Jim Robbins wants the council, especially if he becomes leader next week, to be listening to the people of Swindon.

The Labour councillor for Mannington & Western became leader of the opposition group just under a year ago.

And if national opinion polls and local extrapolations are any guide, he has the best chance to lead a Labour administration in Euclid Street for close to two decades.

The local party has come up with five pledges for action in the next 12 months if it wins the election on May 4.

The headlines are Get Swindon Moving, Keep Council Tax Low, A Stronger Local Economy, Get Tough with Developers and Get Tough on Crime

But Coun Robbins is cautious about promising the earth.

He said: “The state of local government finances these days, after 13 years of governments refusing to fund councils properly means there isn’t a lot of money to play with.

“And a year isn’t a long time to make a massive difference, but if we win in May this year, when we’re coming back in a year asking to be kept in power, I do want people to feel there’s a difference in the council, and there’s a difference in the town.”

On Building a Better Swindon, Coun Robbins wants there to be a major conversation between residents and the council on the future of the town centre.

He said: “People on the doorstep say they don’t feel they have a town centre to be proud of, that they often don’t have a reason to go.

“Working and shopping habits are changing, and the pandemic has accelerated that, people want more of an experience when they go into town, not just to go shopping.

“We want to have a proper consultation – big public meetings with people to work out what people really want from their town centre and how to make it happen.”

Coun Robbins said when a motion was presented to the council earlier this year it was voted down because the Conservative administration didn’t see the need, and added: “The Conservatives say they will do this through the consultations on the revision of the Local Plan.

“We say the people who want to see something done to improve the town centre won’t be paying much attention to the revision of the Local Plan.”

That plan, however, plays a big part in the pledge to get tough with developers. Coun Robbins said: “We will be coming up with a new plan so that we get housing built where we want it and not elsewhere.

"I want to see houses built, but we have heard a lot from people who really value the local green spaces they have; they walk their dog or just get outside.

“And we will be updating the local plan to protect those spaces, and saying to developers they need to build where we want houses to go. And we’ll be telling them that sustainability needs to be built in, whether its solar panels, or heat pumps and vehicle charging points.”

Green energy and new technologies are also central to the pledge on building a stronger economy: “If we left it to the private sector, it would be warehouses and logistics jobs. We want to bring green manufacturing and technology in and one of the things that needs is the colleges developing those skills in the workforce here, so we’ll want to encourage that.

“We can’t solve crime on our own, but it’s not good enough to say it’s a matter for the police alone, so we’ll want to bring the police, the council, other agencies, voluntary groups together on that.

“And when I say we want to keep council tax low, I want people to know we are aware they’re struggling with the cost of living, and we’re not just going to keep increasing the taxes on them.

“And overarching this is a council that’s engaged with people, that is listening and is responsive to them.”

As well as the Labour Party, the ruling Conservatives and also the Liberal Democrats are standing candidates in all 19 seats up for grabs this year.

The Green Party has 10 candidates, the Trade Union & Socialist Coalition has two and there are two independent candidates.

The election will be held on May 4 and the votes counted and results announced on May 5.