europe

Jo Swinson husband: Who is Duncan Hames? The former Nick Clegg aide

[ad_1]

Jo Swinson is the leader of the Liberal Democrats having been elected in July, replacing Vince Cable. She is the first woman and the youngest person to have ever held the position. She has been the MP for East Dunbartonshire since 2017, having previously held the seat from 2005 to 2015. When the Lib Dems entered into a coalition government with the Conservative Party, Ms Swinson held the position of parliamentary private secretary to deputy prime minister Nick Clegg. Over the next two days, Ms Swinson is attending debates, speeches, policy discussions and more at the Lib Dems Autumn Conference in Bournemouth, but is her husband with her and who actually is he?

Jo Swinson, 39, first entered politics at the 2005 general election, having unsuccessfully stood for Hull East aged 21 in 2001 and Strathkelvin and Bearsden seat in 2003.

She became the MP for East Dunbartonshire at the 2005 general election, becoming the “Baby of the House”.

As an MP she has advocated a number of causes such as arguing again the Iraq War, calling for a “wellbeing index” to be introduced, arguing that new prisons should not be built and campaigning against chocolate Easter egg packaging.

When Tim Farron resigned as Lib Dem leader in 2017, she was named by the BBC as one of the possible contenders for the leadership along with Norman Lamb and Vince Cable.

She later announced she would not seek the leadership and instead became Deputy Leader after being the only candidate at the close of nominations.

In May 2019, Vince Cable announced he would stand down as the party leader which automatically triggered a leadership election.

She was elected in July, having won 62.8 percent of the vote over Sir Ed Davey.

Who is Jo Swinson married to?

Jo Swinson married a fellow Lib Dem MP, Duncan Hames, in a humanist ceremony in 2011.

The couple welcomed their first child in December 2013 and their second was born in June 2018.

But who exactly is Duncan Hames?

Duncan Hames is a director of policy at Transparency International UK and a former Liberal Democrat politician.

He was the MP for the Chippenham constituency in Wiltshire from 2010 to 2015 and served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Nick Clegg when he was Deputy Prime Minister.

Following his defeat at the 2015 general election, Mr Hames chose not to stand for re-selection as the Lib Dem candidate in the Chippenham constituency.

Speaking to The Telegraph in April 2015, Mr Hames said once they were expecting their first child he realised something in his career had to change.

He decided to sacrifice his position as parliamentary aide to Mr Clegg.

Speaking of this, he told The Telegraph: “It was something I wanted to do to give me a bit more space – so I could be a new dad while supporting Jo at the same time, without my constituents missing out.

“Nick completely understood, but there were people who suggested to me that they didn’t think it was necessary.”

He added: “There have been times when I’ve needed to look after Andrew, or collect him from nursery when he wasn’t well, and the Whips’ Office would have to work with that.

“I don’t think colleagues anticipated the things that I was going to need to do.”

[ad_2]

READ SOURCE

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.  Learn more