MUCH of Swindon will go to the polls today for the first of two elections planned over the next five weeks.

Last year the council voted in favour of introducing new parish councils across the previously un-parished areas of the town.

The move was motivated by a realisation that in the face of unprecedented funding pressures, the borough would no longer be able to afford to provide a number of frontline services.

The solution, it decided, was to pass those services down to the next layer of government, the parish councils.

But only 41 per cent of households in Swindon were covered by the 16 existing parishes, so new authorities had to be created to include the remaining 59 per cent.

Today, voters in the newly formed parishes of Central Swindon South, Central Swindon North, West Swindon and Nythe, Eldene and Liden will go to the polls for the first time.

Residents in Blunsdon and St Andrews will also cast their ballots after the previous combined parish was split in a move that continues to divide opinion.

In total, 155 candidates put themselves forward for election. Of those, 55 were Labour, 43 Conservative, 16 Liberal Democrat, four UKIP, three Green and 34 either described as independent or unaffiliated.

Some wards, such as Ferndale, Even Swindon, Moredon and Pinehurst for example, are uncontested - residents in those areas are not required to vote.

But most wards are not and at 57 polling stations across the town, 137 candidates will be hoping to secure the public’s votes.

The polls are open from 7am until 10pm. After that, ballot boxes will be taken to the Oasis where the count will begin and the first elected parish councillors in the new areas will be revealed.

Electoral services manager Sally Sprason said: “We’re all prepared and ready for polling day. All the ballot boxes have been picked up, the staff have had their training, and we’re ready to go.

“We’re expecting the turnout to be not dissimilar to local elections, but we will have to wait and see.

“Normally if we were doing an ordinary local election we would finish by midnight but there are some quite tricky multiple vacancy counts that have to be counted in a different way.

“We have several hundred staff that we use at polling stations on the day and in the evening.

“Their help is very important on the day, just as it will be on June 8.”