SWINDON'S longest serving politician will fight for his council seat again next May.

Mike Bawden (Con Old Town and Lawns) was first elected in 1967 and, apart from a break between 1988 and 1993, has sat on councils covering Swindon ever since.

Now he says he has been formally selected to fight the Old Town and Lawns seat in May's local elections.

"There are things going on that I want to see through," said Mike.

"There is The Locarno, the library and the prospect of a university coming to town, as well as other projects, that I want to see through.

"But my first priority is as a ward councillor and I very much want to continue representing this ward."

When first elected in 1967 Mike served on the Swindon Council, which later merged with Highworth Council to form Thamesdown.

He then served on that authority and Wiltshire County Council.

When the present version of Swindon Council was created in 1998 he moved there.

And until May last year he was leader of the Conservative group on Swindon Council.

He also been mayor of the town twice and was made a freeman of the borough in April last year.

He has now taken on a senior planning role with the regional assembly.

"One of the other main reasons I want to stay is to continue helping with the economic development of Swindon," he said.

"Because of my role with the regional assembly I have transferred my interests to a larger area but I also want to continue playing a part in taking Swindon's economic success to the next level.

"But I totally accept, and always have done, that it is now all down to the democratic process.

"It is up to the voters of Old Town and Lawns to decide if they want me back in office - as they have done on many previous occasions."