Duncan Hames
Duncan John Hames is a Director of Policy at Transparency International UK and a former Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament for the Chippenham (UK [Parliament constituency)|Chippenham constituency] in Wiltshire from 2010 to 2015. Between 2012 and 2015, he served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Nick Clegg when he was Deputy Prime Minister.
Early life
Hames was born in Hertfordshire and attended Watford Grammar School for Boys. He studied PPE at New College, Oxford, where he was an executive officer of the Oxford University Student Union and represented the Oxford Union in debating competitions.Career
After graduation, Hames trained as an accountant with Deloitte. In June 2000, he stood for the Liberal Democrats in the Tottenham by-election, but was unsuccessful, it being a safe seat for the Labour Party. 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 served as 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 Lib Dem candidate for the Westbury constituency at the 2005 general election.In July 2006, shortly after the creation of a new Chippenham county constituency, Hames was selected as his party's first candidate for it, and his success at the 2010 general election gave Wiltshire its first Liberal member of parliament in 86 years.
Following his defeat at the 2015 general election, Hames chose not to stand for re-selection as the Liberal Democrat candidate in the Chippenham constituency.
He is Head of Policy at the UK chapter of Transparency International.