Tories back after 23-year gap

Swindon Council received a damning Ofsted report

A South West town is back under Conservative control for the first time in 23 years after a mass resignation by the Labour administration.

The resignations were tendered after a vote of no confidence, following a damning government report into how Swindon's schools were run.

The report from Ofsted, in September, said the local education authority's strategic management and planning was "poor or very poor in most areas".

Now the Conservatives have formed a minority administration, after a meeting on Thursday night.

"I didn't expect it would be a 23-year gap before we got back into administration

Mike Bawden
Swindon council leader

Swindon council took control of the Wiltshire town's schools after it became a unitary authority in 1997.

But the Ofsted report said the LEA "impeded, rather than supported, school improvement", and "the quality of leadership by elected members and senior officers is unsatisfactory".

On 27 September a vote of no confidence in the Labour administration was passed by 29 to 27 votes.

Labour councillors abstained from voting for a new leader, at the meeting, allowing Conservative Mike Bawden to become leader of the council.

Swindon council has 59 seats. There are currently 22 Conservatives, 29 Labour and eight Liberal Democrats on the council, meaning no party has overall control.

New challenge

Mr Bawden was deputy leader of the council when the Conservatives were in power 23 years ago.

He first became a councillor for the town in 1967, becoming leader of the Tory group in 1984.

He said: "I didn't expect it would be a 23-year gap before we got back into administration, but we are looking forward to the challenge."

Mr Bawden said one of his first jobs will be to sort out Swindon's finances.

He said: "We are below the funding levels needed to deliver the services required of us.

"But we are in discussions to increase our allocations from central government, then we will be looking at ways the money is spent."

'Fearless opposition'

All three parties are also to be involved with rectifying the problems mentioned in Ofsted's report on the town's schools.

Mr Bawden said: "All the parties are trying to fix the problems. Several groups are making reports.

"We will then have a complete review of all the produced reports and discussion documents to identify the way forward."

Outgoing Labour leader Sue Bates, the first woman to have been a Swindon council leader, said that the Labour group should now be an "effective and fearless opposition".