Jo Swinson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jo Swinson
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Official portrait, 2017
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| Leader of the Liberal Democrats | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 22 July 2019 – 13 December 2019 |
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| President | The Baroness Brinton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | Ed Davey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Vince Cable | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Ed Davey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of Parliament for East Dunbartonshire |
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| In office 8 June 2017 – 6 November 2019 |
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| Preceded by | John Nicolson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Amy Callaghan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 5 May 2005 – 30 March 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Constituency established | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | John Nicolson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
Joanne Kate Swinson
5 February 1980 Glasgow, Scotland |
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| Political party | Liberal Democrats | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse |
Duncan Hames
(m. 2011) |
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| Children | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | London School of Economics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Joanne Kate Swinson (born 5 February 1980) is a Scottish former politician. She was the Leader of the Liberal Democrats from July to December 2019. Swinson was a Member of Parliament (MP) for East Dunbartonshire. She served from 2005 to 2015 and again from 2017 to 2019. In September 2020, Swinson became a Director for Partners for a New Economy (P4NE).
Swinson studied at the London School of Economics. She worked in public relations before becoming an MP at age 25. At that time, she was the youngest MP. She was a Liberal Democrat spokesperson for different areas. These included Scotland and Women and Equalities.
In 2010, the Liberal Democrats joined a coalition government with the Conservative Party. Swinson became a special assistant to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. Later, she was appointed a minister for employment and postal affairs. She lost her seat in the 2015 election. However, she won it back in the 2017 election. Soon after, she became Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats. In July 2019, she became the leader of the party.
Swinson led her party in the 2019 general election. She suggested the Liberal Democrats could form a government and stop Brexit. However, her party lost seats, and she lost her own seat. Her time as leader was the shortest in the party's history. She is also the only Liberal Democrat leader to lose her seat while in charge.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Swinson was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on 5 February 1980. Her parents are Peter and Annette Swinson. She went to Douglas Academy, a state school in Milngavie, Scotland.
She then studied Management at the London School of Economics. She earned a top degree in 2000. Swinson became an active member of the Liberal Democrats when she was 17.
Early Career in Politics
After university, Swinson worked in marketing and public relations. She worked for Ace Visual and Sound Systems and Viking FM radio station.
At 21, Swinson ran for MP in the 2001 general election. She did not win, but she gained more support for her party. In 2003, she also ran for the Scottish Parliament. She finished third in that election.
Member of Parliament (2005–2015)
Swinson became an MP for East Dunbartonshire in the 2005 general election. She won against John Lyons of Labour. She was the first MP born in the 1980s. She was also the youngest MP at the time, known as the "Baby of the House". This lasted until 2009.
Swinson spoke out against the Iraq War. She also opposed the government's plans for national identity cards. She supported actions to fight climate change. These included saving energy at home and using green taxes. She also wanted to lower the voting age to 16. She believed this would help young people get involved in politics.
Swinson thought more women should be in politics. She felt encouragement was better than special rules to achieve this. She even wore a T-shirt saying, "I am not a token woman" at a party meeting.
She also suggested a "wellbeing index" to measure people's happiness. This would be compared to GDP, which measures economic growth. She noted that while living standards grew, people's happiness stayed the same.
Swinson also campaigned against too much packaging on chocolate Easter eggs. She criticized companies for using wasteful materials. She named Guylian and Lindt as some of the worst offenders.
Swinson kept her seat in the 2010 general election. Her party, the Liberal Democrats, then formed a coalition government with the Conservative Party.
Working with the Government
In November 2010, Swinson became a special assistant to Business Secretary Vince Cable. In December 2010, she voted to allow universities to raise tuition fees.
In February 2012, Swinson became a special assistant to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. She held this role until she became a government minister later that year.
Business Minister (2012–2015)
In September 2012, Swinson was made a minister for employment and consumer affairs. She kept this job for the rest of the coalition government. She took a few months off for maternity leave in 2013-2014.
Swinson worked to change old laws about pedlars (travelling salespeople). She wanted to make it easier for them to trade. This would help small businesses grow. Some people worried it might lead to problems.
Swinson did not support forcing companies to have a certain number of women in leadership roles. She believed this would "negatively affect" businesses. Instead, she encouraged companies to see the benefits of having more women in charge.
From 2013, Swinson worked to promote fathers' rights regarding parental leave. She helped create new laws. These laws allowed parents to share parental leave. The goal was to encourage fathers to spend more time with their new babies.
In October 2013, there was a discussion when MPs did not offer Swinson a seat. She was pregnant at the time. This led to a debate about whether it was polite to offer a pregnant woman a seat. Swinson later said it was not sexist to offer a seat. She called it "part of life's little courtesies."
In employment, she supported Zero-hour contracts and flexible working. She especially wanted to promote flexible working. She also warned that raising the minimum wage too much could cost jobs. Swinson also supported a project to rank companies on their human rights performance.
Swinson introduced the Consumer Rights Act 2015 to parliament in January 2014. This law updated and combined consumer protection rules. It created a modern set of rights for shoppers.
Swinson was named one of London's most influential people by the Evening Standard newspaper from 2011 to 2014.
2015 and 2017 General Elections
Swinson lost her MP seat in the 2015 general election. She lost to John Nicolson of the Scottish National Party. However, she ran again in the 2017 general election and won her seat back. During this time, she wrote her book Equal Power: And How You Can Make It Happen.
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats (2017–2019)
After Tim Farron resigned as Liberal Democrat leader in June 2017, Swinson was considered a possible new leader. However, she decided not to run. Instead, she became Deputy Leader. She was the only person to run for the position.
From October 2017, she was her party's spokesperson for foreign affairs.
At a party meeting in 2017, Swinson criticized populism. She used the phrase "Faragey, Trumpy, angry, arsey, shouty slogans." She also called for the visit of U.S. President Donald Trump to be cancelled. She also warned about Brexit.
In February 2018, Swinson's first book, Equal Power: And How You Can Make It Happen, was published. In her book, Swinson suggested ways people can make changes in their homes and workplaces. She believed that government has limits in fixing gender inequality.
In March 2018, Swinson wrote an article supporting a statue of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. She said Thatcher helped women greatly. Swinson also said there should be a statue of First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon in the future.
In July 2018, Swinson was on maternity leave after her second son was born. She missed important votes on Brexit. A Conservative MP had agreed not to vote so her absence would not affect the result. However, he voted anyway. Swinson said this was a "calculated, deliberate breaking of trust." The MP apologized for the mistake.
Leader of the Liberal Democrats (2019)
In May 2019, Vince Cable announced he would step down as leader. This led to a new leadership election. Swinson confirmed she would run for the position.
On 22 July 2019, Swinson was elected the first female leader of the Liberal Democrats. She won with 62.8% of the votes, beating Ed Davey. She was the first leader of a major British political party born in the 1980s. Under her leadership, the party's membership grew to over 115,000 members. Many supporters called this "the Swinson surge."
In her first speech as leader, Swinson criticized Boris Johnson. She said he claimed he could get a Brexit deal quickly. She joked that he couldn't even decide where to hold a press conference.
2019 Election Campaign
Swinson campaigned on a promise to stop Brexit if the Liberal Democrats formed the government. This idea was debated by voters. Swinson started her campaign by saying she could be prime minister. However, her party's poll numbers were low, and her personal ratings dropped.
During the campaign, Swinson disagreed with Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland. They discussed nuclear weapons. Swinson said she would be prepared to use them. Sturgeon said it was "sickening" to answer such a question lightly.
Swinson was also the subject of a fake news story. She was wrongly accused of 'hunting squirrels'. This story came from a changed video clip. Experts warned that such false stories can reduce trust in politicians.
In November 2019, Swinson was confronted by a student activist. The student accused her and her party of supporting austerity. Austerity refers to government policies to reduce spending. The Liberal Democrats said they still attracted young voters.
Swinson stopped being leader on 13 December 2019. In the general election, she lost her own seat to Amy Callaghan of the Scottish National Party. The party's rules meant she could not continue as leader. She had led the party for 144 days. The Liberal Democrats also lost seats instead of gaining them. An internal review said her campaign was hurt by an "inexperienced inner circle." It also said her promise to stop Brexit ignored many voters. On 27 August 2020, Ed Davey became the new leader.
Later Career
In July 2020, Swinson became a visiting professor at Cranfield School of Management. In September 2020, she became Director of Partners for a New Economy (P4NE).
Personal Life
On 13 May 2011, Swinson married Duncan Hames, who was also a Liberal Democrat MP. Their first son, Andrew, was born in December 2013. Their second son, Gabriel, was born in June 2018. Their third son, Robin, was born on 28 July 2023.
Swinson enjoys running marathons. She completed the Loch Ness Marathon in 2007 and the 2011 London Marathon. She also ran the Stirling Scottish Marathon in 2017. She has raised money for charities like the Anaphylaxis Campaign. She ran the London Landmarks Half Marathon in March 2019 for her father. He had passed away from blood cancer the year before.
Swinson has a peanut allergy. In May 2013, she had a severe allergic reaction after eating a biscuit with nuts. She collapsed but recovered after treatment and a hospital stay.
Swinson was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2018. This honor was for her public service. She said she was proud to be listed among many amazing people.
Swinson is a humanist. She is a member of the humanist charity Humanists UK.
Images for kids
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Official portrait, 2017
See also
In Spanish: Jo Swinson para niños
