The importance of Swindon to Labour’s landslide general election victory is demonstrated by how often the new Prime Minister has visited the town in less than two years.

Sir Keir Starmer has travelled down the M4 from Westminster no less than four times since August 2022, and has also called the Adver personally for a one-to-one conversation.

He visited in August 2022 to visit the headquarters of one of the town’s biggest employers, Nationwide building society. Accompanied by Heidi Alexander, who had recently been adopted as the candidate for Swindon South, he told both the town and the country at large that economic growth and the cost of living would be a priority if he ever was in government.

After an interview with the Adver in Wood Street he bumped into the coaching team at Swindon Town Football Club, where he showed his passion for the game.

Town were due to play Leyton Orient at home in a League Two fixture that evening and then-manager Scott Lindsey invited the Labour leader to the game. Mr Starmer’s disappointment was palpable when his aides told him very firmly he had to attend other functions when the game would be on.

He was back in town that November, along with shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves on the date of the autumn financial statement by Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, which attempted to unpick the mini-budget of PM Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng which had gone disastrously wrong.

He spoke to small business people at the borough council-owned Work Shed set up to help new firms, and also responded to the statement to national TV crews and reporters.

Such is Swindon’s reputation as a bellwether town when it comes to elections, it was also where the party chose to launch its national campaign for the local elections last year.

Sir Keir, his deputy Angela Rayner and Ms Reeves all came to The Hub in the town centre to speak and gee-up local activists, dragging scores of journalists and broadcast crews down from London.

And shortly before the local election day the Adver took a personal call from Sir Keir as he tried to help elect a Labour administration. It was a slightly awkward call, as the reporter was accompanying a Conservative candidate as he canvassed residents at the time.

Ms Reeves was with Sir Keir on his latest visit during the general election campaign.After a tour of Dorcan Morrisons, speaking to staff, the pair spoke to national media and staff, and Ms Reeves also went live on the BBC from Baristocats café in Commercial Road.