In an interview with Swindon24, Deputy Leader Councillor Jake Chandler said the Conservatives were preparing a new council plan to replace Labour’s priorities. He described the previous administration’s “better, greener and fairer” missions as “incredibly vague”.
“We want to get back to the tangibles that really help people,” he said.
He added that further details would be announced in the coming weeks.
Labour group leader Councillor Jim Robbins has since questioned whether Councillor Chandler was referring to the council’s wider Heart of Swindon regeneration strategy, claiming there had been confusion between separate council plans.
“It appears that he’s misunderstood which plan he was talking about,” Mr Robbins told Swindon24.
“It’s really disappointing that the deputy leader of the council clearly doesn’t know the difference.”
Cllr Robbins said the Heart of Swindon plan was created as a long-term regeneration strategy rather than a party political programme.
He said the previous Labour administration had worked alongside residents, councillors from across the chamber and council officers to develop a shared vision for the town centre that would continue beyond a single council term.
“We worked incredibly hard as an administration to work with both the public and the rest of the councillors and council officers to make sure that this was a really clear long-term cross-party vision for Swindon,” he said.
“That’s why we worked so hard to get cross-party support for it, so that businesses we want to invest in Swindon have got the certainty that the plan is in place.”
Mr Robbins said Labour had no objection to the new administration setting its own priorities, but wanted any replacement strategy to be developed with the same level of public consultation and cross-party backing.
“We’re really keen to make sure that if something is going to come along to replace it, that it goes through that same process of making sure that residents really buy in, and that council officers who are going to be responsible for doing a lot of the work buy into it.”
He also said there had so far been little detail about the Conservatives’ alternative vision.
“There doesn’t seem to be much detail about what exactly the new administration are proposing,” he said.
“I really hope we’re not going to be in a position where they’re getting rid of some stuff that has been supported by the people of Swindon, supported by council officers, just because they’re seen as Labour initiatives.
“We should be able to take the best of the ideas from all of the parties and work together for the good of the town.”
The Conservatives are expected to publish further details of their council priorities in the coming months.
