TWO senior national politicians have gone head-to-head in the party campaigns in Swindon ahead of the hotly-contested local elections on May 3.

Jack Straw, the former Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary for Labour, held a rally at the water feature in the town centre yesterday, before helping local members to canvas in Freshbrook.

And last month, Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond, urged Swindon residents to vote Conservative during a whistle-stop visit to the Adver offices, in Victoria Road, Old Town.

Yesterday, Mr Straw used a mega-phone in the pouring rain to address a group of about 30 Labour councillors, candidates and supporters. He also fielded questions from the public on issues including, immigration, NHS reform and the tanker drivers’ strike.

He told the Adver that Swindon is a Labour target area because the party is trying to regain Westminster seats in the South West, and said he hoped the local party would succeed in its stated aim of taking control of Swindon Council.

He said: “The fact that it’s an all-out election means it’s not unrealistic to look forward to control, and we’ve got a very good team of candidates, we’ve got a good programme.

“We’re aiming to do well, we always aim to do well. We’ve got a very hard-working team of candidates here, but I’m not a soothsayer.

“One thing I do know is a lot of people want change. People can have change, but what has to happen next Thursday is they have got to make the change by going out to vote.”

Mr Straw, when asked whether Labour were fit to lead the council, said there was evidence the Conservative-led council was “incompetent and wasteful”, pointing to the water feature as an example of this.

He also attacked the council over the new Wichelstowe housing development and the high youth unemployment figures in the town.

When he visited Swindon, Mr Hammond said some tough decisions were being made nationally for the long-term best interests of the country, but urged residents to vote on local parties’ policies and performance.

He said: “I would argue what the Conservatives bring to government is a determination to do what’s right for the long-term, not to opt for an easy quick fix.

“And even if that means taking some tough decisions, we put in place some policy decisions for the long-term.

“The local party have been doing a good job. They’ve got the policies and the policy package that will secure the long-term future of the town.

“Of course, that’s about regeneration, as well as supporting the economic growth of the businesses we’ve got in and around the town now.”