer any question on finance however complicated with ease and lucidity in a way that anyone could understand. If he didn’t know the answer, he would say so, promise to find an answer and get back to you and he always did so. He treated everyone with unfailing courtesy and respect, kindness and generosity of spirit.

    It has been a privilege and a delight to work with him over the past four years and his passing is indeed a massive loss for our Party not only as Treasurer for England and a superb Chair of Western Counties Region but most of all as a living exemplar of our core values.

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