Rt Hon Sir Desmond Swayne, MP for New Forest West
Desmond Swayne has been an MP since 1997. Currently: Secure 16 to 19 Academies Bill; Panel of Chairs; Human Rights (Joint Committee).
Roles and committees
Posts held in government or opposition, and committee seats, as Parliament records them.
In government
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Minister of State (Department for International Development) (Department for International Development) | 2014 to 2016 | |
| Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons) (HM Household) | 2013 to 2014 | |
| Lord Commissioner (HM Treasury) (Whip) (Whips Office (Commons)) | 2012 to 2013 |
In opposition
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Opposition Whip (Commons) (Whips Office (Commons)) | 2002 to 2003 | |
| Shadow Spokesperson (Defence) (Ministry of Defence) | 2001 to 2002 | |
| Shadow Spokesperson (Health) (Department of Health) | 2001 |
Committees
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Secure 16 to 19 Academies Bill | 2025 | |
| Secure 16 to 19 Academies Bill | 2025 to now | Now |
| Panel of Chairs | 2024 to now | Now |
| Human Rights (Joint Committee) | 2024 to now | Now |
| Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief Bill (Formerly known as International Freedom of Religion or Belief Bill) | 2024 | |
| Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill [HL] | 2024 | |
| Ecclesiastical Committee | 2020 to 2024 | |
| Work and Pensions Committee | 2020 to 2024 |
Show the other 10
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority | 2020 to 2024 | |
| Northern Ireland Affairs Committee | 2019 | |
| Ecclesiastical Committee | 2017 to 2019 | |
| International Trade Committee | 2016 to 2017 | |
| Administration Committee | 2012 to 2013 | |
| Defence Committee | 2005 to 2006 | |
| Ecclesiastical Committee | 2005 to 2010 | |
| Procedure Committee | 2002 to 2005 | |
| Social Security | 1999 to 2001 | |
| Scottish Affairs Committee | 1997 to 2001 |
Source: UK Parliament Members API · Parliament’s own page
Declared interests
MPs must publish certain paid work, gifts, donations and other interests. This is a record of what they declared, not a suggestion that anything is wrong.
Desmond Swayne has 3 interests currently registered.
| Type | What was registered | Registered |
|---|---|---|
| Family members employed | Moira Swayne employed | – |
| Land and property (within or outside the UK) | Residential in London | – |
| Land and property (within or outside the UK) | Residential in London | – |
Source: Register of Members’ Financial Interests · Parliament’s own page
Questions
MPs can ask ministers questions in writing. The questions show what an MP is working on, which votes cannot.
Desmond Swayne asked 65 written questions in the last 12 months.
Who they asked
Latest questions
Source: Written Questions API · Updated 4 Oct 2026
Expenses
MPs claim back money for running an office and working in two places. An independent body, IPSA, publishes every claim. This is what was paid in 2025-26.
22 claims. For comparison, across the 657 MPs in IPSA’s file the middle MP was paid £18,469 and the average was £19,699.
Source: IPSA, individual business costs data · About this data
Election result and area
Desmond Swayne represents New Forest West. Here is who won there at the last general election, and a few numbers about the area.
Conservative
votes ahead of second place
of people who could vote did
Desmond Swayne won with 35% of the votes, and Sally Johnston (Labour) came second with 23%.
Votes for each party
Every candidate
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desmond Swayne | Conservative | 16,412 | 35.4% |
| Sally Johnston | Labour | 10,812 | 23.3% |
| Jack Davies | Liberal Democrat | 8,186 | 17.7% |
| Reginald Chester-Sterne | Reform UK | 7,577 | 16.4% |
| Anna Collar | Green Party | 2,800 | 6.0% |
| Gavin Ridley | Animal Welfare Party | 393 | 0.8% |
| Paul Simon | Social Democratic Party | 157 | 0.3% |
2024 General Election, on today’s boundaries. Source: House of Commons Library via the Members API.
Your area at a glance
Median gross weekly pay, 2025. Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
Share of people aged 16 to 64, August 2026. Source: ONS and DWP claimant count.
How they vote
In the last 12 months Desmond Swayne took part in 217 Commons votes.
More detail on how they vote
Desmond Swayne voted the same way as their party in 215 of the 215 votes where parties gave instructions (100%), and went the other way in 0.
What does this mean?
Parties tell their MPs how to vote. Most MPs usually follow that. A high or low count says nothing on its own about whether an MP is good or bad, and we do not rank MPs by it. We only count votes where parties gave instructions, not free votes. How we count it
Recent votes
| Date | Vote | They voted | Compared with party |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Sep | End of life for terminally ill adults: the first main vote | Against | Free vote |
| 11 Sep | A vote to end a debate | Against | Free vote |
| 10 Sep | Social housing: an attempt to block it | For | Same as party |
| 8 Sep | Health: a proposed change | For | Same as party |
| 8 Sep | Health: a proposed change | For | Same as party |
| 8 Sep | Health: a proposed change | For | Same as party |
See every vote on Parliament’s site
Has this changed over time?
View data table
| Month | This MP | Party average |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 25 | 100% | 100% |
| Nov 25 | 100% | 100% |
| Dec 25 | 100% | 100% |
| Jan 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Feb 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Mar 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Apr 26 | 100% | 100% |
| May 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Jun 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Jul 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Sep 26 | 100% | 100% |
Source: Commons Votes API
This page states what the record shows. It does not say why an MP voted as they did. How we calculate this