Jo Swinson
Encyclopedia
Jo Swinson is a Scottish
Liberal Democrat
politician and Member of Parliament
(MP) for East Dunbartonshire
constituency, a suburban and semi-rural area to the north of Glasgow
in Scotland, and is the Deputy Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats
. From 2007 to 2008 she was the Liberal Democrats spokeswoman (junior shadow minister) for Women and Equality
and Department for Communities and Local Government
, and was a Lib Dem spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2010, when the party entered government with the Conservatives
. She was previously the Liberal Democrats' spokeswoman on Scotland and has chaired the Liberal Democrats' Campaign for Gender Balance since 2004. From 2005 to July 2009 she was the Baby of the House
(youngest MP in the House of Commons).
and was educated at Douglas Academy
in Milngavie
and the London School of Economics
, where she studied Management
gaining a Bachelor of Science
in 2000. After graduating with a first class degree, she moved to Yorkshire
and worked for Ace Visual & Sound Systems in Thorne, South Yorkshire
from August 2000, then as Marketing
and PR
Manager for radio station Viking FM from December 2000. Swinson is married to fellow LibDem MP Duncan Hames
.
, gaining a 6% swing
from John Prescott
, deputy leader of the Labour Party
. In 2003, she unsuccessfully contested the Strathkelvin and Bearsden
seat in the Scottish Parliament
, coming 3rd with 14% of the vote in the election
.
Swinson won her seat in the House of Commons
at the 2005 general election
, beating John Lyons of Labour
by 4,061 votes to take East Dunbartonshire. She was the youngest MP in the House of Commons
when elected, (informally known as the "Baby of the House
") replacing fellow Lib Dem MP Sarah Teather
. She became the first ever Member of Parliament born in the 1980s. She remained the youngest MP until 2009, when Chloe Smith
won a by-election
to become the Conservative
MP for Norwich North.
She was vocal in her opposition to the Iraq War
and the Labour government's proposals for national identity cards. She supports measures both by individuals and government to tackle climate change
such as conserving energy in the home and the current Liberal Democrat policy of introducing green taxes while reducing income tax
to offset the burden of this. She supports reducing the voting age
to 16 as one way of engaging young people in politics. She believes more women should be involved in politics but that encouragement is better than coercion in achieving this. She opposes positive discrimination to address gender imbalance, and famously led the argument against positive discrimination to select her party's candidates at their national party conference
in 2002, wearing a pink T-shirt inscribed with the slogan, "I am not a token woman".
Swinson has also called for a "wellbeing index" to be introduced, to be compared against GDP, and tabled an early day motion
on the issue in 2008, gaining 50 signatures. She found support from MPs such as Vince Cable and Angela Eagle
(the motion was backed by members from across the political spectrum). Swinson cited the fact that although standard of living
had increased, peoples' level of wellbeing had been virtually static for some time, according to polls.
She feels strongly that new prisons ought not to be built and had campaigned vocally, but without success, against the rebuilding of a prison at Bishopbriggs
which lies within her constituency. She had said that if a prison was built it must not be built cheaply, and that it must not be named after the town in which is to be sited. The campaign to give the prison its original name was ultimately successful, this replacement prison will retain its original name, Lowmoss Prison
.
She is an active campaigner against packaging of chocolate
Easter eggs, and each year since 2007 has seen her attack confectionery
manufacturers for what she sees as excessive packaging of the seasonal children's treats, which generally involve a hollow egg covered in aluminium
foil accompanied by a branded sweet, encased in plastic
and cardboard to provide branding and protect the hollow and fragile chocolate foodstuff. She has named Guylian
as the worst offender, followed by Lindt, Baileys
and Cadbury.
On 9 December 2010, Swinson was one of the 28 Liberal Democrat MPs, who decided to vote for raising the upper limit on university tuition fees despite advocating free education for most of her political career, citing that many people would actually pay less than they did before the new upper limit - Something which will not directly affect her own constituents, see The West Lothian Question
.
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Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
politician and Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for East Dunbartonshire
East Dunbartonshire (UK Parliament constituency)
East Dunbartonshire is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
constituency, a suburban and semi-rural area to the north of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
in Scotland, and is the Deputy Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats
Scottish Liberal Democrats
The Scottish Liberal Democrats are one of the three state parties within the federal Liberal Democrats; the others being the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the Liberal Democrats in England...
. From 2007 to 2008 she was the Liberal Democrats spokeswoman (junior shadow minister) for Women and Equality
Minister for Women and Equality
The post of Minister for Women and Equalities is a ministerial position in the United Kingdom with responsibility for addressing all forms of discrimination, with particular emphasis on gender inequality.-History:...
and Department for Communities and Local Government
Department for Communities and Local Government
The Department for Communities and Local Government is the UK Government department for communities and local government in England. It was established in May 2006 and is the successor to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, established in 2001...
, and was a Lib Dem spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2010, when the party entered government with the Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
. She was previously the Liberal Democrats' spokeswoman on Scotland and has chaired the Liberal Democrats' Campaign for Gender Balance since 2004. From 2005 to July 2009 she was the Baby of the House
Baby of the House
Baby of the House is the unofficial title given to the youngest member of a parliamentary house. The term is most often applied to members of the British parliament.-Australia:In Australia the term is rarely used...
(youngest MP in the House of Commons).
Background, education and non-political career
Swinson was raised in East DunbartonshireEast Dunbartonshire
This article is about the East Dunbartonshire council area of Scotland. See also East Dunbartonshire .East Dunbartonshire is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders onto the north-west of the City of Glasgow. It contains many of the suburbs of Glasgow as well as containing many of...
and was educated at Douglas Academy
Douglas Academy
Douglas Academy is a secondary school in Milngavie in the outskirts of Glasgow. In 2001, Douglas Academy was Scotland's top performing state school with 31% of students gaining five or more highers....
in Milngavie
Milngavie
Milngavie , is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It is on the Allander Water, at the northwestern edge of Greater Glasgow, and about from Glasgow city centre. It neighbours Bearsden....
and the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, where she studied Management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
gaining a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in 2000. After graduating with a first class degree, she moved to Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
and worked for Ace Visual & Sound Systems in Thorne, South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
from August 2000, then as Marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
and PR
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
Manager for radio station Viking FM from December 2000. Swinson is married to fellow LibDem MP Duncan Hames
Duncan Hames
Duncan John Hames is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for the Chippenham constituency in Wiltshire since the 2010 general election.-Early life:...
.
Political career
In 2001, at the age of 21, Swinson stood as a Liberal Democrat for the Hull East constituency in the UK General ElectionUnited Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
, gaining a 6% swing
Swing (politics)
An electoral swing analysis shows the extent of change in voter support from one election to another. It is an indicator of voter support for individual candidates or political parties, or voter preference between two or more candidates or parties...
from John Prescott
John Prescott
John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott is a British politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007. Born in Prestatyn, Wales, he represented Hull East as the Labour Member of Parliament from 1970 to 2010...
, deputy leader of the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. In 2003, she unsuccessfully contested the Strathkelvin and Bearsden
Strathkelvin and Bearsden (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Strathkelvin and Bearsden is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
seat in the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
, coming 3rd with 14% of the vote in the election
Scottish Parliament election, 2003
The Scottish Parliament election, 2003, was the second general election of the Scottish Parliament. It was held on 1 May 2003 and it brought no change in terms of control of the Scottish Executive...
.
Swinson won her seat in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
at the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, beating John Lyons of Labour
Scottish Labour Party
The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
by 4,061 votes to take East Dunbartonshire. She was the youngest MP in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
when elected, (informally known as the "Baby of the House
Baby of the House
Baby of the House is the unofficial title given to the youngest member of a parliamentary house. The term is most often applied to members of the British parliament.-Australia:In Australia the term is rarely used...
") replacing fellow Lib Dem MP Sarah Teather
Sarah Teather
Sarah Louise Teather is a British Liberal Democrat politician, Member of Parliament for Brent Central, Minister of State at the Department for Education, and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Guantanamo Bay....
. She became the first ever Member of Parliament born in the 1980s. She remained the youngest MP until 2009, when Chloe Smith
Chloe Smith
Chloe Rebecca Smith is a British politician and the Conservative Member of Parliament for Norwich North. She was elected to the seat in a by-election on 23 July 2009 following the resignation of Labour MP Ian Gibson after the MPs' expenses scandal.-Early life:Born in Ashford, Kent, she was aged 3...
won a by-election
Norwich North by-election, 2009
The 2009 Norwich North by-election was a by-election for the United Kingdom Parliament's House of Commons constituency of Norwich North. The by-election took place due to the resignation of Ian Gibson after being banned from standing as a Labour candidate for the next general election...
to become the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
MP for Norwich North.
She was vocal in her opposition to the Iraq War
Opposition to the Iraq War
Significant opposition to the Iraq War occurred worldwide, both before and during the initial 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States, United Kingdom, and smaller contingents from other nations, and throughout the subsequent occupation...
and the Labour government's proposals for national identity cards. She supports measures both by individuals and government to tackle climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
such as conserving energy in the home and the current Liberal Democrat policy of introducing green taxes while reducing income tax
Income tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
to offset the burden of this. She supports reducing the voting age
Voting age
A voting age is a minimum age established by law that a person must attain to be eligible to vote in a public election.The vast majority of countries in the world have established a voting age. Most governments consider that those of any age lower than the chosen threshold lack the necessary...
to 16 as one way of engaging young people in politics. She believes more women should be involved in politics but that encouragement is better than coercion in achieving this. She opposes positive discrimination to address gender imbalance, and famously led the argument against positive discrimination to select her party's candidates at their national party conference
Party conference
The terms party conference , political convention , and party congress usually refer to a general meeting of a political party. The conference is attended by certain delegates who represent the party membership...
in 2002, wearing a pink T-shirt inscribed with the slogan, "I am not a token woman".
Swinson has also called for a "wellbeing index" to be introduced, to be compared against GDP, and tabled an early day motion
Early day motion
An Early Day Motion , in the Westminster system, is a motion, expressed as a single sentence, tabled by Members of Parliament for debate "on an early day" . Controversial EDMs are not signed by Government Ministers, PPS or the Speaker of the House of Commons and very few are debated on the floor...
on the issue in 2008, gaining 50 signatures. She found support from MPs such as Vince Cable and Angela Eagle
Angela Eagle
Angela Eagle is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Wallasey since 1992. She served as the Minister of State for Pensions and Ageing Society from June 2009 until May 2010. Eagle was elected to the Shadow Cabinet in October 2010 and was appointed by Ed...
(the motion was backed by members from across the political spectrum). Swinson cited the fact that although standard of living
Standard of living
Standard of living is generally measured by standards such as real income per person and poverty rate. Other measures such as access and quality of health care, income growth inequality and educational standards are also used. Examples are access to certain goods , or measures of health such as...
had increased, peoples' level of wellbeing had been virtually static for some time, according to polls.
She feels strongly that new prisons ought not to be built and had campaigned vocally, but without success, against the rebuilding of a prison at Bishopbriggs
Bishopbriggs
Bishopbriggs is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The area was once part of the historic parish of Cadder - originally lands granted by King William the Lion to the Bishop of Glasgow, Jocelin, in 1180. It was later part of the county of Lanarkshire and subsequently an independent burgh from...
which lies within her constituency. She had said that if a prison was built it must not be built cheaply, and that it must not be named after the town in which is to be sited. The campaign to give the prison its original name was ultimately successful, this replacement prison will retain its original name, Lowmoss Prison
Lowmoss Prison
HMP Low Moss is located on the outskirts of Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire; near Glasgow, Scotland. It had been operated by the Scottish Prison Service as a prison since 1968 and was for low-category prisoners who had sentences of less than 36 months to serve...
.
She is an active campaigner against packaging of chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
Easter eggs, and each year since 2007 has seen her attack confectionery
Confectionery
Confectionery is the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well...
manufacturers for what she sees as excessive packaging of the seasonal children's treats, which generally involve a hollow egg covered in aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
foil accompanied by a branded sweet, encased in plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
and cardboard to provide branding and protect the hollow and fragile chocolate foodstuff. She has named Guylian
Guylian
Guylian is a Belgian chocolate manufacturer founded by Guy Foubert in 1960. The company takes its name from the combination of Foubert's first name with that of his wife, Liliane....
as the worst offender, followed by Lindt, Baileys
Baileys Irish Cream
Baileys Irish Cream is an Irish whiskey and cream based liqueur, made by Gilbeys of Ireland. The trademark is currently owned by Diageo. It has a declared alcohol content of 17% alcohol by volume...
and Cadbury.
On 9 December 2010, Swinson was one of the 28 Liberal Democrat MPs, who decided to vote for raising the upper limit on university tuition fees despite advocating free education for most of her political career, citing that many people would actually pay less than they did before the new upper limit - Something which will not directly affect her own constituents, see The West Lothian Question
West Lothian question
The West Lothian question refers to issues concerning the ability of Members of Parliament from constituencies in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to vote on matters that only affect people living in England...
.
Political career timeline
(Current positions in bold)- Deputy Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats (2010– )
- Spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs (2008–2010)
- Spokeswoman Minister for Women and EqualityMinister for Women and EqualityThe post of Minister for Women and Equalities is a ministerial position in the United Kingdom with responsibility for addressing all forms of discrimination, with particular emphasis on gender inequality.-History:...
(2007–2008) - Spokeswoman Department of Communities and Local Government (2007–2008)
- Spokeswoman Scottish Secretary (2006–2007)
- Spokeswoman Department of Culture, Media and Sport (2005–2006)
- Member of Parliament, East Dunbartonshire (2005– )
- Chair, Gender Balance Task Force (2004- )
- Scottish ParliamentScottish ParliamentThe Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
ary Candidate, Strathkelvin and BearsdenStrathkelvin and Bearsden (Scottish Parliament constituency)Strathkelvin and Bearsden is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
(2003) - Honorary Vice President, Liberal Democrat Youth and StudentsLiberal Democrat Youth and StudentsLiberal Youth is the youth and student group of the Liberal Democrats, a political party in the United Kingdom.Liberal Democrat members who are under 26 years old or attending higher education institutions are automatically members of Liberal Youth if they agree to share this information at...
(2002–2004) - Westminster Parliamentary Candidate, Hull East (2001)
- Vice Chair (Campaigns), Liberal Democrat Youth and Students (2000–2001)
- Vice Chair (Communications), Liberal Democrat Youth and StudentsLiberal Democrat Youth and StudentsLiberal Youth is the youth and student group of the Liberal Democrats, a political party in the United Kingdom.Liberal Democrat members who are under 26 years old or attending higher education institutions are automatically members of Liberal Youth if they agree to share this information at...
- job share with Ruth Polling (1999–2000) - Secretary, Liberal Democrat Youth and Students (1998–1999)
External links
- Jo Swinson MP official constituency website
- Profile at the Liberal Democrats
- Profile at the Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Politics on Demand - includes regular podcasts by Jo Swinson
- Jo Swinson on Women's Parliamentary RadioWomen's Parliamentary RadioWomen's Parliamentary Radio is a website which broadcasts audio and video interviews with women MPs of all parties.All the interviews are pre-recorded and put on the website as reports which can be streamed and listened to immediately or downloaded as podcasts so that they can be listened to later...
- Video: People and Parliament - Jo Swinson MP's response, hosted by YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
on the Liberal Democrats official channel - Contributor page at The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
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