St Margaret and South Marston, of all wards in Swindon borough has been most in the headlines recently.

Unfortunately for the wrong reason.

The ward, which straddles the A419, encompasses the Honda works which is scheduled to close, with the loss of 3,500 jobs in 2021.

Many of those workers, of course, come from all parts of Swindon and further afield, but the knock-on effect on the local economy is the area surrounding the plant can’t help cause some anxiety to voters in the ward, on top of the blow of having such a symbol of Swindon’s modern industrial dynamism so afflicted.

The A419 dual carriageway, which is so important to the Honda plant, and which sees transporters laden with Civics leave the plant for the M4 on a daily basis, bisects the ward.

West of the road, in Swindon proper, the housing estates of Stratton St Margaret are sandwiched between the carriageway and some large industrial and retail parks in the west of the ward.

On the other side of the highway, north of the A420 to Oxford, lies the South Marston industrial estate and the Honda plant. East of that development and south, much of the sizeable ward is green fields, but a large swathe of that is earmarked for expansion as part of the New Eastern Villages scheme. The village of South Marston itself will double in size with its southern boundary now forming the centre of the new community.

Housing, and especially its affordability is an issue - as is, inevitably in this part of Swindon, traffic congestion and roads infrastructure - particularly as part of the expansion schemes.

Historically the ward is a Conservative stronghold. If the party aims to keep its grasp on power - it currently as a one-seat majority - it needs to hold on here.

Whatever happens a new councillor will be elected. The sitting ember, John Haines, who represented the ward for eight years has stepped down. In 2015 he won the seat with a 51 per cent share of the vote with labour’s candidate in second with less than half his 3157 votes, and UKIP not far behind.

Similar handsome wins came the way of Russell Holland in 2016 who had a majority over Labour of more than 500 votes, and Roger Smith last year, who was just a few votes off a 50 per cent vote share.

The one ray of light for Barrie Jennings, who returns after last year as Labour’s candidate is that neither the Green party or the Liberal Democrats, who shared fourth and fifth in the last two elections are standing tin the ward this year. If he can attract their voters, and if Andy Osborne of UKIP, which has come third the lest three times, can attract discontented leave voters from the Conservatives he may run close.

If Labour does manage to snatch the seat, and it’s a big task, it would be a big step towards taking power.

The Candidates

Robert Jandy (Conservatives)

I have lived in Stratton St Margaret all of my life. Following a long career in the Ministry of Defence where I have had the honour to represent the UK at NATO, I now want to give back to our local community to represent my fellow local residents as a borough Councillor.

I am a director and chair of two local charities and have also volunteered my time in the NHS to help patients with newly diagnosed pre-cancer conditions.

I am also a Stratton St. Margaret Parish Councillor.

I have already been working hard on local issues, including opposing the Keypoint Incinerator and delivering superfast fibre broadband.

Our area faces many challenges in the future. Now more than ever we need an experienced and sensible voice to represent our community.

Barrie Jennings (Labour)

I am a parish councillor in Stratton St Margaret and I am standing to be the borough councillor for Lower Stratton and South Marston Ward.

Since becoming a parish councillor I started a parish councillor newsletter, informing residents of local issues in the Stratton St Margaret area. I have also organised regular community litter picks trying to tackle the litter in the area.

Over the next year there are a lot of big decisions being taken by Swindon Council that will affect the Stratton and Coleview area. This includes changes to the White Hart Roundabout as well as other road changes related to the Eastern Villages development. I want to ensure the decisions taken by Swindon Council serve the needs of Lower Stratton and South Marston residents.

Andy Osborne (UKIP)

I was born in London. I moved to Swindon four years ago and now work in Swindon.

If you voted to Leave the EU your vote has been betrayed by Parliament.

We are no longer living in a democracy. If you value our democracy vote UKIP.

UKIP is the only party serious about delivering the Brexit we voted for in 2016.