About Jo Swinson MP
Former marketing manager Jo Swinson won East Dunbartonshire from Labour in 2005, and was re-elected in 2010.
In addition to her role as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Jo is Deputy Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats.
Jo chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Wellbeing Economics, and is co-founder of the Campaign for Body Confidence (www.campaignforbodyconfidence.org.uk).
She has previously held Liberal Democrat spokesmanships on foreign affairs, equality, Scotland and the arts. Jo was a member of the Environmental Audit Select Committee from 2007-2010 and was also the chairperson of the Liberal Democrats Women's Policy Working Group in 2009 (www.realwomen.org.uk).
Jo was brought up in East Dunbartonshire, where she attended Douglas Academy in Milngavie. She graduated from the London School of Economics in 2000 with a First Class Honours degree in Management. Jo then worked in Yorkshire as Marketing & PR Manager for the Emap radio station Viking FM (www.vikingfm.co.uk), where she project-managed a 5 day radio event that received a Sony Radio Academy Award nomination.
In 2002 Jo moved back to East Dunbartonshire and worked for Glasgow-based media business SpaceandPeople (www.spaceandpeople.com). In her time there she helped the company win Best E-Business at the Scottish Winners at the Web Awards 2003, and set up the Live Brand Experience Association trade body.
An active member of the Liberal Democrats since 1997, Jo was Secretary and then Vice Chair of the Liberal Democrat Youth & Students. A champion of positive action rather than positive discrimination, Jo chaired the Lib Dem Campaign for Gender Balance (www.genderbalance.org.uk) from 2006 - 2008. Jo was a member of the Speaker's Conference from 2009-2010 which looks at ways to increase the number of women and BME MPs (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/spconf/449/449.pdf).
One of the first MPs in the UK to use Twitter (www.twitter.com/joswinson), Jo is also active on Facebook (www.facebook.com/pages/Jo-Swinson/20487968781) and has her own YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/joswinson).
Outside politics, Jo enjoys running; she completed the Loch Ness Marathon in 2007 and London Marathon in April. When she can find the time, Jo also likes reading, hiking, and ceilidh dancing.
Jo is married to fellow Liberal Democrat MP Duncan Hames.
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