For the next week, we lay out each party's vision for certain key policy areas in Swindon. Today, in their own words, the parties outline their plans for the economy

Conservatives

Ensuring that Swindon continues to have a thriving economy is essential, which is why it forms over half the Conservative administration’s pledges in the council’s Vision.

Swindon’s wealth and jobs come from the private sector, which provides over 80 per cent of the town’s jobs.

While there are some international and national companies based in Swindon, most of the firms are small and medium enterprises.

The Conservative-run council will support private enterprise and workers by:

  • Securing access to the government’s superfast broadband speed standard across more than 95 per cent of the borough.
  • Working with the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Economic Partnership to secure funding for major roads and infrastructure.
  • Working with other councils on the Oxford-Milton Keynes-Cambridge corridor to secure access to the National Infrastructure Commission’s massive investment in transport links.
  • Lobbying for the western rail access to Heathrow as part of the GWR franchise renewal.

Where it provides the best value for residents, the council already uses local businesses and contractors to deliver services and will always seek to use more.

The council is working in partnership with local businesses to promote inward investment through Switch on to Swindon, in which those who have chosen to locate their firms here act as advocates for the borough.

Alongside this, the Conservatives are providing new homes, good schools, and an attractive environment so employers can attract and retain the staff they need. Above all, we deliver this at a low, affordable council tax.

Labour

WITH Brexit in 2019, it is crucial now more than ever that the council does all it can to protect local businesses from Brexit’s impact.

Taking into account this context, one of Labour’s 10 flagship policies is to target a greater proportion of public sector spending in the local economy, boosting local jobs, particularly in the small business sector. One might refer to this as a ‘Swindon First’ policy to public sector procurement spending.

Other local councils like Manchester City Council and Preston Borough Council are already working with their local public sector agencies to increase the amount spent procuring goods and services from local business, releasing tens of millions extra into the local economy.

Last year, only 40 per cent of Swindon Council’s £205m spent in the private sector went to businesses in the Swindon area. In Preston, the local council and their public sector partners spend 70 per cent of total public sector spending in the local economy. That’s tens of millions more being spent in the local economy.

As well as this flagship policy, Labour will also be promoting employers paying the Real Living Wage - ie a wage that people can live off without benefits.

It has been reported that 18 per cent of workers in Swindon earn below the Real Living Wage. We will do this by paying the Real Living Wage as stipulated by the Living Wage Foundation and making Swindon Council an exemplar employer.

Liberal Democrats

IN last year’s general election, all the major parties made claim to fiscal responsibility, but only one was deemed by the Institute for Fiscal Studies to have credibly costed plans - the Lib Dems.

And, as the dust now settles on the Coalition years, it is clear that the voice of reason and the engine of good ideas, which allowed the country to climb away from the financial mess inherited from Labour, was drawn from the Lib Dem manifesto.

In 2010, David Cameron argued during the leaders’ debates that the Lib Dem pledge to raise the basic tax threshold “was a nice idea, but simply not practical”.

The Lib Dems insisted it be brought in and here we are eight years later with the measure a bedrock of Tory policy. Similarly, while acting fiscally responsibly throughout, we introduced the Pupil Premium and free school meals for infants - two measures that are making a genuine difference to raising standards across our education system.

Again, ideas drawn directly from the Lib Dem manifesto and particularly important to raising Swindon’s relatively poor educational record.

Last year, we pledged to increase income tax by one per cent to cover the growing needs of social and health care. We acknowledged there was a problem and, rather than pretend efficiencies could be magically delivered or there really was a secret bag of gold, we met the problem head-on and accepted that “to sort this generational challenge, there would be a price to pay”. Just the sort of approach you need, bearing in mind that four out of every five pounds the council spends goes on social care.

So, it’s a simple choice, vote for a party with a genuine track record of innovative thinking and fiscal responsibility or a party either intellectually bankrupt or willing to spend their way into bankruptcy.

Green Party

WE want to help build Swindon’s reputation into one of a pleasant environment with a thriving, sustainable and diverse economy. This will boost local trade, attract more business and make Swindon somewhere people want to live and work.

The current policy that drives small traders out of the town centre leaves a sterile environment unattractive to shoppers. We would instead encourage small traders to move into the town centre and offer lower rates for start-up businesses to give them the opportunity to contribute to our economy in the future

Supporting small, local business will keep more of our money circulating within our community. We will support the development of community banks to encourage local people to invest in local economic activity, promote credit unions and consider the benefits of local currencies.

We will encourage universities to follow the lead of Oxford Brookes University and the University of Wales by setting up campuses in Swindon. This will help to retain our brightest young people and in time can form the nucleus of our own university, as well as ensuring we have a workforce well placed to take the opportunities new investment and businesses in Swindon will bring.

UKIP

THE town centre is dying and the recent increase in parking charges is worsening the situation. We want to see £2 for four hours reintroduced.

Following two council tax rises, including the largest increase in the country last year, UKIP is committed to restoring the council tax cap that was effectively removed from residents by implementing a parishing system that the residents of Swindon were not consulted on.

We want money spent on our declining public services, on the NHS (particularly mental health) and fixing the thousands of potholes. Currently we are paying more and receiving less, which is fundamentally wrong.

We believe that all council staff salaries should not exceed that of our Member of Parliament. At the moment there are 15 staff who exceed this salary and approximately ten on over £100,000. We believe this money should be better spent.

We want answers on Swindon’s degeneration and failure to build on what was once the fastest growing town in Europe.

Brexit is being betrayed by the appeasing failure of our government who are giving in to the demands of Brussels and damaging the prospects of our departure from the EU. UKIP will show your opposition to these unnecessary and lengthy negotiations. Swindon can be a beacon of hope for the rest of the country.