The leader of Swindon’s Labour opposition hopes the lessons of 2020 will be remembered by people in Swindon – and says the past 12 months have shown the importance of community.

Looking forward to the 2021 local elections scheduled for May, councillor Jim Grant first looked back over the last year.

He said: “2020 was a year unlike any other I can remember. Yet in the midst of the Covid crisis so many people in Swindon and across the country have worked tirelessly to care for our loved ones, to keep shelves in shops fully stocked and have contributed in a multitude of other ways – I want to pay tribute to them.

“In many ways the crisis has brought communities in Swindon closer together, with people looking out for one another.

“Looking to 2021, my first hope is that as many people can continue to be vaccinated as quickly as possible.

“With many having lost their jobs in 2020 and with Honda closing in 2021, the priority for this year has to be jobs and the economy.”

If Swindon is slowly emerging from the crisis and is further down that path by May, Coun Grant says he wants people to think about how to improve the town – and not go back to how it was before 2020.

He said: “This year’s election is an opportunity to set out what a post-Covid Swindon looks like, and to debate how things in our town can be improved.

“Going back to business as usual just isn’t an option.”

He is critical of the Conservative administration which has been in power since 2004, saying money has been wasted on headline-grabbing initiatives and schemes, when it would be better to improve existing services.

“For too long now the Conservative council has not delivered for Swindon,” said Coun Grant, who represents Rodbourne Cheney.

“The Conservatives have racked up almost half a billion pounds worth of debt. They’ve wasted millions on pie-in-the-sky projects that nobody asked for. Millions have been spent on a bus boulevard without improving bus services; there was £15 million spent on the Whalebridge car park with its tiles falling off. “

Coun Grant takes issue with one of the council’s flagship policies, the regeneration of Kimmerfields on the edge of the town centre.

The council hopes the scheme, which has at its heart the building of a new headquarters for Zurich insurance and finance will spark growth in the area.

But Coun Grant is not happy about the plan to buy the building from the insurance giant when it is built and lease it back to the company.

He said: “The council is spending £38 million on new premises for a multinational company.

“All the while potholes aren’t being repaired, and our town centre is being allowed to wither on the vine.

“It is the people in Swindon who are footing the bill through council tax rises.

“Under the Conservatives people are paying more and getting less.”

Although ‘politics as normal’ was suspended somewhat during the height of the 2020 pandemic, that’s not likely to be the case as the May 6 election approaches – having been postponed for 12 months.

The closure of the Oasis Leisure Centre by operator GLL and the fact it was the Conservatives who first leased it to a private company is another key issue for Coun Grant. He also wants answers over the £270m snow centre planned by Seven Capital, with no progress on the North Star site so far.

Coun Grant said “The Labour group has been working with the council on trying to find a solution to reopen this vital facility – and we’ll continue to do that.

“But despite the promises, there’s still no snow centre on the horizon, and many unanswered questions about the closure of the Oasis.

“People deserve transparency and honesty as to why the Oasis closed and the options available to reopen it – but the Conservatives voted to cover it up and work behind closed doors.

He concluded: “This year’s elections – whenever they happen – are an opportunity to vote for a positive future for Swindon; we’re proud to live here.

“Our pledge is that we will get the basics right and will deliver on the things that matter to you and your family. Hardworking Labour parish and borough councillors are already doing this in our communities. We won’t waste money on expensive white elephants.

“But we are committed to reopening the Oasis to ensure future generations can continue to enjoy its facilities.

“We will seek to transform our town centre in the interests of all people in Swindon.

“I’m looking forward to hearing people’s views and setting out Labour’s positive vision for our town. It’s time for change. Swindon deserves better.”

How the balance of power could shift

THE morning of Friday, May 3 2019 must have been a very bleak one for Jim Grant and his Labour group of councillors, despite the spring sunshine.

They had gone into the last round of Swindon Borough Council elections hoping to pick up just two seats to wipe out the Conservatives’ majority of three and possibly form a minority or coalition administration. 

All eyes were on Penhill and Upper Stratton, held by Independent Teresa Page but who had won it as a Labour candidate. But a split in the Labour vote meant the Tories’ Oladapo Ibitoye took the safe Labour ward in a sensational victory. 

It earned Conservative council leader David Renard a very handy five-seat majority, which was augmented when Bazil Solomon – who won the Lidene, Eldene and Park

South seat for Labour in 2019 – defected to the Tories last January. 
But the electoral map this year might be more encouraging for Labour that it first appears. 

There will be two seats to be won in one of its stronghold wards, Rodbourne Cheney. The seat of Des Moffatt, who died in November 2019, has been vacant since then.  

Labour also have hopes for Lydiard and Freshbrook, which was held by the Conservatives by 122 votes in 2019. But this year the Conservatives’ Matthew Courtliff, who won the seat for Labour in 2016 before crossing the floor just before the 2019 vote, faces the electorate.  

The Conservative majority in St Margaret and South Marston was even smaller – just 45 votes, meaning just 23 people need to switch for a different result – in 2019. 
Coun Grant says he has hopes for both wards. 

And the defection of two Conservative candidates to sit as independents also helped. 
One, Oliver Donachie will be contesting the Haydon Wick ward. Normally Labour would field a candidate but would have no hope of winning. 

But like Penhill and Upper Stratton in reverse, a split of Conservative votes between the official candidate and the sitting councillor might see a  result previously  unimaginable. 

There is all to play for. 

Count down to the elections with Adver series

POSTPONED local elections which should have been held last May are still scheduled to take place 12 months later.

The universal hope is that increasing numbers of vaccinated people will mean the coronavirus pandemic is under some sort of control – and politics as normal might return to centre stage. 

The Adver is running a series of features on the parties and groups who will be vying for your attention on Thursday, May 6.

This week we feature the Labour group – the second largest group of councillors in the chamber, but who have not held power in Swindon since 2004. 

Leader Jim Grant will be hoping to turn around his party’s fortunes at this year’s election. 

The Liberal Democrats will be featured on February 3.