The Labour parliamentary candidate for South Swindon has criticised MP Sir Robert Buckland after it was announced he was joining a new chambers.

Mr Buckland announced his new role with Foundry Chambers on Thursday, December 1, leading to a heated debate with Labour candidate Heidi Alexander on Twitter.

Mrs Alexander has now claimed that she would support a ban on second jobs for MPs as it prevents them from effectively serving their constituents.

She said: “I’ve always been very clear that I wouldn’t take a second job when serving as an MP.

“In my experience there were never enough hours in the week to do all the things I wanted to do as an MP so I simply don’t know how people who have paid employment, in addition to their MP role, can focus fully on their constituents.

“I personally think second jobs for MPs should be banned… I think that when people vote for an MP the least they can expect is that that person will devote themselves fully to serving the public."

Mr Buckland took to Twitter to defend himself after Mrs Alexander and the Labour group leader on Swindon Borough Council, Jim Robbins, condemned his new appointment.

He argued that Shadow Secretary of State for Health, a position which Mrs Alexander held between September 2015 and June 2016, was also a second job and that many local councillors also held employment outside of politics.

Mr Buckland has held parliamentary roles himself. He was Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor from 2019 to 2021 and Secretary of State for Wales between July and October 2022.

Cllr Robbins has since attacked this argument and warned that Mr Buckland’s new position could have a negative impact on his constituents.

He said: “I think it’s an incredibly weak defence. I don’t think anybody had a problem with Robert when he took on his parliamentary jobs.

“There’s an understanding that those fit around your constituency duties as well. Going off and working for a company in the private sector, purely to enrich yourself, feels totally different.

“It’s not public service, it’s all about private gain… the concern that we’ve got is how much time is he going to spend on the roll and what does that mean for the residents who elected him.

“We’ve got a really tough winter coming and people are really worried about how they’re going to get through.

“He is doing something else other than the important job of looking after the residents who elected him”.