Dear Fellow Local Resident, Swindon is my home.

Full statement

Like very many of us, I chose to live here, and have done so for the best part of 20 years, raised my family here and have so many happy memories of life in our town.

From 2010 until the General Election was called last month, I have been honoured to represent South Swindon as your Member of Parliament.

As an MP, I always worked incredibly hard to represent the town I love and fellow residents here in Swindon. I have helped residents with tens of thousands of pieces of casework, brought investment and jobs to our town, fought for local services and campaigned on issues that I know matter to fellow residents.

We have come so far together in recent years. We have recruited 164 extra police officers for Swindon and Wiltshire, helping to make our streets and communities safer.

A brand-new Emergency Department is opening in only a few weeks after we secured £26 million of investment from the Government, and the new Radiotherapy Unit, which is already up and running, received £18 million in Government funding.

The £21 million Institute of Technology is open and equipping Swindon’s young people with the skills they need to thrive in the 21st Century, and the redevelopment of the former Honda site, which I worked hard to get over the line, is expected to bring up to 12,000 jobs to Swindon and over £1 billion of investment.

Swindon has had £150m for road upgrades, £4m to fix potholes and bus fares have been capped at £2.

After a global pandemic and war in Europe, the economy is now growing faster than France, Germany and the United States and inflation is under control. 12,000 more people are now in work in Swindon and businesses continue to look to expand or relocate to Swindon.

I have a high voting and speaking record in Parliament, and vote according to my conscience. I am committed to ensuring Swindon has an independent-minded MP in Westminster who is not afraid to speak his mind and will always stand up for residents. I have served as a Government Minister and in the Cabinet as Justice Secretary, a job in which I worked hard to toughen laws, strengthen sentences and keep our streets safe.

I’m sure you’ve seen the polls and heard the commentators. You know they think this election is a foregone conclusion, that your vote does not matter, and that a Labour landslide is inevitable. Sir Keir Starmer and his Labour candidate here in Swindon think the result is already in the bag, taking your support for granted. He wants you to hand him a huge majority – giving him a blank cheque when he still hasn’t told you what he will do with it or how much it’ll cost you.

But this election is also about who represents Swindon South. I have a strong track record and a plan for Swindon, which includes more police officers, more investment in our town centre and ensuring that our heritage is preserved.

I am the trusted, experienced and local candidate in this election.

Yours, Robert

Conservative candidate for Swindon South - Promoted by Alex Williams on behalf of Robert Buckland, both of PO Box 4405, Swindon, SN3 9FZ