I would like to offer my congratulations to all of the winning candidates in the local elections here in Swindon last week, as well as my commiserations to those who lost. I would also like to congratulate Philip Wilkinson, who has been re-elected Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon. We will now be able to continue to focus on our work to turn the force around to better reflect the priorities of local residents.
I would also like to pay tribute to Cllr Keith Williams after 18 loyal years of service at Swindon Borough Council, and Cllr Brian Ford, who is retiring as a Councillor. Brian has served for a total of 38 years, first on Thamesdown and then on Swindon Borough Council. Thank you to both of you for serving the people of Swindon for so many years, leading by example, and fighting for the quality of local services that we all deserve.
I was very pleased to speak about Swindon and The Western Gateway during the Western Rail Link to Heathrow Airport Debate in Parliament last week. In my capacity as Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Western Gateway, which links Wales and the West, I am fully supportive of the work of the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce, which runs a Western Rail Link to Heathrow (WRLtH) Working Group. Alongside key stakeholders and member businesses, the group is continuing to work hard to provide a business solution to secure a timely delivery of the project.
This important Debate followed a visit by Rail Minister, Huw Merriman MP to Swindon station a few weeks ago, which you may have read about in my previous column. I was very pleased to have the opportunity to show the Minister around the station, as well as showing him exactly what needs to be done to Swindon station to make it even better. We need more access to the station, better car parking facilities, and more competitive rail fares, which is a big issue for local residents, in particular, those who are regularly travelling to London to work.
The Minster has heard loud and clear the action that needs to be taken on behalf of Swindon residents, and I am pleased that he has agreed to go away and carefully consider what can be done to deliver the ambitions that I have to improve our rail station for local residents. When it comes to rail travel, I will continue to push hard for improvements here in Swindon, in both my capacity as constituency MP and my role as Chair of the All-party Parliamentary Group on the Western Gateway.
As part of my ongoing work to raise awareness of dementia and increase diagnosis rates here in Swindon, I am looking forward to attending a Swindon Dementia Action Alliance Expo event next Thursday, 16th May, which the Zurich Community Trust are hosting.
Local residents are invited to attend one of two sessions, starting at either 3.30pm or 5.30pm, to learn more about how you support those living with dementia in our local community. There will also be around a dozen stands at the event, where you will have access to a wide range of resources and information. Please do join me at this event. Further information can be found on the Swindon Dementia Action Alliance here https://www.swindondaa.org.uk/events Further information on my local work on dementia can be found on my website here: https://www.robertbuckland.co.uk/campaigns/sir-robert-buckland-mps-campaign-raise-awareness-dementia-swindon
