Robert Buckland Weblog

After my last post, I realised that I had totally failed to thank and congratulate all the Conservative candidates who stood in South Swindon – quite remiss of me.  At the risk of this post sounding like a mutual backslapping session, I am very happy to report that a score of seven out of ten possible wins was reached.  Well done to Fionuala Foley, Bill Morton, Garry Perkins, Andy Albinson and Steve Wakefield for being returned with impressive majorities.

The convincing victory of Michael Dickinson in his old ward of Freshbrook and Grange Park means that West Swindon now has a full slate of Tory Councillors, with the LibDems being sent packing.  I do hope that their rather bitchy and negative style of campaigning will also disappear.  Michael, your hard work and dedication paid off.  I know that you will continue to do an excellent job as a ward councillor and representative for Swindon more generally.

They said it couldn’t be done, but Peter Mallinson has in just over two years won two elections in Walcot for two different parties!  In the 2005 by-election, he won for Labour by about 120 votes.  This year, he overturned his own majority, winning for the Conservatives by 45.  This was the result of the evening for me.  The amount of work that was put in by our Team was phenomenal.  My thanks to everyone for helping to deliver leaflets and to achieve a large amount of canvassing.  Peter thoroughly deserved this victory, and will continue working hard for local residents.

Central will be missing out by not having the services of Karen Leakey as one of its Borough Councillors.  There was a lovely letter in today’s Adver bemoaning her defeat.  She is quite simply one of the best local campaigners that I have ever met.  She is a proud Tory, but totally committed to her community.  Karen will fight again, I am sure.

Graham Cherry did his very best in Parks ward, but was beaten by a Labour machine that in the past assumed it was their right to win here.  We will fight on; make no mistake, this is a ward where we will win soon.

Paul Gregory moved into second place in Eastcott, behind a Liberal candidate who saw the LibDem vote decline markedly from the previous year.  This is a ward where winning is no longer out of the question, and I look forward to future success.

There was much controversy about the tone and content of some of the Labour literature that was seen around the town.  At times, I thought that Labour went over the line of decency, in suggesting that Conservative Councillors were selling off assets to unjustly enrich themselves.  It is not good enough for Cllr Kevin Small to say in effect that its “just politics”.  To tell untruths in this way demeans the entire process.  As they say in rugby union, you should go for the ball, not the man.  Policy debate, not personal insults, please.  I do hope that Swindon’s MPs had nothing to do with any of this, and that they will not adopt the same approach come the General Election.  Labour’s poor showing last week demonstrates that local residents have little time for such negative campaigning.