I was obviously delighted by the recent election results and I’m over the moon that we have two Labour MPs for the town and a Labour Government.
I’d like to pay tribute to the town’s two outgoing MPs and thank them for their years of public service and the impressive speeches that they made on the night. I was really proud of how well the election count went for Swindon, and place on record again my thanks to the council’s election team, the returning officer and all of the staff who acted as polling clerks during the day and counters through the night.
I thought it was hugely impressive that Swindon managed to count the votes and declare both Swindon seats before Wiltshire were able to declare any of theirs. It was great to have Heidi Alexander MP as the first Labour gain of the night and for Will Stone MP to briefly hold the record for the biggest swing from Conservatives to Labour in history. (the record was broken a few times during the night and is now held by Terry Jermy MP who defeated Liz Truss).
I’m very conscious that having a Labour council, two Labour MPs and a Labour Government, all of whom have been telling you over the campaign that the election was about change, will drive up expectations that people want to see change in the town.
I’m pleased to say that we have been able to get on with delivering that change straight away! On the Monday after the election, we opened Museum & Art Swindon, the new Museum & Art Gallery for the town which has moved to the Civic Offices on Euclid St after the previous museum at Apsley House closed during the pandemic.
We followed that up on the Tuesday by opening the Moredon Sports Hub, in partnership with North Central Swindon Parish Council, Sports England and local sports teams. This is a great development delivering outstanding new sporting facilities for the town and we look forward to thousands of people enjoying the opportunities it brings.
We have followed that up by releasing the Swindon Plan, our strategic plan for the town that sets out how we will seek to achieve the three missions that we have set ourselves. You can find out more on the plan here: https://www.swindon.gov.uk/
Alongside the missions, that have been streamlined to Build a Better Swindon, Build a Fairer Swindon and Build a Greener Swindon, we have added new workstreams after the engagement with the public. There is a stronger focus on mental health support, and we have really changed the focus of the Build a Greener Swindon mission.
We’re really looking forward to delivering the plan and making an impact on the town and residents, and have adopted a very clear and detailed delivery plan that we will asking you to hold us to account on.
I hope that you have a great summer, and I’m delighted that we have been able to get the Splash Park and pitch and putt back open at Coate Water to give you some great places to enjoy. Let’s hope that the weather finally gets warm enough to enjoy it all!
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