It’s easy to turn up in a town, talk it down and charge people £5 to hear you do it! Leadership means doing the work!
Like every town, we face challenges. Roads need repair, town centres need investment and councils everywhere are under pressure after years of Tory under funding and rising demand for services like social care. But the picture being painted of Swindon simply isn’t the reality people see every day.
The truth is that this council is delivering.
We are fixing thousands of potholes, with more than 4,000 repaired in just the first two months of this year despite record rainfall across the South West. Our waste crews make more than 10 million collections every year, keeping services running for residents across the borough.
Crime is not spiralling out of control as some claim. Swindon remains one of the safest places to live in the country, with Wiltshire Police recording one of the lowest overall crime rates nationally.
Our schools are strong too. Every secondary school in Swindon is rated Good by Ofsted, and our primary schools continue to achieve high attainment and improving standards.
But leadership isn’t just about defending what we have — it’s about building for the future. And that is exactly what we are doing.
We have opened The Base, a £3.8 million youth centre designed with young people, providing creative space, skills support and daily activities.
We have delivered the £6.3 million Moredon Sporting Hub, a new multi-sport facility completed on time and on budget for local families.
Major regeneration is moving forward in the town centre through the Heart of Swindon programme, with projects like Knowledge Central, Kimmerfields, the Carriage Works and the restored Health Hydro helping bring new businesses, new investment and new life back into the town.
Swindon is also strengthening its reputation as a centre for advanced manufacturing, with major new investment in drone production and high-tech industry expected to create more than 1,400 jobs in the coming years.
At the same time we are tackling the issues residents raise most often.
We have doubled traffic wardens and are installing ANPR cameras to address speeding and dangerous parking.
We have launched a dedicated fly-tipping team issuing fines to protect neighbourhoods.
Anti-social behaviour is already down by more than 18% in areas where wardens operate.
A new anti-graffiti team is improving our streets while supporting community art and events like Swindon Paint Fest.
And we are not stopping there.
If re-elected, we will install more ANPR cameras, introduce anti-social behaviour wardens in every community, increase fines for fly-tipping to £1,000, invest further in roads and pavements using record government funding, and open new community hubs and Sure Start centres to bring services closer to residents.
Swindon is not broken.
It is a town with enormous strengths, proud communities and huge potential. The progress we are making is real, visible and building momentum.
Our focus is simple: keep investing, keep improving services and keep working with residents to build a fairer, greener and better Swindon.
The job is not finished — but we are getting on with it.