It’s quite easy to find out about Hugo Swire’s background (e.g. 3rd Great Grandson of John Swire (b. 1793), founder of the Liverpool textile trading business later to become the Swire Group, the great powerhouse conglomerate based in Hong Kong, Prep School, Eton, St Andrews, Grenadier Guards for a couple of years, Financial Adviser [to whom unspecified], National Gallery, Sotheby’s [where he got his auctioneering skills] here:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Swire
but Claire Wright is less well-known, so here is the background information on her from her campaign team):
NOTE FOR EDITORS – Background – Claire Wright:
Claire Wright, an Independent member of the East Devon District and Devon County Councils, is standing, as an Independent, for the Parliamentary constituency of East Devon. Aged 39, married with a young daughter, Claire has lived in East Devon for most of her life. A very experienced local campaigner, she announced her bid for Parliament last June, in response to public pressure, and launched her manifesto, based in part on the results of a local survey, in January.
She started campaigning whilst at school, organising protests against animal cruelty. This concern to confront perceived wrongs has seen Claire leading many campaigns on a variety of local issues, from fighting to retain a local hospital’s inpatient beds and other key services essential to the local population, to protecting the beavers and important native trees. She is the Woodland Tree Trust Champion for Devon. As a staunch advocate of openness in central and local government, she has worked to expose the links between local developers and the Conservative-led district council. She has been outspoken on many subjects including the need for a housing local plan, to safeguard the environment from inappropriate development, and the district council’s very costly plan to move to a new office and sell valued parkland. In 2010, Claire campaigned successfully to retain overnight stays at Honiton Hospital and led a group to create the first-ever play park near Ottery St. Mary.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
Claire Wright has an impressive understanding of the local area, its people and what concerns them. This has been gained, initially, by work on the Ottery Town Council where she served from 2009 to 2013 and the East Devon District Council where, in 2011, she ousted the long-standing Conservative leader. In May 2013, Claire was elected to the Devon County Council after securing 2,974 votes which represented 74 per cent of the total vote. This was the biggest share in the South West. She is the leader of the non-aligned group of three Independents and one Green councillor. The main committees on which Claire sits are the Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny, Procedures and Member Development. She is also on several other committees.
In her council work, Claire has focused on two main themes, to encourage more transparency and openness at East Devon District Council and to save the district from the very real threat of over-development. Recently, having announced her bid for Parliament, Claire organised a survey to establish what concerned local people. Hundreds responded and her very popular blog has a huge audience, keen to find out what is happening in local politics and her constituents’ views.
CAREER
Claire worked in the NHS from 2001, in a PR role, and initiated campaigns to improve health. She also worked for Devon County Council before becoming a freelance in 2008. This permitted flexibility in her work and family life and the freedom to speak her own mind and to represent people’s views instead of representing an organisation. As her parliamentary bid claims, she is “free to speak, free to act”.
On joining the town council, Claire worked hard for the local people and was rewarded when the Honiton hospital maternity unit allowed overnight stays. Other campaigns have been concerned with fighting the planning chaos that followed the National Planning Policy Framework, effective in 2012, and supporting the local communities that have been engulfed by large scale housing proposals. She is also involved in fighting a project to create a new and local quarry for which there is no economic benefit for the community and which would damage the local tourist sector and the environment.
East Devon Watch 
Actually it isn’t that easy to find out some of the detail of Mr Swire’s early background.
The same old same old, Eton, St Andrews, Grenadier Guards part of cv, is repeatedly trotted out but what does it mean?
I was intrigued that many of the references to St Andrews were that he ‘attended’ St Andrews. Odd choice of words and indeed odd choice of university compared to his Eton colleagues who trooped off to Oxbridge. The more I try and find out about his time there, the less certain I am that he graduated with any sort of degree, contrary to what one might think from the reference which, to be fair does not actually say he ‘graduated’ from St Andrews.
It appears that he spent a year there before going to the RMA at Sandhurst.
What he did in his military career is also difficult to ascertain. I can find a reference to him as a 2nd Lt in Germany** but so far that’s about it.
What he did for a few years after his time in the military is also a bit unclear, references to him being a financial adviser exist but frankly it is all a bit vague and nigh on impossible to validate wuith any degree of confidence.
St Andrews website has him down as a graduate, but it also says he is MP for North Devon* so we cannot place too much credibility on that bit of puffing about it’s alumini – and they won’t confirm whether or not he did graduate.
What does come through, as you look at his background, is his family connections with the Swire Group, with Sothebys and the Nott in-laws. Oh, we do know he dated Jerry Hall before she married Mick Jagger***.
I am sure some greater detail from Mr Swire, about his cv, would be welcomed by his constituents.
*http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/careers/wiki/English_-_using_your_degree
**http://bit.ly/17YxXsr
***http://www.newstatesman.com/node/152752
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