Simon Hughes, Old Heath & The Hythe

Simon Hughes, Old Heath & The Hythe Family. Community. Country 🇬🇧

08/10/2026

A busy few weeks ahead, with plenty happening locally!

October is shaping up to be another busy month, with the Old Heath School Association (OHSA) AGM coming up, alongside our Old Heath Residents Association (OHRA) committee meeting as we continue building on the work we've started.

We're also preparing for OHRA's next public meeting in November — our second residents' meeting, but importantly, the first since establishing our committee. It'll be a great opportunity to hear more from residents about the issues and priorities that matter to them.

Alongside this, I've got a few other local meetings and conversations planned, including some early preparation looking ahead to May next year.

All of this sits alongside family life and both full-time and part-time jobs, so there's certainly plenty to juggle!

I enjoy being involved, meeting people, listening to different perspectives and finding practical ways to make a positive contribution to the area we call home.

Community involvement isn't just about having opinions — it's about giving your time, listening and being prepared to get involved.

Looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together 🙏🇬🇧

Took the dogs for a walk across Middlewick Ranges this morning and found evidence of three separate fires having been de...
03/10/2026

Took the dogs for a walk across Middlewick Ranges this morning and found evidence of three separate fires having been deliberately started.
One was right beside a fence and another was in woodland. I genuinely struggle to understand why anyone would think this is acceptable.
Middlewick is an important habitat and a place used and valued by so many local people. It only takes one fire to get out of control and cause serious damage.
Please respect the Ranges. No fires, no barbecues, and take your rubbish home.
If you see a fire in progress, call 999. Suspicious activity can be reported to the police on 101.
We all have a part to play in looking after The Wick 🙏🇬🇧

27/09/2026

Ahead of next month's Budget, I've been thinking a lot about tax, public services and the cost of living.
I earn a good salary. I'm fortunate enough to be a higher-rate taxpayer. I've worked hard to get there. I also work a second job alongside my full-time career.
Why? Because supporting a family on one income isn't cheap. Mortgage, energy, food, fuel, childcare, everything else — the cost of simply getting on with life has risen enormously.
So when I hear another public service described as broken, my first question isn't “how much more money can we spend on it?”
It's why isn't it working?
Social care is enormously important. We need a system that properly supports vulnerable people, their families and the people working within it. But reform should also mean examining where the system fails, where money is being wasted, where bureaucracy gets in the way and what could be done differently.
Government should be able to demonstrate that before reaching further into people's pockets.
That's not an abstract argument to me. I see the tax coming out of my salary every month. I see what filling the car costs. I see what the weekly shop costs. And I know plenty of families are feeling it far more acutely than mine.
It's also why I've never viewed local public service as a way of making money. If I'm fortunate enough to serve as a councillor one day, the basic allowance certainly isn't going to make me rich — as a higher-rate taxpayer, a substantial part of it would go straight back in income tax.
I'm not against properly funding good public services. Far from it.
But “spend more” cannot always be the first answer. Sometimes the harder — and more important — question is why we're spending so much already and still not getting the outcomes people deserve.

26/09/2026

Something Bear Grylls wrote about resentment and forgiveness struck a chord with me.

Standing for election last May taught me a lot.

Putting your head above the parapet means accepting scrutiny and criticism. Some of it will be fair. Some of it you will strongly believe isn't. During last year's campaign, things were said about me that I believed were wholly untrue, and I probably spent too much time and energy wanting to challenge every accusation and prove every point.

I heard a line recently that summed up one of the lessons I've learned: “You can't please everyone, nor should you try.”
That doesn't mean ignoring criticism. If someone makes a fair point, listen to it. Learn from it. But equally, you can't allow every criticism or disagreement to consume you.

With hindsight, that's one of the biggest lessons I've taken from last May.
You can disagree with someone, challenge them and stand by your principles without carrying the resentment afterwards. Forgiveness doesn't mean accepting something as true or pretending it didn't happen. It means deciding that it no longer gets your time or energy.

So that's what I'm doing. Last May was my first experience of standing for public office. I learned an enormous amount — about local politics, about campaigning and, probably most importantly, about myself.

I'm taking those lessons forward. My focus remains on listening to residents, understanding the issues affecting Old Heath & The Hythe and doing what I can to help.

The past can stay in the past. I'm much more interested in what comes next 💪🇬🇧

23/09/2026

Politics doesn't have to be personal.

People will disagree. Sometimes strongly. That's rather the point of political debate.

But councillors — and those seeking to become councillors — should be able to challenge each other's ideas, policies and decisions without attacking each other as people.

It's actually been encouraging to have had some reasoned and respectful discussions across party lines with some local councillors at Colchester City Council , even where we clearly disagree.

Elected representatives should be held to a high standard. That includes listening to opposing views, answering difficult questions and treating people with respect even when you fundamentally disagree with them.

Having served in the British Army , “Respect for Others” is a value that has stayed with me. I think it's just as relevant in public life.

We could do with more robust but respectful debate in local politics.

Disagreement is healthy. Disrespect isn't. 🙏🇬🇧

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