AS another year comes to an end, I would firstly like to wish all Swindonians a happy New Year.

Even as a Labour politician, I have to accept that this political year has been nothing but groundbreaking, with the first peacetime coalition in almost a century being formed.

I am afraid that such historic events will be cold comfort for those Swindonians who will be losing their jobs in 2011.

My particular concern lies with Swindon’s young and how their talents can be unlocked. As if things were not hard enough for them following the recession, our town’s young have already had to endure the loss of the Future Jobs Fund and in forthcoming years it will become much less financially viable for our town’s young to stay in higher education, with the Educational Maintenance Allowance being abolished and tuition fees rising threefold to £27,000 for a normal degree course.

On the plus side for Swindonians, early figures suggest that the council has received a better than expected funding settlement next year (though the devil will be in the detail) and I will be pressing the council’s Conservative administration to scrap some of their damaging proposed cuts and give relief to Swindon’s poor and vulnerable.

After years of inactivity, I am also pleased that regeneration is being put as a priority of this council and although I am not enthralled by some of the developments being proposed by Swindon’s Conservative administration, at least things are beginning to happen.

My pledge to Swindon citizens for 2011 is to work towards ensuring that unemployment doesn’t become a permanent feature in our town and work to ensure that Swindon’s public services are delivered at a high level, so that the vulnerable are protected during these hard times.

Once again, I would like to wish all Swindon citizens a wonderful 2011.

COUN DERIQUE MONTAUT Leader of the Swindon Labour Group