LOCAL ELECTIONS
Clockwise from top left: Bhawna Goyal (Conservatives), Marina Strinkovsky (Labour), Leslie Valatdesgranges (Independent) and Stan Pajak (Liberal Democrats). Middle: Regent Circus Eastcott is the most densely populated of Swindon Borough Council’s 20 wards. It is bounded to the north by Central ward and to the south by Old Town, with Walcot and Park North to the east. More than 12,000 people cram into its 1.6 sq km area and some of its issues are some of the most pressing facing the council today. The ward encompasses Kingshill. The main road there is the area of the worst air pollution in Swindon. It is the only area where the council has been obliged by law to declare an air quality management area.
Plan to reopen Oasis Leisure Centre soon and build new one is criticised
thisiswiltshire.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thisiswiltshire.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Plan to reopen Oasis Leisure Centre soon and build new one is criticised
swindonadvertiser.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from swindonadvertiser.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Swindon s Lib Dem leader Stan Pajak In a council chamber polarised between the ruling Conservatives and opposition Labour groups – and sometimes quite rancorously at that – Stan Pajak is often a lone voice calling for co-operation. Coun Pajak, who represents Eastcott ward in the centre of Swindon, is the leader of the two-councillor group for the party. Not only does he find himself somewhere between the two groups ideologically and politically, he can be heard frequently calling for councillors to do more together. And this year, possibly ironically because of a very acrimonious split in the Conservatives, the veteran of local politics might have a bigger chance than ever before to be the glue between differing council wings.
What does 2021 have in store for local politics? ALED THOMAS gazes into his crystal ball. IF there’s anything to learn from 2020 (apart from where the mute button is) then it s not to make predictions. But here we are, looking ahead to the next 12 months in Swindon local politics and government. There are two massive variables which will influence how voters and councillors look back a year from now – but nobody can say for certain how both Covid-19 and Brexit will pan out this year. Swindon has just been moved up to Tier 4 restrictions along with the majority of the rest of England, with Wales doing something similar – essentially a repeat of the national lockdown conditions which applied in March and April and May.