Borough of Swindon


The Borough of Swindon is a local government authority in South West England, centred on the town of Swindon and forming part of the ceremonial county of Wiltshire.

History

In 1974 the Thamesdown district of Wiltshire was created from the areas of the municipal borough of Swindon and Highworth Rural District. On 1 April 1997 it was made administratively independent of Wiltshire County Council, and its council became a unitary authority. The council adopted the name Swindon on 24 April 1997. The former Thamesdown name and logo continued to be used by the municipal bus operator, Thamesdown Transport, until 2017 when it was sold and renamed to "Swindon's Bus Company".

Geography

The borough of Swindon occupies an area forming the north east corner of Wiltshire and is bordered by two other counties, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. West Berkshire is also only a short distance from the borough's south eastern tip.
The generally hilly landscape is sculpted by the upper Thames guiding the northern border, small tributaries draining into the Thames, and the Marlborough Downs rising toward the south.
The borough encompasses the Swindon urban area and surrounding countryside to the north, east and south, including the town of Highworth. It comprises the former Swindon Municipal Borough and a further 18 civil parishes:
Since 1 April 2017 the entire Borough has been parished, following the establishment of West Swindon parish and the creation of Central Swindon North and Central Swindon South. The two Central parishes fall within the boundaries of the town and former municipal borough, the Great Western main line railway forming the boundary between them.
At the same time:
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Swindon at current basic prices by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
YearRegional Gross Value AddedAgricultureIndustryServices
19952,654131,0231,618
20004,08591,3682,708
20034,25981,1853,067

includes hunting and forestry
includes energy and construction
includes Financial Intermediation Services Indirectly Measured
Components may not sum to totals due to rounding

Swindon Borough Council

The council follows a leader and cabinet model and has 57 elected members. Elections are held in three out of every four years, with one third of the seats being elected at each election. From the first election in 1996 to the 2000 election, Labour had a majority on the council. Following a period where no party had a majority the Conservatives gained a majority at the 2003 election and have held control since then. As of the 2016 local elections, the council is composed of the following councillors:-

Wards

The following are the electoral wards within the Borough as at 2016.
For electoral purposes, the borough is divided into two Parliamentary constituencies: North Swindon and South Swindon. Both constituencies are seen as key marginal seats at general elections, with both having been bellwether seats since 1997 when they were created. Currently both seats are held by the Conservative Party.
The borough was one of the first areas to declare in the 2016 European Union membership referendum. 61,745 voters supported leaving the European Union, whilst 51,220 wished to remain. Psephologist Chris Hanretty has estimated that 57.3% of voters in North Swindon supported leave, compared to 51.7% in South Swindon.
For the purposes of elections to the European Parliament, Swindon lies in the South West region, and is represented by 3 Brexit Party MEPs, 2 Liberal Democrat MEPs, and one Green MEP. In 2019, 35.7% of the borough's voters backed the Brexit Party, 17.8% backed the Liberal Democrats, and 14.6% backed Labour.