Duncan Hames
| Duncan Hames link (Accountant, politician) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Duncan John Hames 16 June 1977 |
| Alma mater | New College (Oxford) |
| Spouse | Jo Swinson |
UK MP. Acting Executive Director at Transparency International | |
Duncan Hames is Acting Executive Director at Transparency International and a former Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chippenham constituency in Wiltshire from 2010 to 2015. Between 2012 and 2015, he was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Nick Clegg when he was Deputy Prime Minister.
Background
Duncan Hames was born in Hertfordshire and attended Watford Grammar School for Boys. He studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at New College (Oxford),[1] where he was an executive officer of the Oxford University Student Union and represented the Oxford Union in debating competitions.[2]
Career
After graduation, Hames trained as an accountant with Deloitte. In June 2000, he stood for the Liberal Democrats in the 2000 Tottenham by-election. He was then the Liberal Democrat candidate in his home constituency of Watford at the 2001 General Election. He moved to Holt in Wiltshire, and from 2003 to 2007 was a member of West Wiltshire District Council. In 2003 Hames joined the board of the South West of England Regional Development Agency and was the LibDem candidate for the Westbury constituency at the 2005 General Election.
In July 2006, shortly after the creation of a new Chippenham county constituency, Duncan Hames was selected as his party's first candidate for it,[3] and his success at the 2010 General Election gave Wiltshire its first Liberal member of parliament in 86 years.[4][5]
€4 million EU grant
Following his defeat at the 2015 General Election, Duncan Hames chose not to stand for re-selection as the LibDem candidate in the Chippenham constituency but joined the UK chapter of Transparency International, whose priorities are combatting corruption in the UK, reducing the UK’s role in fuelling corruption overseas and combatting corruption in the international defence and security sector.[6].
In October 2019, when Duncan Hames had advanced to become Acting Executive Director, it was revealed that the European Union had given a 4m euro donation to Transparency International:
- "Any reason why this scandal is being completely ignored by your news editors: 'Swinson fails to declare family company was given 4m euro by the EU'?"
- "Swinson's husband Duncan Hames is the Executive Director of Transparency International, which in 2018 received €4m in EU funding and £167,000 from George Soros' Open Society..."[7]
Because of her anti-Brexit stance, Jo Swinson was criticised for failing to declare this EU grant in Parliament.[8]
Personal life
On 13 May 2011 Duncan Hames married fellow LibDem MP Jo Swinson, who became leader of the Liberal Democrat party in 2019.[9] They have two children together.[10][11]
References
- ↑ "Duncan Hames – Parliamentary candidates – BBC"
- ↑ "Hustings - Duncan Hames"
- ↑ "Lib Dems select Duncan Hames to stand for the new Chippenham constituency"
- ↑ "Duncan Hames Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones Chippenham, first Wiltshire MP"
- ↑ "Election 2010: Chippenham, BBC News"
- ↑ "Meet the Team - Transparency International UK"
- ↑ "Swinson fails to declare family company was given 4m euro by the EU"
- ↑ "Swinson fails to declare family company was given 3.5m euro by the European Union"
- ↑ "MP Jo Swinson weds MP Duncan Hames"
- ↑ "Swinson announces birth of second son"
- ↑ "Scots MP Jo Swinson gives birth to baby boy"
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