From HGS to PARLIAMENT Eddie Hughes visited our school in February of this year and spoke to staff and students. He was very complimentary about the school, and also took questions from an audience of sixth form students. In addition to this, I was able to ask him some questions some time later about his memories of being a pupil at HGS, and what life for him is really like as an MP in a fascinating period of political history. Eddie kindly gave his time to answer these questions. When did you attend the school and what are your fondest memories of the school? I attended the school between 1980 and 87.When I passed the 11+ ten other pupils from my primary school also passed. In fact, our primary school had a high level of success with the 11+ so one of my fondest memories was arriving at HGS to find many friendly, familiar faces in all year groups. This made the transition to secondary school a very easy one. Did you enjoy returning to HGS on your recent visit? I always feel nostalgic whenever I return. I have visited previously to have a tour of the school but the Q&A session with the sixth form on the most recent visit was great fun. Have you kept in touch with any of your school friends? Yes – many of them. About fifteen years ago I organised a reunion for my year group at the school and approximately forty people attended. I’ve kept in touch with many of them since then. Did HGS leave a lasting impression on you? Yes. I realised just how valuable a good education is and how some communities realise this more than others. HGS was so much more ethnically diverse than the primary school I attended that it gave me the opportunity to learn a lot from my fellow students, as well as the teachers. What was your favourite subject and your favourite teachers at school? Maths was my favourite subject and I liked all my maths teachers – even Ms Diaper! She was very stern and intimidating, but an excellent teacher. You are not the first MP to have attended HGS, and indeed Sion Simon, former Labour MP and now MEP was in the same year at school as you. Did you know each other then, and did you have different political views at the time? We did know each other at school and were good friends, although it was obvious then that we had very different political views. I’m still in regular contact with Sion and even did one of the readings at his wedding. How would you encourage young people to get involved in politics? Lots of people these days are motivated by a single issue that’s particularly important to them such as climate change or homelessness. Find out which political party is most closely aligned with your own view on that subject and get in touch with them to see if they have any related activities near you. What is the toughest part of being an MP? Being away from my wife. Having to spend three or four days a week away from home is far from ideal. It’s also a bit unfortunate if I get abuse on social media and my family see it. I don’t take any of that personally, but my family do. Do you think that politics has changed you? I really don’t think it’s changed me – but others may disagree. You were from a traditional working-class background, so why did you find your way into the Conservative party? I voted Labour the first time I voted because my parents did. However, after doing a civil engineering degree I went on to study A-levels in government and politics at night school. My politics lecturer suggested I should read the manifestos of the three main parties and decide which one of them I agreed with most. To my surprise, I found I was a closet Conservative. For example, I believed in low taxes and a small state. The Conservatives also supported grammar schools… Any funny stories from your time as a parliamentarian? I don’t have a funny story, but I do have a favourite story. As a Catholic MP, I went to Rome with a cross-party group of MPs and met the Pope. That’s not an opportunity you get very often! Many thanks to Mr Hughes for taking the time and trouble to visit his old school, but also for answering these questions so honestly and frankly. Mr Conway 23