The history of local government in Swindon has its origins in the Middle Ages. After a long period of very little change, there followed a new era, beginning in the 19th century, of constant redevelopment and re-adjustment.

Parliamentary representation

The first recorded

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

in Swindon's history are John Ildhelfe and Richard Pernaunt. In 1295 they were elected into the

Model Parliament The Model Parliament is the term, attributed to Frederic William Maitland, used for the 1295 Parliament of England of King Edward I. History This assembly included members of the clergy and the aristocracy, as well as representatives from the v ...

King Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal ...

. Others noted are Richard Neel (the 43rd parliament of Edward I in 1304) and

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

and Robert Crekkelade ( Henry VI's first parliament in 1422). Swindon became part of the constituency of Cricklade in 1660, the constituency later being represented by

lords of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seigno ...

, members of the

Goddard family The Goddard family were a prominent landed family chiefly living in the northern region of the English counties of Wiltshire and Hampshire and the western part of Berkshire, between the Tudor period and the early 20th century. The Goddard fa ...

, and also

Daniel Gooch Sir Daniel Gooch, 1st Baronet (24 August 1816 – 15 October 1889) was an English railway locomotive and transatlantic cable engineer. He was the first Locomotive Superintendent, Superintendent of Locomotive Engines on the Great Western Rai ...

of the Great Western Works. In 1918, the parliamentary constituency of Cricklade was abolished and the Swindon constituency was formed. In 1997, the parliamentary constituency of Swindon was divided into

North Swindon North Swindon is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Justin Tomlinson, a Conservative. History North Swindon was created in 1997 and has been a bellwether since then. However, during the 2010s, ...

and

South Swindon South Swindon is a constituency in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Sir Robert Buckland, a Conservative, who previously served as Justice Secretary and Welsh Secretary ...

, each with one member of parliament.

Parliamentary constituencies

Cricklade (UK Parliament constituency) Cricklade was a parliamentary constituency named after the town of Cricklade in Wiltshire. From 1295 until 1885 United Kingdom general election, the general election of 1885, Cricklade was a parliamentary borough, returning two members of pa ...

1660–1918 * Swindon (UK Parliament constituency) 1918–1997 *

North Swindon (UK Parliament constituency) North Swindon is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Justin Tomlinson, a Conservative. History North Swindon was created in 1997 and has been a bellwether since then. However, during the 2010s, ...

1997–present *

South Swindon (UK Parliament constituency) South Swindon is a constituency in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Sir Robert Buckland, a Conservative, who previously served as Justice Secretary and Welsh Secretary. ...

1997–present

Local government

From the 16th century to the 17th, Swindon was governed by a

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

– men who were elected from qualifying residents of means. They were mostly responsible for the work of the parish officers, financial matters affecting the church and the

poor relief In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

. In 1849, Old Swindon petitioned unsuccessfully to be given a Local Board under the

Public Health Act 1848 Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environment ...

, but the town remained a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

for a further fifteen years. In 1864, following the possibility of Swindon and

Highworth Highworth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, England, about northeast of Swindon town centre. The 2011 Census recorded a population of 8,151. The town is notable for its Queen Anne and Georgian buildings, dating ...

being merged, the

Local Government Act 1858 Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environmenta ...

was applied to both New and Old Swindon, with each area setting up its own local administration. The New Swindon Local Board held its first meeting on 27 April 1864 at the Mechanics' Institute, with the GWR's William Frederick Gooch as chairman. The Old Swindon Local Board met for the first time on 10 August 1865 at the Town Hall, Old Swindon, with a grocer, Phillip Hawe Mason, as chairman. In 1889,

Wiltshire County Council Wiltshire County Council (established in 1889) was the county council of Wiltshire in the South West of England, an elected local Government body responsible for most local government services in the county. As a result of the 2009 restructur ...

had been formed to take responsibility for several strategic local government services in the whole of

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. Swindon came under its authority at this level for more than a hundred years, until the creation of its own

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

in 1997. Until then, it was represented in the county council by several county councillors. One of these, John Lindow Calderwood, was chairman of the county council from 1949 to 1960. The local boards remained in existence until 1894, when they were both converted into Urban District Councils. In 1900 the Swindon New Town and Old Swindon urban districts were merged, to form a single

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

of Swindon. On 1 April 1974, the Local Government Act 1972 created a

non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of Districts of England, local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''shi ...

of Thamesdown, consisting of Swindon along with the former Highworth Rural District. The name alludes to the two natural boundaries of the region, the River Thames to the north and the Wiltshire and Marlborough Downs to the south. The name itself was described as "absurd and universally unpopular". On 1 April 1997, Thamesdown became a unitary authority independent of Wiltshire County Council, following a review by the Local Government Commission for England. The resulting new authority was renamed the Borough of Swindon soon afterwards, but the name 'Thamesdown' is still used for some purposes. The local bus company was called

Thamesdown Transport Swindon's Bus Company (formerly Thamesdown Transport) is a bus operator in England, serving Swindon and the surrounding area. Previously owned by Swindon Borough Council, in February 2017 ownership passed to the Go-Ahead Group and the operat ...

until its sale by the Council in February 2017 to the

Go-Ahead Group The Go-Ahead Group plc is a passenger transport company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, with operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore, Norway and Germany. Formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange, in 2022 it was purchased ...

David Murray John

David Murray John OBE became Swindon town clerk in 1937, and later was the architect of the town's post-war growth. He engendered diversity of jobs in Swindon so that the town would not rely solely on the railway for employment. After the

Town Development Act 1952 The New Towns Acts were a series of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to found new settlements or to expand substantially existing ones, to establish Development Corporations to deliver them, and to create a Commission to wind up the C ...

was passed, the Council was able to make a persuasive case for Swindon as an overspill district, ideally suited to accommodate a good number of London's jobless. The Act provided for rehousing subsidies,

compulsory purchase Compulsion may refer to: * Compulsive behavior, a psychological condition in which a person does a behavior compulsively, having an overwhelming feeling that they must do so. * Obsessive–compulsive disorder, a mental disorder characterized by ...

of land and financial assistance from governments to provide local amenities and services. With negotiations successful between Swindon Council,

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

and the Borough of Tottenham, Murray John and his officers proceeded with a series of diversifications that eventually expanded the town's industrial base and helped the local economy, while increasing the stock of available council housing. The companies of

Plessey The Plessey Company plc was a British electronics, defence and telecommunications company. It originated in 1917, growing and diversifying into electronics. It expanded after World War II by acquisition of companies and formed overseas compani ...

and

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public i ...

assisted by agreeing to employ over 1,500 of those moving to Swindon; the Council funded the creation of

industrial estate An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park ...

s and housing developments. In the period 1951–1981, Swindon's population grew by 70 percent, "some 58 per cent higher than the national average over the same period". In the 1980s, Swindon became the fastest growing town in Europe. Murray John died in 1974 and is honoured in the name of the David Murray John Tower in the centre of Swindon. Built in 1976, it rises to a height of 83 metres (272 ft) and is the tallest building in the town.

Civil parishes

The former municipal borough was unparished. An Order effective April 2017 created the

civil parishes In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority. ...

of Central Swindon North and Central Swindon South, the boundary between them being the Great Western main line. The parish council of the latter parish styles itself as Swindon South.

City status

In 1993 Swindon Borough Council and the Swindon Chamber of Commerce unveiled a joint public relations venture "Swindon – City for the 21st Century" to raise awareness of the town and gauge public opinion for a potential bid for

city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, city status ...

. The partnership mounted an exhibition in London but the project stalled. By the 1990s, Swindon had become one of the most important centres along the

M4 Corridor The M4 corridor is an area in the United Kingdom adjacent to the M4 motorway, which runs from London to South Wales. It is a major high-technology hub. Important cities and towns linked by the M4 include (from east to west) London, Slough, Brackne ...

. During this period the town continued to attract new, predominantly hi-tech, companies to the town and encouraged relocation. However the town's infrastructure and amenities did not develop to the same level. The borough council made formal bids for city status in 1999 and 2002 but both were unsuccessful. To overcome the problems raised at the failed city bids, the town council invited an Urban Regeneration Company into the town to oversee the

blueprint A blueprint is a reproduction of a technical drawing or engineering drawing using a contact print process on light-sensitive sheets. Introduced by Sir John Herschel in 1842, the process allowed rapid and accurate production of an unlimited number ...

for revitalising much of the

town centre A town centre is the commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town. Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train or bus s ...

References

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