Sir Desmond Angus Swayne was born on 20 August 1956 and is a British Conservative politician serving as the Member of Parliament for the constituency of New Forest West since 1997.
38 Facts About Desmond Swayne
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Desmond Swayne was knighted in the 2016 Birthday Honours for political and parliamentary services.
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Desmond Swayne was a supporter of the Eurosceptic pressure group Leave Means Leave.
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Desmond Swayne is a prominent critic of the British government response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Desmond Angus Swayne was born on 20 August 1956 to George Joseph and Elizabeth McAlister Swayne.
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Desmond Swayne was privately educated at Drumley House Preparatory School at Mossblown in South Ayrshire and Bedford School.
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Desmond Swayne studied Theology at St Mary's College at the University of St Andrews.
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Desmond Swayne taught economics at Charterhouse School for one year followed by seven years at Wrekin College.
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Desmond Swayne was promoted to lieutenant on 2 August 1989, and to captain on 1 August 1992.
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Desmond Swayne was promoted to major on 14 December 1996 with seniority from 1 January 1996.
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Desmond Swayne served for six months before returning to the House of Commons.
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Desmond Swayne unsuccessfully contested the constituency of Pontypridd for the Conservative Party in the 1987 general election, before seeking office in the constituency of West Bromwich West in the 1992 general election, where he was defeated by the Labour incumbent Betty Boothroyd, who became Speaker of the House of Commons shortly afterwards.
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Desmond Swayne held the seat to serve his seventh consecutive term in the 2019 general election.
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From 2001 to 2005, Desmond Swayne was Parliamentary Private Secretary to both Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard in their role as Leader of the Opposition.
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Desmond Swayne maintained his role as a PPS in government.
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On 11 June 2011, it was announced Desmond Swayne would be appointed a Privy Counsellor in the Queen's 2011 Birthday Honours List.
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On 13 July 2011, Desmond Swayne was duly sworn in as member of Council.
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Desmond Swayne has previously sat on the International Trade Committee, the Administration Committee, the Defence Committee, the Procedure Committee, the Social Security Committee and Scottish Affairs Committee.
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On 28 September 2019, Desmond Swayne remarked that "blackface" was an "entirely acceptable bit of fun".
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Desmond Swayne said he "went to some trouble to be as authentic as possible" in creating the costume.
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In June 2020, responding to a question about the policing of protests following the police murder of George Floyd in the US, Desmond Swayne said "looters, arsonists and rioters have it coming".
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On 18 August 2021, Desmond Swayne suggested in Parliament that Afghan refugees should have been joining "the resistance" against a brutal regime rather than "queuing at the airport" after the fall of Kabul.
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Desmond Swayne has been critical of the UK government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially the lockdown response after 24 March 2020.
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Desmond Swayne believes that the government should have taken a softer approach, including keeping shops and public spaces open as had the Swedish government, and that the government's lockdown measures and policies were disproportionate to the threat posed by the virus.
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Desmond Swayne believes that there has been "censorship" of opposing arguments or criticisms of the lockdown policies.
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On 15 October 2020 Desmond Swayne asked the Leader of the House of Commons if a debate could be held on censorship due to "the sinister disappearance of the link from Google to the Great Barrington declaration".
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Desmond Swayne has donated money to anti-lockdown demonstration organiser Piers Corbyn who had been fined for his breaching lockdown regulations.
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The comments were made in a November 2020 interview with Save Our Rights, an anti-mask and anti-lockdown movement that had made false claims about COVID vaccines, during which Desmond Swayne urged the group to "persist" in its work.
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On 28 January 2021 the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Michael Gove, said that Desmond Swayne was "completely out of order" and should apologise.
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Angela Rayner urged action be taken against Desmond Swayne for endorsing conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and suggesting that the official figures had been manipulated, "a deeply dangerous claim for which there is absolutely no evidence".
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When questioned about this by Sky News, Desmond Swayne stated that he had never heard of Bigtree.
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In January 2021, Desmond Swayne was criticised by the Board of Deputies of British Jews for his 2020 appearance on The Richie Allen Show, which has been accused of anti-Semitism.
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In December 2021, Desmond Swayne was criticised for his arguments against compulsory vaccine passports, which included factually inaccurate comparisons between COVID deaths and those from flu and traffic accidents.
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Desmond Swayne questioned whether the health measures were proportionate, characterising the Health Protection Agency as a "Ministry of Fear" and saying that he felt his government had "abandoned any principle of social democracy or liberal democracy".
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Desmond Swayne is a Christian and a member of Christians in Parliament.
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Desmond Swayne is a recipient of the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal, the Iraq Medal, and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal.
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Desmond Swayne has received the Territorial Decoration for 12 years' service in the Territorial Army.
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Desmond Swayne was knighted in the 2016 Birthday Honours for political and parliamentary service.