Swindon town centre 'a disgrace' says Labour MP hopeful

Heidi Alexander, who hopes to win the seat from sitting Conservative Sir Robert Buckland on July 4, said in a video on her social media channels that she would set up a special task force to address improving the town centre.

In the video she says: “Swindon town centre is an utter disgrace. 

“After 14 years of being in power, the Conservatives tell us that Swindon’s had hundreds of millions of pounds of investment, but where is it? 

“A bus boulevard with no buses. Empty shops. Derelict buildings. We simply can’t go on like this.

“Elect me as your MP and I will do all that I can to breathe new life into the town where I was born and grew up and where I live again now.”

Ms Alexander also has announced she will launch a campaign calling for action on Signal Point - the derelict building above Swindon station. 

She said: “The fact that this boarded-up building is the first and last thing you see in Swindon if you are travelling by train, is such a bad advert for the town.

“Network Rail really do need to pull their finger out and give our proud railway town the station it deserves. Both Reading and Bristol Temple Meads have seen big redevelopment projects. We need to see some of that action in Swindon.” 

Ms Alexander who was a former MP for Lewisham East in London for eight years, then a deputy Mayor of London for transport until 2021 said the new group would bring together the council, other public sector bodies, private property owners, traders, developers and the wider community to put together a regeneration plan for the town.

She added: “It will consider short, medium- and long-term steps to reduce empty shop units, breathe new life into the heart of Swindon and create a town centre fit for the 21st century.”

Other candidates standing in Swindon South are the Conservative MP Sir Robert Buckland, the Green Party candidate Rod Hebden, the  Liberal Democrat Matt McCabe and independent candidate Martin Costello.