[6] Described as 'full of enthusiasm for good causes',[7] Swann became actively involved in a number of progressive organisations, including the Women's Liberal Federation.

[10] The previous year, she had chaired a meeting of the Manchester and Salford Federation of Women Workers, and remained active in encouraging trade unionism.

In 1895, Swann was one of a group of woman who - as the Association for the Compulsory Registration of Midwives - petitioned for a bill to regulate midwifery.

[12] The association aimed:to assist, by means of loans, grants, and free training, the education of the midwives whose services are so urgently demanded by the law and for public safety.

[13] An obituary in the Manchester Guardian noted that as the wife of an MP:she entered with exceptional ardour into all movements that concerned the welfare of the district.