The South Swindon Labour Party has announced the candidate that it hopes will kick Sir Robert Buckland out of his seat.

Sir Robert has held the seat for the Conservatives since winning the South Swindon seat in 2010.

Now, the Labour Party have unveiled the candidate that they hope will turn the constituency from blue to red.

At a South Swindon Labour Parliamentary selection meeting on Saturday, the party chose Heidi Alexander as their challenger to the current Welsh Secretary.

Swindon Advertiser: Heidi AlexanderHeidi Alexander

Ms Alexander already has experience as a serving Member of Parliament.

She previously held the seat of Lewisham East and was the Shadow Secretary of State for Health.

After resigning as an MP in 2018, Ms Alexander become London’s Deputy Mayor for Transport, she then left that role in 2021.

On Saturday afternoon, Ms Alexander reacted with a photo of her canvassing in South Swindon, adding: "Starting as I mean to go on."

She added the selection “means the world to me”.

“Am determined to build a winning team here and to make a real difference to my home town,” she said.

Ms Alexander also served as shadow health secretary between 2015 and 2016, before she was among the MPs to quit Jeremy Corbyn’s frontbench after she said she lost confidence in his leadership.

Her former boss Sadiq Khan has already given her a ringing endorsement.

The Labour Mayor of London also hinted that he would be joining her on the doorsteps in Swindon during the campaign.

According to her website, Ms Alexander says she is running as “the town deserves an MP with integrity and experience, who understands the concerns and aspirations of local people.”

Giving his reaction after the decision, Cllr Jim Robbins, Leader of the Labour Group in Swindon, said: “I’m absolutely delighted. She was the stand-out candidate in a very strong field.

“I’m really pleased we have a candidate with such experience and a national profile and having such an outstanding candidate is a huge statement of intent.”