Desmond Swayne was first elected as the Conservative MP for New Forest West in 1997, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 24,403.
The constituency of New Forest West is the found in the south western corner of Hampshire and contains the towns of Ringwood, Fordingbridge, New Milton, as well as Lymington on the coast. This is a relatively affluent area and contains a high proportion of retired voters. It has long been one of the safest Conservative seats in the UK.
Mr Swayne served as parliamentary private secretary to the Leader of the Opposition from September 2004, first as PPS to Michael Howard and then to David Cameron until 2012. He then served as a government Whip, and Minister for International Development between 2014 and 2016.
Swayne was born in 1956 and was educated at Bedford School and St Andrews University.
He was a school master from 1981 to 1987 and a manager with the Royal Bank of Scotland from 1987 to 1997 before being elected to Parliament.
Swayne continues to serve as a Territorial Army officer which he joined at University in 1978. He was called up and deployed to Iraq from July to December 2003. During this service he contributed a popular audio diary to BBC Radio Four.
On the right of the Conservative Party, Swayne voted for Brexit in 2016. He supported Boris Johnson in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.
In 2020 he was one of the most vocal critics of the government’s coronavirus lockdowns.
Desmond Swayne is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Dying Well; Mindfulness; and Taiwan.
He married Moira in 1987 and has three children. He employs his wife as a Secretary.
To keep fit, he has previously said he swims a quarter of a mile in the Serpentine daily throughout the year when Parliament is in session.
Email: swayned@parliament.uk
Personal Website: www.desmondswaynemp.com
Twitter: @DesmondSwayne
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Desmond.SwayneMP
