Louise Hughes

For anyone taking the trouble to view my profile and read this .. Welcome! Have I got lots of letters after my name? - no. Do I regret not going to university? - maybe sometimes if I’m honest. But what I DO have is a wealth of life experience and an ingrained sense of fair play, with a generous dollop of good old fashioned values and a very robust sense of humour. My father was an RSM in the Royal Artillery who instilled in me the value of hard work, good manners at all times and honesty, his oft repeated edict “dishonesty doesn’t pay, it will ALWAYS catch up with you in the end” is hardwired into my DNA. I set the bar high and expect others to do likewise. I was born in BAOR and was privileged to have a BFES (British Forces Education Service) education, mostly in Germany. After leaving school with a clutch of ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels I worked for 5 years at HQ Intelligence & Security Group (Germany) with the highest level security clearance required for the sensitivity of the work involved. This was followed by a brief stint in the civil service and then subsequently at HQ Thames Valley Police at Kidlington in the recruitment department. I’ve worked in the outdoor pursuits industry in Snowdonia and am currently an adult instructor with Clwyd & Gwynedd Army Cadet Force where I’m the detachment commander in Tywyn. Encouraging youngsters to get out of their comfort zone and watching them achieve things they thought they couldn’t is a real buzz and something which gives me a great deal of satisfaction. I fell into politics purely by accident really, the Plaid Cymru drive to close our wonderful village schools was the catalyst to getting myself elected onto Gwynedd Council in 2008 and, somewhat surprisingly, I’m still here. I don’t expect people to do anything I’m not prepared to do myself, so I roll my sleeves up (sometimes literally) and get stuck in. If a job needs doing, do it yourself! .. Another of my father’s philosophies. What motivates me? Ultimately I cannot abide the gross unfairness of the modern world, a world where we have multi-billionaires whilst at the same time millions of people do not have the most basic of human needs: food, shelter, warmth. If this doesn’t sicken you too then you have no soul. I’ve stood in 3 General Elections and 3 Welsh Assembly Elections .. Unsuccessfully, but hey! that’s Democracy for you. Perhaps I should get ‘Louise Hughes - the best MP you never had!” printed on a tshirt. Life can be a rollercoaster but I’m still clinging on and enjoying the ride!