The overall aim of these meetings is to ensure that as a local Labour Party, we are in tune with the people we represent or seek to represent. The Swindon Labour Party’s contact with, and understanding of our residents should always be our first concern. This will also help raise the profile of the local Labour Party in areas we have previously not had much contact with.

I have asked all Swindon Labour Party members, whether they are current councillors, prospective councillors or other local activists, to be able to be involved in this work. It will benefit Labour as a whole in Swindon to help raise our profile; however the main aim of these events will be to ensure that the local Labour Party is in tune with local peoples’ views on how their town should be run.

The first meeting will cover Haydon Wick & Priory Vale wards on the 16th of November. I hope to arrange other such meetings in the run up to the May elections.

Councillor Jim Grant

Swindon Labour Group Leader

• 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

I moved to Swindon in 1973 with my wife and son when my employers BT brought their Purchasing Headquarters here.  Over the next  5 years we had 2 more children born in Swindon.  All my children were educated locally and two still live and work in Swindon.

Their Tory record is a list of failures:  from the Canal feasibility fiasco to the WiFi scandal,  including their shameful handling of the Health Care workers in  Social Service,  the Town Centre redevelopment,  and the now  the money-pit the privately owned Mechanics Institute is becoming.   The Conservatives have learned nothing from their mistakes and now appear to be about to allow a huge  housing estate at Coate Water,  and are ignoring the requirement for a University which Swindon desperately needs.

Its time for an invigorated Labour Team to come with a fresh vision for our town.  I hope to be part of that team and hope you will support me on May 5th.

I will be a Councillor who will listen to the people and always strive to act in their best interests.

Tim Page, Labour Candidate, Haydon Wick

• There are nearly 150,000 job losses already announced or in the pipeline in 153 public bodies according to the GMB’s round up published this morning in advance of the TUC Congress in Manchester
• The Government has announced plans to cut NHS Direct
• The Local Government Association has warned that frontline services face a shortfall of £12.5 bn in 2013/4, rising to £20 bn by 2014/5. The gap will be created by rising demand for services, combined with cuts in government grants
• Contact a Family, the charity for families with disabled children, has raised concerns that the 2011 changes to Housing Benefit will hit disabled children especially hard.
• A survey by Every Disabled Child Matters reveals that local authorities are already cutting services for disabled children and their parents including short breaks, play and leisure, education, transport, health, training and equipment
• The Police Superintendents’ Association has warned the government that there will be “consequences” for public order if the police are not exempted from the cuts
• The Department for Education’s own assessment of the equality impact of the decision to stop the Building Schools for the Future programme confirms that this decision will have a disproportionate impact on the poorest children
• Health Minister Simon Burns has announced that the government will not go ahead with the previous government’s plans to make car parking free in English NHS hospitals.
• The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has highlighted that the pub it is based on is closing down – and that cuts in funding for the Community Owned Pubs scheme are to blame.
• It has been widely reported that councils are turning off streetlights to save cash.
• Seventy per cent of over-65s think that the elderly will be hardest hit by the cuts, with 69% expecting local authorities to cut funding for personal and nursing care. The results of a survey for care and housing charity Anchor carried out last month by ICM are reported in Putting Older People’s Issues Back on the Agenda
• Welfare to work blogs are starting to report that ‘most’ of the 16,000 temporary  Jobcentre Plus staff, who were recruited to deal with increased demand for services at the start of the recession, will now not have their contracts renewed
• A new study from the Young Foundation has warned that departments and agencies  facing cuts of 15 – 25 per cent are planning cuts of 30 – 50 per cent in funding for civil society groups.
• The total “tax gap” reached £42 billion in 2008/9 – 8.6 per cent of the tax individuals and companies have a legal responsibility to pay. Measuring Tax Gaps 2010, published on Thursday by HMRC looks at the ‘gap’ between the tax that should be collected and the amount that is actually collected. £42 billion is the highest ever in cash terms and the per centage tax gap is the highest since 2005-6, when it was 8.8 per cent
• A TUC report “Where the money goes“ shows that the coalition government’s planned spending cuts are likely to impact much more heavily on the poorest UK households than the richest
• ConDems are paying lip-service to the ‘Big Society’ – while cutting the DWP Volunteering Programme (launched in April 2009) which placed over 13,000 people unemployed for over six months into volunteering opportunities.

Officers elected were Tony Mayer (Chair), Mark Dempsey (Vice-Chair), Rochelle Russell & Michelle d’Agostino (Secretaries), and John Keepin (Treasurer).  Anyone interested in future meetings is invited to contact Rochelle or Michelle.

From Dial a Ride, through to their latest budget of cutting essential services, such as Meals on Wheels, it is obvious that it is now time for a Labour Council to invest in the people of this town and provide the services people deserve. I look forward to being able to serve the people of Haydon Wick.  Through my work as the secretary of a Residents Association  I have established good relations with local police and officials and will draw on this to represent Haydon Wick in Council.

I can be emailed here, and will post more comments soon on issues relevant to Haydon Wick.   If you have any questions for the national elections please email victor4nswindon@googlemail.com or swindonlabour@gmail.com

Victor and Wiltshire GMB Banner

Victor Agarwal was selected on 9th January in the first round of voting by Labour Party members in North Swindon.  He came top of an initial application list of 17 candidates.  This is a testament to Victor’s energy, sincerity and intellectual capability.

Victor has a BSc. Hons in History and Business Studies and  has studied at universities in Britain, Denmark and the USA. he is an airline manager and has extensive contact with and knowledge of the world of work.

Michael Wills was not involved in the selection process; however he has since been in contact with Victor Agarwal and offered him all the help he wants.  Victor said  ”Michael has been an excellent constituency MP and I hope to follow in his footsteps and make the people of Western proud of me too. Only with a Labour MP and a Labour government can we effect further real change for the better in North Swindon.  With a strong Labour MP we can attract new jobs, improve our education system and address social inequalities in the area.  I believe we can do all these things – but only if you elect a Labour MP to build on the excellent achievements of Michael Wills.

As Labours New Candidate for North Swindon I will:

• always speak up for you and put North Swindon first
• live in the constituency and be a full-time MP
• fight for healthcare, jobs and good education in North Swindon
• be available to all my constituents