Desmond Swayne

Sir Desmond Angus Swayne (born 20 August 1956) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for New Forest West since 1997. Before going into politics, Swayne was a teacher, and then a manager at the Royal Bank of Scotland. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to David Cameron, during Cameron's time as Leader of the Opposition, 2005–10, and then for two years while he was Prime Minister, 2010–12. In September 2012 he was appointed as Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury and in July 2014 as Minister for International Development. Swayne was knighted in the 2016 Birthday Honours for political and parliamentary services. He was a supporter of the Eurosceptic pressure group Leave Means Leave. He is also a prominent critic of the British government response to the COVID-19 pandemic.