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 former British 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 held this role from 2005 to 2015, and again from 2017 to 2019. In September 2020, Swinson became a director for an organization called Partners for a New Economy (P4NE).
She studied at the London School of Economics. After college, she worked in public relations for a short time. She then became the youngest MP in the House of Commons when she was first elected.
Swinson served as a Liberal Democrat spokesperson for different areas. These included Scotland, Women and Equalities, and Foreign Affairs.
In 2010, the Liberal Democrats joined with the Conservative Party to form a government. Swinson worked for Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. Later, she became a government minister, focusing on employment and consumer affairs.
She lost her MP seat in the 2015 election. However, she won it back in 2017. Soon after, she became the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats. In 2019, she was elected as the leader of her party.
Swinson led her party in the 2019 general election. She suggested the Liberal Democrats could win 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.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Joanne Kate Swinson was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on 5 February 1980. Her parents are Peter and Annette Swinson.
She went to Douglas Academy, a public school in Milngavie, Scotland. Later, she studied Management at the London School of Economics. She earned a top degree in 2000. Swinson joined the Liberal Democrats party when she was 17 years old.
Starting Her Career
After finishing university, Swinson worked in Yorkshire. She worked for a company called Ace Visual and Sound Systems. Then, she became a marketing and public relations manager for a radio station, Viking FM, in Hull. She also worked for a media company called Space and People.
When she was 21, Swinson tried to become an MP in 2001. She ran in the Kingston upon Hull East area but did not win. In 2003, she also ran for a seat in the Scottish Parliament but was not successful.
Becoming a Member of Parliament (2005–2015)
Swinson was elected as an MP for East Dunbartonshire in the 2005 general election. She won against John Lyons of the Labour party. She was the first MP born in the 1980s.
As the youngest MP, she was known as the "Baby of the House". This title lasted until 2009.
Swinson spoke out against the Iraq War. She also opposed the government's plans for national identity cards. She supported efforts to fight climate change. She believed in saving energy at home. She also supported "green taxes" to help the environment.
She thought the voting age should be lowered to 16. This would help young people get involved in politics. Swinson also believed more women should be in politics. She felt that encouraging women was better than setting strict quotas. In 2002, she wore a T-shirt saying, "I am not a token woman."
Swinson also called for a "wellbeing index." This would measure how happy people are, not just how much money the country makes. She noted that people's happiness had not grown much, even as living standards improved.
She was also known for campaigning against too much packaging on chocolate Easter eggs. Every year, she criticized companies for using too much non-recyclable material. She often named Guylian and Lindt as the worst offenders.
Swinson won her seat again in the 2010 general election. Her party, the Liberal Democrats, then formed a government with the Conservative Party.
Working for the Government
In November 2010, Swinson became a Parliamentary Private Secretary. This meant she helped Vince Cable, who was the Business Secretary.
In December 2010, she voted to allow universities to raise tuition fees. In February 2012, she became the Parliamentary Private Secretary 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 government minister. She became the Under Secretary of State for Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs. She kept this job until the government changed in 2015. She took some time off for maternity leave between 2013 and 2014.
Swinson did not support forcing companies to have a certain number of women on their boards. She believed that voluntary actions were better. She said, "What women need is confidence, not quotas."
From 2013, Swinson worked to promote parental leave for fathers. New laws allowed parents to share parental leave. This was to encourage fathers to spend more time with their new babies.
In October 2013, there was a discussion when MPs in the House of Commons did not offer Swinson a seat. She was pregnant at the time and stood for 20 minutes. Prime Minister David Cameron later said offering pregnant women seats was the right thing to do. Swinson herself said it was not sexist to offer a pregnant woman a seat. She called it "part of life's little courtesies."
She supported flexible working arrangements for employees. In February 2013, Swinson warned that increasing the minimum wage too much could cost jobs.
Before the 2015 general election, it was thought that Swinson might become the Scottish Secretary. This would have made her the youngest female Cabinet member ever. However, predictions showed she might lose her seat in the election.
Swinson was named one of London's "1000 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.
She ran for her old seat again in the 2017 general election. This time, she won with a clear lead over Nicolson. During this time, she wrote a book called 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 2017, Swinson was considered a possible new leader. However, she decided not to run. Instead, she became the Deputy Leader. She was the only candidate for the role.
By October 2017, she was the 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 warned about Brexit.
In February 2018, Swinson's book Equal Power: And How You Can Make It Happen was published. In her book, Swinson suggested ways people could make changes in their homes and workplaces. She believed government had "limitations" in fixing gender inequality.
In March 2018, Swinson wrote an article supporting a statue of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. She said Thatcher helped "transform the fortunes of women." Swinson also wrote that 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 Party leader had agreed not to vote so her absence would not affect the result. However, he voted anyway. Swinson accused the government of breaking trust. The Conservative leader apologized for the "honest mistake."
Leader of the Liberal Democrats (2019)
In May 2019, Vince Cable announced he would step down as leader of the Liberal Democrats. 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 gained a new MP in a special election. This happened because other parties agreed not to run against the Liberal Democrats. The party's membership also grew to over 115,000 members. Many supporters called this "the Swinson surge."
In her first speech as leader, Swinson joked about Boris Johnson. She said he "claims he can negotiate a Brexit deal in a month. I wouldn't hold out much hope: yesterday he couldn't negotiate where to have a press conference."
2019 Election Campaign
Swinson campaigned on a promise to stop Article 50 if the Liberal Democrats won the election. This policy was debated by many 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 had a disagreement with Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland. They disagreed about using 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 targeted by a fake news story. It falsely accused her of "hunting squirrels." An organization that identifies misinformation said the claim came from a changed video. They warned that such false stories can reduce trust.
Swinson stopped being leader on 13 December 2019. She lost her own seat in parliament 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 other seats. An internal review said her campaign was hurt by "an inexperienced inner circle." It also said her promise to stop Article 50 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 the Director of Partners for a New Economy (P4NE).
Personal Life
On 13 May 2011, Swinson married Duncan Hames, who was also an MP. Their first child, 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, the 2011 London Marathon, and the Stirling Scottish Marathon in 2017. She has raised money for charities like the Anaphylaxis Campaign and Bloodwise. In 2019, she ran the London Landmarks Half Marathon to honor her father, who died from blood cancer.
Swinson has a peanut allergy. In May 2013, she had a severe allergic reaction after eating a biscuit with nuts. She collapsed and had trouble breathing. She recovered after getting medicine and staying overnight in the hospital.
In 2018, Swinson was given the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). This was for her work in politics and public service. She said she was honored to be recognized among many "remarkable people."
Swinson is a humanist. She is a member of the humanist charity Humanists UK.
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