Success was also celebrated by Jenny Millin (Mordeon) and Steve Wakefield (Toothill & Westlea) who retained seats which were won by the Conservatives in 2007.

Labour won 9 seats in Swindon against 10 for the Tories and 1 for the LibDems (just). Voting figures are available here

The increase in Labour’s %  share of the vote since 2007 (seats are re-elected on a 4-year cycle) are as follows

• Toothill 18.5%
• Freshbrook 17.9%
• Central 12.0%
• Shaw 9.5%
• Old Town & Lawn 9.2%
• Abbey Meads 8.7%
• Eastcott 8.5%
• Covingham & Nythe 8.0%
• Walcot 7.5%
• Dorcan 7.3%
• Parks 4.9%
• Moredon 4.8%
• Penhill 4.4%
• St Philip 3.8%
• Wroughton 3.4%
• Gorsehill 2.8%
• Highworth 2.3%
• St Margaret 2.1%
• Haydon Wick 0.8%
• Western -0.4%

Across Swindon the average Labour share of the vote increased from 24.4% in 2008 and 31% in 2010 to 38.8% in 2011.

A huge vote of thanks is due to Labour campaign workers in each ward – and to the electorate of Swindon.

Please contact Swindon Labour if you wish to get involved in our activities and help shape local Labour policies during the next year.

• 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

Swindon has had to cope with a cut of £12 million (19%) in its Government support ‘formula’ grant over the next two years.   Yet Wiltshire Council had a mere 2.2% cut from its grant this year and Dorset actually got an increase!  How can they afford to waste so much on vanity projects?

The Tories say we’re all in this together, but Swindon has come out worse than most other authorities in the SW, and has been borrowing a staggering £600,000 a week for the last 2 years!  Along with loan charges this is a lot of money for the 70,000 households in Swindon to pay back.

Yet the Council keeps wasting Council Tax payers money on vanity projects like £450,000 on a Wi-Fi project in a town that has more high-speed connections than any other part of the UK! Are we in Disneyland?

What about £51,000 on hospitality and bottled water, or £240,000 on a town centre dribbling fountain, or £400,000 on communications, or £446,000 on consultants, or £20,000 on legal fees to expel street traders from the town centre, or £600,000 on the Mechanics Institute, or £64,000 on a canal feasibility study, or £500,000 for the BIG weekend, or £349,000 for a pile of tabernacle stones that are now covered by weeds in a field in Wroughton?

Don’t get us wrong:   there are cut-backs necessary in the Swindon Council budget, but these shouldn’t be made in services for the vulnerable and disadvantaged – as the Tories are doing – they should be in vanity projects, external consultancies and public relations exercises.

Joe Tray, Labour Candidate – St Philips Ward (currently held by the Tories)

Ellen Osa, Labour Candidate, Walcot Ward (currently held by the Tories)

• £21m cuts in Government support to Swindon over 3 years
• 19% cut in the ‘Formula Grant’ grom Government over 2 years
• 80% cut in the capital grant for Swindon’s Schools

Yet despite this Swindon had

• £1.96m in unpaid council taxes (in year ending April 2010)
• £1.95m in uncollected business rates

A particular problem is in Walcot is the state of the roads.  Particularly affected are including Upham Road, Frobisher Drive and Raleigh Avenue.  Unfortunately the Tory council has slashed the money on road repairs by £500,000 over the past 5 years. Our residents are suffering with untold damage to people’s vehicles. Many of the roads in this ward are so bad that they really need to be completely resurfaced.

Just as many people feared, the Tory Budget has turned the clock back to the 1980’s. They have increased VAT, this time to 20 per cent.  In Swindon the Tory cuts will hurt the young, the elderly and the vulnerable:

• The elderly: £1.5 million cut for care of adults and the elderly ? Our children: £494,000 cut from help for Schools ? Our young people: £860,000 cut for help back into work.
• The vulnerable: £2.4 million cut from support for homeless.
• Transport: £300,000 cut to bus funding.
• Libraries: £100,000 cut in library services.
• Wealthier Councils are getting away with smaller or even zero cuts.

Together we must stop them and build a plan for the economic growth of Swindon.

The local elections in May will give the people a chance to send the Tories and Lib Dems a message. They will be a referendum on Tory performance.

Please contact me with your views and support

Ellen Osa, Labour Candidate, Walcot Ward