• Support jobs with money raised from repeating the bank bonus tax – not hold back recovery with the VAT rise and cuts that will put almost one million workers out of their jobs.
• Protect police numbers – not cut them while wasting £100 million on new elected police commissioners.
• Protect your frontline local services – not make unfair cuts which will hit the least well off the most.
• Get the deficit down through strong growth and sensible cuts – not by slashing too far, too fast, and putting your local economy at risk.
• Stand up for young people – not kick away the ladder by tripling tuition fees; scrapping EMAs; cancelling Building Schools for the Future; and slashing school sport

DOWNLOAD THE SWINDON LABOUR MANIFESTO 2011

Voting Stations are open from 7am till 10pm.

Guidance on voting procedure is available from Swindon Borough Council.

Labour Candidates and their contact numbers are:

1. Abbey Meads – Mark Viner (07811 142 413).
2. Central – Derique Montaud (07711 556 261).
3. Covingham & Nythe – Peter Watts (01793 529163).
4. Dorcan – Ged Meheran (07989 918 352).
5. Eastcott – Chris Watts (07776 238 327).
6. Freshbrook & Grange Park –  Neil Heavens (07817 262 258).
7. Gorsehill & Pinehurst – John Ballman (01793 694 584).
8. Haydon Wick – Tim Page (07717 669944).
9. Highworth – Anthea Beaumont (01793 762 517).
10. Moredon – Jenny Millin (07879 023 903).
11. Old Town - Cindy Matthews (01793 644 388).
12. Parks – Fay Howard (07952 350 656).
13. Penhill – Paul Baker (01793 334 598).
14. Shaw & Nine Elms – Michael Heal (07810 872 849).
15. St Margaret – Nigel Chalk (01793 346165).
16. St Philips – Joe Tray (07813 170 202).
17. Toothill – Steve Wakefield (07775 911 922).
18. Walcot – Ellen Osa (07577 923 694) .
19. Wroughton – Geraint Day (07753 957 565).
20. Western – Des Moffatt (07709 066 707).

Polling Stations locations are available from THIS LINK:

To use this link you’ll need to know your Polling District. Check on your card – the Districts in each Ward are as follows:

1. Abbey Meads - AM1-AM4.
2. Central – CE1-CE4.
3. Covingham & Nythe – CN1-CN4.
4. Dorcan – DN1-DN4.
5. Eastcott – ET1-ET5.
6. Freshbrook & Grange Park –  FG1-FG4.
7. Gorsehill & Pinehurst – GH1-GH3.
8. Haydon Wick – HG1-HG5.
9. Highworth – HW1-HW5.
10. Moredon – MD1-MD6.
11. Old Town - TL1-TL5.
12. Parks – PK1-PK4.
13. Penhill – PH1-PH4.
14. Shaw & Nine Elms – SE1-SE4.
15. St Margaret – SM1-SM3.
16. St Philips – SP1-SP6
17. Toothill – TW1-TW3.
18. Walcot – WA1-WA3.
19. Wroughton – WC1-WC5.
20. Western – WE1-WE4.

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OFFER YOUR HELP IN NORTH SWINDON OR SOUTH SWINDON

Housing is one of the Swindon Labour Party’s key priorities, as we know that this is one of the greatest concerns Swindon residents have.

A good local council and Central Government should be trying to ensure three things on housing. Firstly they should be trying to tackle the growing waiting list for social housing; secondly they should be ensuring that those communities with significant amounts of social housing are stable and cohesive, and, thirdly, they should be looking to make housing more affordable for first-time buyers.

The Tory-led government and Tory-led Swindon Council have failed in providing solutions to any of these challenges.

They have failed to provide sensible solutions to tackle Swindon’s growing housing waiting list by cutting the social housing budget by 50%. They have increased anxieties for vulnerable social housing tenants through their housing benefits cuts and the introduction of fixed-term tenancies. And the Tory-led government and Tory-led Council have failed to do anything about the affordability of housing for first-time buyers.

The Swindon Labour Party believes more needs to be done to address Swindon’s housing crisis.

A Labour-led Swindon Borough Council would:

Oppose the government’s housing strategy; which will weaken communities by deregulating the use of HiMOs and introducing fixed-term tenancies; and hit families living in social housing by hiking up social housing rents to 80% of the market level

• Address Swindon’s housing crisis by retaining and increasing the housing stock, with at least 100 new Council houses being built per year, twice as many Council houses being built than currently
• Address Swindon’s housing crisis by introducing a 50% target for affordable housing on new housing developments

The opening completes the Labour Government and Swindon Borough Councils promise to provide Pinehurst with a 0-19 Education facility all on one site The new building which replaces the temporary one at the end of Linden Avenue and includes Little Pinetrees pre- school plus a new child health clinic Bumps to School  Light, airy, spacious and modern an ideal place to set out on life’s journey a promise made and a promise kept

For more information

Call 01793 514492 or visit www.surestart-pinehurst –penhill.co.uk

Or email surestart enquiries@swindon.pct .nhs.uk

For little pinetrees call 07762 468972 oe emaillittlepintrees@yahoo.co.uk

Cllr John Ballman, Gorse Hill & Pinehurst

Our plan was for a new Community Centre to replace the Pinehurst People Centre when it was demolished to make way fro the new Swindon Academy in Beech Avenue  Now at last, following last December ground breaking ceremony work has begun and contractors have stared clearing the site and making it safe ready for building to begin in earnest later this month  The Community Centre will be two stories high complete with meeting rooms an internet café, library, kitchen, sports hall meeting rooms and community garden.   The Centre will also house two NHS dental suites and the Citizens Advice Bureau.

Costing 2.2 million the new Centre is due to open in October this year.

Cllr John Ballman, Gorse Hill and Pinehurst.

Work is already well under way to provide Pinehurst with an new  modern library service and Internet café both are due to open in October this year with the new centre.

John Ballman, Councillor Gorse Hill and Pinehurst

Gorse Hill councillors have been pushing this project forward since 2005 and this is a very significant step in the delivery of this much needed facility in the area.  We’re very pleased to see it now on its way.

Last year we collected over 1000 signatures in a petition urging the Council to go ahead with the Community Centre that in its self shows the real demand there is in Pinehurst.

Cllrs John Ballman and Rochelle Russell, Gorse Hill and Pinehurst.

In the face of a strong effort by the Conservative and after a hard fought campaign I was delighted to be elected as a new Labour Councillor. I am truly honoured to be representing Gorse Hill and Pinehurst. I would like to offer my thanks to those who voted for me in the local election,  and indeed to everyone who voted.

I intend to be a hard-working servant of our ward and will represent all of its residents to the best of my ability.

As a full-time councillor it is my aim to make myself as available as possible for ward-work so please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any issues you feel I can help you with, or even just for a chat so that we can get to know each other better.

Over the next year your Labour team will campaign to…

• Complete the regeneration of St Marks Rec with a new sports pavilion & café.  Protect the green open spaces in Gorse Hill and Pinehurst.
• See the start and completion of a new Pinehurst Community Centre complete with Leisure, Health and Dental facilities on site.
• Work with all agencies to tackle Anti-social behaviour Work to stop the sell off of Council Housing.
• Continue working to resolve the issues that you raise with us.

Rochelle Russell: Tel no 01793701910, e-mail russellrochelle15@gmail.com

Ray Ballman:  Tel No 10793 694584, jballman@swindon.gov.uk

John Ballman:  Tel No 10793 694584, jballman@swindon.gov.uk

“I am totally honoured that so many good people have put their trust in me to be a reliable and hard working servant for their ward.  I also want to thank my predecessor Maurice Fanning for his hard work for the ward.

My first priority is to visit all of the people I had promised to go back to if I succeeded in holding the ward.  I then intend to meet as many people as possible so that we can properly get to know eachother.  I will be guided by my very experienced and highly respected fellow councillors as they know much more than I do and are so very generous in their willingness to help me.

I am very keen to develop a young Labour group in the area along with Chris and to capitalise on the rekindled enthusiasm I believe Victor’s upbeat campaign has created.  It’s time to get back to our roots and do what we are best at –  looking after our own.  I believe the failure of the Lib Dems gives us a great opportunity to encourage disappointed libdem voters to come home to us.  Mostly I intend to work work work…….”

Rochelle can be emailed here.

By putting politics before economics, putting their short-term political interests before the longer-term economic interests of the country, they are scoring points rather than sticking to the policies that will secure Britain’s economic recovery!! When things get choppy for Mr. Cameron his first thought is to abandon fiscal discipline and his commitment to tackling the deficit, and instead reach out for crowd pleasing about-turns.  Easy politics does not make for sound economics. And it isn’t leadership.

So my point for voters in Swindon is this:   the headlines achieved by the Tories show that it is really only Labour which has consistent and credible policies to keep the country on the road to recovery.  Nothing must get in the way – no gimmicks and no cheap give-aways to keep wealthy Tory backers happy.

Gordon and Alistair must continue to make the right calls, as they did when we were hit by the global financial crisis. They were the first movers on a plan that averted a Great Depression in the global economy, and their decisions set us on the road to recovery. Through the resilience and sacrifice of the British people, the impact of the recession was blunted and shortened. As a consequence, the rate of unemployment, business failures, and home repossessions has been significantly lower than under the Tory recession of the 1990s (and with lower mortgage rates too).

Cameron-Osborne got all these big economic judgements wrong. They would have let Northern Rock go to the wall. They opposed the fiscal stimulus and the real help we gave businesses and families so we could get through this recession together.  Now they are getting it wrong on the recovery. Cut through George Osborne’s waffle and you will see him confirming that he plans to take £6-7 billion out of the economy this year in his ‘emergency’ budget, even though private demand remains weak.  To take this amount of spending power out of the economy straightaway – when the economy needs support and the road ahead will be bumpy – would pull the rug from under the recovery. This ‘emergency’ budget would put the economy straight back into the crisis room.

The rise in National Insurance – which we propose – is not due this year – but in 2011 once recovery is secured.  It is a necessary measure to enable us to restore the public finances whilst maintaining the public services.   Government is about hard choices and we cannot shy away from them if we want to tackle the deficit and protect schools, hospitals, childcare and the police.

Frontline schools, police numbers and Sure Start will not be protected by the Tories.  That much we know. If you are a parent with children in school, or who use Children’s Centres, you should know before you cast your vote that these budgets will be cut under the Tories, not protected.  The Tories can say what they like. But a promise to cut the deficit further than Labour, cut taxes and sustain public spending doesn’t add up – it is a three card Tory con trick.

Securing recovery and protecting frontline services will be on the ballot paper come election day:  and they are both under threat from a Tory party that is showing itself to be a party little changed from the past.  Look at their platform: immediate cuts that would put jobs and services at risk; unfunded tax cuts; an inheritance tax giveaway for the 3,000 richest estates in the country, whilst middle income mums have their child tax credits and Child Trust funds taken away.

But when it comes down to it, people do not trust the Tories to be on their side. They believe the Tories want to cut public services whether it is necessary or not. Some in the media may wish to obscure this fact but the public’s attitude is deeply felt.

Please let me know what you think.  I’m glad to receive emails on victor4nswindon@googlemail.com

Victor Agarwal, Labour Candidate North Swindon.

The new play area is part of the governments Play Builder scheme Swindon received £1.6 million from the government to build new play areas across the Borough

Local councillors led the way in ensuring that that Gorse Hill and Pinehurst ward received its fair share of invest ment with new play areas being built at Saint Marks,  Edinburgh Street and Pinehurst West

Cllr John Ballman