He served as a government whip and was previously a coal miner and official for the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).

As an MP, he was sponsored by the NUM, although the number of working coal pits in his constituency had been reduced from 6 to only 1.

Despite allegations being made against him by fellow councillor Ron Rose, Hughes avoided blame in the "Donnygate" scandal, which resulted in 21 former members of Doncaster council being convicted for fraud offences.

[3] During a November 2001 debate in Parliament, Hughes expressed support for anti-terrorism legislation following the September 11 attacks, with a comment which became famous[2][3] for disparaging left-liberal readers of The Guardian who opposed such measures: Does my right hon.

Hughes stood down early from Parliament in 2005 after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease.