Interview with Jason Hughes, head of Volt UK
By Jack Berry
Volt Europa is a Pan European political party, with 5 Members of the European Parliament, several hundred national and local elected representatives, and a chapter in more than 30 European countries. Their platform argues for a Federal Europe with unified defense and foreign policy, adopting green energy including nuclear energy, and uploading and reinforcing human rights for all. The following article is adapted from an interview conducted on 02/06/2025 with Jason Hughes, the head of Volt UK, Volt’s national chapter in the United Kingdom. Jason ran as a candidate in the Parliamentary by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in May 2025. The questions are italicized, and poignant statements are in bold and italicized.
Interview beginning
What is your professional background? Did you have any experience in politics before joining Volt?
‘I’m a family law Barrister. In terms of my political experience, I’ve always had my eye on politics. I was a labour party member for many years. I stood in the 2010 general election for Labour in North Wiltshire up against a Conservative and the Lib Dems. Labour was the third party and didn’t have much chance of winning, but it was an amazing experience. I was a Labour Party member until May 2024, at which point I became very disenfranchised by their policies. I just thought they’d lost their way quite a bit to be honest with you. I was fascinated seeing a lot of people vote out the Tories, but nobody really wanted to Voter labour in, and we’re seeing the repercussions for that now in the recent by-election (Runcorn and Helsby, 2nd May 2025).’
‘I joined Volt because just over a year ago I was putting the world to rights in my own mind. I had long held the view that we need to have a united Europe, and we’d [The United Kingdom] be more prosperous as a European party. When I started researching Volt’s policies and what it stood for, every single value resonated with me. I was inspired by the hope it gave, really.’
This has become more salient after Donald Trump was re-elected to the White House. What’s your opinion on the narrative that in order to survive, Europe must choose to align itself with either the USA or China?
‘This has really influenced my ideas about European Federalism. I think it suited the USA to keep Europe divided, because it helped them maintain their position as the world’s superpower. They have such a reach into our defense and technology systems, and that’s made us reliant on them. That’s has really suited them. The USA doesn’t want a Unified Europe because we could rival them as an economy, and indeed security, powerhouse.’
‘I’ve watched that happen for a long time, albeit with a soft woolly veneer over it which makes us feel very secure because of the USA’s allyship. Donald Trump has lifted the veil from that. There has been a massive shift in the language and how they interact with European countries, and now most people in Europe are thinking, Christ, this has all changed.’
‘I haven’t wanted to pivot towards the USA for a long time now. I don’t think we should pivot towards China. Of course, I think we should pivot to each other.’
‘Everyone on Europe, certainly Britain, France, and I suspect Germany, all see themselves as equal partners to the USA and China. But we’re not individually. With Britain, we want to be considered the great superpower we once were, but we’re not. The reality is, to have that again, we need to be a part of something bigger, something better.’
The next question I’d like to ask you is about one of Volt’s boldest policies. What is your stance on a European army?
‘I’m all for a European army. This created a lot of interest in one of my adverts during the campaign for the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby. For me, it’s a no brainer. If you take a step back, Britain has a long military history. But with the situation we face now with Russia being so expansionist, The USA wanting to take over Greenland, all the big players are trying for a land grab.’
‘Britain as an individual country is historically strong, but not as strong as we need to be. We’ve been subservient and reliant on the US for a long time, compared to other European countries like France for example. It makes sense from a security point of view, but also from an industry point of view. With the creativity, skills and technology we have in the European arms industry, you could have both a world class military and world class businesses which can explore that.’
You mentioned that when reading Volt’s policies and its values, they resonated with you strongly; if you had to choose three of Volt’s policies that you hold in the highest regard, which ones would you choose?
‘It’s difficult to hold three of them higher than the others, because they’re all interlinked, and it’s the package that makes Volt so attractive.’
‘I think the most fundamental thing that I’m attracted to Volt for is actually how we create policies. Rather than being ideologically lead, Volt is about policies based on research and evidence. It isn’t people in a vacuum going,” I’m Volt UK Co-President, this is the policy for the UK, now everybody goes in this direction”. It’s about bringing a problem forward and asking, what’s the correct way to solve this? Who do we need? This absolutely involves people outside of Volt UK, with experts in their fields.’
‘It’s a very collegiate policy making process.’
‘Yeah, and it’s hard sometimes. It’s very easy to be top-down, because for all of us, the policies we have in our own minds are the rights ones, aren’t they? But actually, the correct policies for everyone are created bottom up.’ \
‘Linked into that is what I call Democratic Renewal. One of the reasons why so many people have lost faith in politicians and politics is that the systems we currently operate aren’t fit for purpose. Volt looks to make sure that people who interact with day-to-day government services have more direct decision making and financial control. I have this view that there shouldn’t be party politics in local councils. Councils are for delivering services, and I think party politics really hinders and holds them back from doing that.’
‘In terms of more traditional policies, I like our approach to immigration because I think it’s balanced. We don’t go down the populist route of saying,” kick all immigrants out”, but we also don’t go for the approach of accepting all immigrants. You need to go down the route of pragmatism and have a proper system to manage immigration, to ensure that immigrants are properly distributed and there are systems in place to integrate them into work. You need to look at the numbers and see what we can afford? The numbers shape policy in a fair and unbiased way.’
This question is a bit of a shift in topic. Do you believe the EU should take stronger sanctions against member states who are misaligned on European policy? For example, Hungary frequently acts a spoiler on EU resolutions regarding condemning Russia for its aggression in Ukraine. What balance ought to be struck between protecting national sovereignty, and a cohesive European foreign policy?
‘This is probably the single greatest reason why Volt exists as opposed to other pro-European parties. For example, the Liberal Democrats are a pro-EU party who would be happy to rejoin the EU, as would we, but it doesn’t solve the problem of why we left the EU in the first place. The EU is great when it talks about the economy, trade, free movements, and cohesive product standards. But it’s terrible on foreign policy because we are so fractured between 27 different member states. If Europe was unified, with its own foreign minister, you no longer have 27 different foreign policies; you have one.’
‘In the European Union model, states should be empowered to do things themselves, but when the policies of one country are so contrary to the policies of everyone else, yes, there should be more sanctions. Victor Orbán’s Hungary is so off kilter with the rest of Europe right now that there should be some form of sanctions.’
‘As an aside, I used to live in Hungary. I know a lot of my Hungarian friends find the Victor Orbán government. Like all dictators, he’s chipped away at democracy day by day, and they find it very frustrating.’
What’s your analysis of Donald Trumps’s approach to Ukraine? Is it political dealmaking, or just modern-day appeasement?
‘I think neither, to be honest with you. I think he doesn’t understand the complexity of the situation or what Putin actually wants. He’s underestimated it. He thinks he can get quick wins by domineering, bullying, and pushing. It may be dawning on him right now that what Putin and Russia wants is very different to what he thinks they want. He thinks they want a 5th of the country, so they can do a deal, everyone can go home, and he can get his Nobel Peace prize. I don’t think he has a coherent policy.’
‘I don’t think he appreciates that while he deals in dollar signs, Putin deals in something altogether different. It’s about his [Putin’s] place in history, his power, his reach. I don’t think Trump fully appreciates that.’
You recently ran to be an MP in the recent Runcorn and Helsby by-election as a Volt UK candidate. What did that mean to you, personally, and professionally?
‘The main reason I stood was to get the Volt brand out there. If we stood in every election, everyone will know about us, and we’d be a feature on the ballot.’
‘I was happy to run in Runcorn and Helsby because that’s where I’m from. It was nice being able to campaign in these streets and villages and towns I grew up in.’
‘I knew it was going to be difficult going into it. The main lessons I’ve learned were about how much preparation and resources are needed to actually do this properly. I was doing so many jobs; I was an admin person, a tech person doing adverts, and campaigning.’
‘When you talk and engage with people, and tell them about Volt’s policies, the majority of people all connect, and go, that is a good idea.’
‘I think we need to do a big advertising campaign across the UK, and Europe as well, to get the Volt name out there and make it synonymous with the values it stands for.’
‘We need to be partnering with other like-minded organizations, like political parties and movements, to make sure we’re all fighting together.’
Have you any closing words you’d like to deliver, whether it be about Britain, Europe, or something unrelated to politics?
‘My parting comment is about change. Change isn’t easy, it’s incredibly hard. You go through a cycle, when you’re trying to be an agent of change, where you’re very excited and have lots of ideas, and then you realize it’s very hard. But, focusing on the goal, and realizing it’s never easy, that every plan you put in place will be challenged, and having to keep on going, realizing that what you’re trying to achieve at the end of it is worth it, and persevering. Keep driving change.’
