Jo Swinson

Joanne Kate 'Jo' Swinson CBE (born 5 February 1980) is a British former politician who was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from July to December 2019. She was the first woman and the youngest person to hold the position, as well as the shortest-serving holder of the post. Swinson was Member of Parliament (MP) for East Dunbartonshire from 2005 to 2015 and 2017 to 2019. In September 2020 Swinson became Director of Partners for a New Economy (P4NE).

Swinson's official portrait in 2017

Quotes

2008

• The Liberal Democrats would like to have a referendum on the major issue of whether we are in or out of Europe
  • [1] Hansard Volume 472 (26 February 2008)

2016

• I first wrote to my MP when I was about 10. I always wanted to make a difference.
  • Jo Swinson MP: ‘I first wrote to my MP when I was about 10’ The Guardian (19 January 2019)

2019

• Every day as the chaos unfolds, we see how hard leaving the European Union will be. Every form of Brexit will make us poorer, it will put jobs at risk and it will weaken us on the global stage. What was supposed to be the 'easiest trade deal in human history' has proved to be anything but. Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP have learnt nothing from watching Theresa May negotiate our way out of Europe. Breaking a union of 40 years is destroying our country, I dread to think what dismantling a union of more than 300 years would do.
  • Jo Swinson says Brexit 'destroying the country' BBC News (22 February 2019)

• We're a party that wants to remain in the European Union because of the huge benefits that gives us
  • Jo Swinson confirms Liberal Democrat leadership bid BBC News (31 May 2019)

• We champion freedom - but Brexit will mean the next generation is less free to live, work and love across Europe
  • Lib Dems: Jo Swinson becomes party's first female leader BBC News (22 July 2019)

• I will do whatever it takes to stop Brexit
  • Scottish independence: Jo Swinson says SNP has 'no mandate' for indyref2 BBC News (23 July 2019)

• I think it’s important that we challenge the idea that women who have babies are not fit for work and don’t have value. There is massive pregnancy discrimination, in parliament and right across society.
  • Said in a Guardian interview in January 2019. Sethi, Anita (19 January 2019) Jo Swinson MP: ‘I first wrote to my MP when I was about 10’ in the Guardian. Retrieved 23 July 2019.

• There is no mandate for that (an independence referendum). The SNP have put forward this idea of indyref2 at subsequent elections and they have lost seats and lost votes. So I am confident that this is not what people in Scotland want. People in Scotland want to have Scotland in the UK and the UK in the EU, and that's what the Liberal Democrats are arguing for. And that's what as leader of the Liberal Democrats I'm going to do everything in my power to deliver.
  • Scottish independence: Jo Swinson says SNP has 'no mandate' for indyref2 BBC News (23 July 2019)

• Instead of despairing at the world, let’s roll up our sleeves and change it.
  • Written in Equal Power: Gender Equality and How to Achieve It, published 7 February 2019. Sethi, Anita (19 January 2019) Jo Swinson MP: ‘I first wrote to my MP when I was about 10’ in the Guardian. Retrieved 23 July 2019.

• Planning for no deal, it's like saying you're going to plan for your house to burn down. You might get contents insurance, you're still going to lose all your stuff.
  • Said in an interview with the BBC's Andrew Marr, June 2019. Jo Swinson: Brexit decision must go to a People's Vote (2 June 2019) on the BBC website. Retrieved 23 July 2019.

• Boris Johnson has finally got his hands on the keys to Number 10, but he has shown time and time again that he isn't fit to be the prime minister of our country. Whether it is throwing people under the bus or writing a lie on the side of one: Britain deserves better than Boris Johnson.
  • On Boris Johnson's election as Conservative leader and Prime Minister in 2019. Boris Johnson to be UK's next prime minister (23 July 2019) on the BBC website. Retrieved 23 July 2019.

• The Liberal Democrats are crystal clear. We want to stop Brexit... If a Liberal Democrat majority government is elected, then we should revoke Article 50 and I think it's about being straightforward and honest with the British public about that.
  • Liberal Democrat party to consider scrapping Brexit BBC News (14 September 2019)

• We will do all we can to fight for our place in Europe, and to stop Brexit altogether.
  • Lib Dems pledge to cancel Brexit if they win general election BBC News (16 September 2019)

• We still want to have a People's Vote. We've been arguing for that for the last three-and-a-half years - [to put] the Brexit deal to the public in a referendum. [But] when we have an election, if we haven't had a People's Vote, people will be looking to resolve the issue of Brexit, and there are so many people in this country who are so sick of hearing about it. They want to get on with their lives and want the government to get on with making their lives better.
  • Lib Dems pledge to cancel Brexit if they win general election BBC News (16 September 2019)

• The truth is you can't plan for no deal. Planning for no deal is like planning to burn your house down.
  • Lib Dems: Being a woman is not a weakness, says Swinson BBC News (17 September 2019)

• The first task is clear. We must stop Brexit. There is no Brexit that will be good for our country.
  • Lib Dems: Being a woman is not a weakness, says Swinson BBC News (17 September 2019)

• Even my five-year-old knows that if you do something wrong you have to say sorry
  • Said in Parliament after the Supreme Court ruled Boris Johnson's suspension of Parliament unlawful. Boris Johnson says Supreme Court 'wrong' to rule on Parliament suspension BBC News (25 September 2019)

• I'm proud to have been the first woman to have led the Liberal Democrats. I'm even more proud that I will not be the last. One of the realities of smashing glass ceilings is that a lot of broken glass comes down on your head.
  • Said after losing her East Dunbartonshire seat in the 2019 general election. General election 2019: Swinson "disappointed" by election result BBC News (13 December 2019)