Tributes to 'truly thoughtful and caring' Chichester councillor

Mr Hughes, who represented Chichester East on the city council, and had also served on the district council, passed away on Thursday (September 1).

One of only two Labour councillors sitting on either council, he was described by Sarah Lishman (Lab, Chichester East) as a ‘calming voice’ and ‘political soulmate’ with ‘sensible views’.

She added: “Kevin Hughes was first and foremost my friend. We did good work together, and I will miss him a great deal.

“He always fought our corner and was fiercely in defence of our patch of Chichester.

“I learnt so much from him in the political world.

“We care about our residents and he never shied away from a difficult issue, even if it was contentious.

“He was also a very talented copy editor, and I was always wary of a grammatical error in an email!”

Ms Lishman described him as a keen cyclist and runner, who ‘loved his Welsh rugby’. As such, she plans to ask the city council to introduce a civic award in his name, to be awarded for sporting expertise.

Mr Hughes was elected to both the city and district councils in 2019, stepping down from the latter in 2021.

A city council spokesman described his contributions to the work of the finance committee as ‘thought provoking’, adding: “He will be sadly missed and his untimely passing has come as a great shock to us all.”

A district council spokesman described Mr Hughes as ‘a huge support to those in his community’, adding: “He will be greatly missed.”

Adrian Moss, leader of the Liberal Democrats, described him as a ‘truly thoughtful, caring individual who put his community and friends at the forefront of his thoughts and actions’.

He added: “His contribution to the council in terms of housing and community care were always impressive.

“Kevin was always willing to challenge convention and individuals who failed to share his values of supporting those less fortunate.”

Sarah Sharp, who represents the Green Party on the city, district and county councils was elected to the district at the same time as Mr Hughes.

She said: “We were part of a rainbow group and it felt like a new era was dawning in the district.

“Kevin was one of the key standard bearers in this new dawn. He will be sorely missed."

Alan Sutton, a cabinet member from the Conservative-controlled Chichester District Council, added: “Although often members of different parties are characterised as being fundamentally opposed, my experience is that we have far more in common than the differences that political dogma dictates.

"Before I was appointed to cabinet Kevin and I shared membership of several committees and task & finish groups. His contribution was always strong in support of his residents, with a genuine desire to work cross party to achieve results.

“Although we disagreed politically, we shared more personally than you might imagine. I miss Kevin's commitment and passionate approach and I will continue to concentrate on the things we hold in common rather than differences.

“I extend my sincere condolences and those of all conservative cabinet & council members to Kevin's family, friends & colleagues.”