Career
Born in Burton upon Trent, Swain was educated at the town"s Broadway School. He was a miner and held various offices in the National Union of Mineworkers including vice-president of the Derbyshire area. He was a councillor on Derbyshire County Council.
Swain was elected to Parliament in the 1959 general election.
He died in a road accident in Chesterfield in March 1979 at the age of 67, and his seat was vacant when the general election was called for that May.