Believe in Swindon – our town needs cheerleaders, not doubters: Swindon Borough Council Labour Group Leader Cllr Jim Robbins writes for the Link

When Andy Burnham walked into Downing Street in July, he brought with him something Westminster has been short of for years: relentless, unapologetic positivity about the places he represents.

Whatever you think of his politics, nobody has ever heard Burnham talk down the North. He sells it, constantly, as a place on the up and is now doing the same with Great Britain.

That instinct is a big part of why he's now Prime Minister and rising in the polls.

There's a lesson in that for us here in Swindon.

I've served as Leader of the council, and if there's one thing I learned in that role, it's that the tone set from the top matters enormously. Inward investors, government departments and prospective partners take their cue from how confident a place sounds about itself.

It was that positivity that helped us shape the Thames Valley devolution plans, get Swindon onto the shortlist for UK City of Culture 2029, and attract serious investment into our growing drone sector. None of that happens if the loudest voice in the room is talking the town down.

So, I'll admit to some unease at recent comments from the current administration questioning whether we can really afford our new entertainment venue.

Asking hard questions about cost is a councillor's job. But this venue isn't a nice-to-have — it's a central pillar of the Heart of Swindon vision, backed by £20 million of government funding that we secured precisely because Whitehall believed in what Swindon was building.

Undermining confidence in it now, in public, does nothing to make it cheaper. It just makes it harder to deliver.

The last thing Swindon needs is the Wyvern closed with nothing to replace it. We don’t need another Oasis, Locarno or Mechanics Institution in the town.

I have similar concerns about housing. The new Leader is fond of reminding people that town centre homes will take years to arrive. He may be right about the timescale. But say it often enough, without any accompanying ambition, and you risk turning a forecast into a self-fulfilling prophecy — developers and investors start believing delay is the plan, not a hurdle to be overcome. 

We can overcome that hurdle and get more vital government funding for the town centre regeneration plans, but not if we let ourselves talk us out if.

Swindon was, not so long ago, the fastest growing town in Europe. We got there through ambition and self-belief, championed loudly by the people who lead this council.

I want this administration to succeed, because when Swindon succeeds, we all do. But success starts with sounding like you believe it's coming.

So, let’s hope Gary Sumner can find his inner Andy Burnham and bring some hope to the town.