The local authorityCouncil · Unitary · England · 1 of 63 unitary authorities

Swindon.

Labour Party-controlled unitary. £219m net revenue. 20 wards across 3 parliamentary constituencies.

TypeUnitary
Seats57 councillors · 20 wards
Last election2 May 2024
Websiteswindon.gov.uk
Net revenue · 2025-26
£219m
Core spending power (MHCLG)
Band-D bill
£2,318
For the council slice (incl. precepts)
Composition
42/57
Labour Party 74%
Westminster
3
constituencies overlap · 2 MP parties
Dispatch
31 May 2026

Labour Party chamber, 2-party MP geography.

Swindon is a unitary controlled by Labour Party (42 of 57 seats). Net revenue is £219m for 2025-26. It covers 20 wards spanning 3 parliamentary constituencies. The MP geography crosses 2 parties — a heterogeneous setup.

§ 01Composition.57 seats · last contested 2 May 2024

Who sits in the chamber.

Lab 42Con 14LD 1

Labour Party 74% · last contested 2 May 2024

Councillors — the people.

CouncillorWardElected
Vijay Kumar ManroConBlunsdon Highworth2024
Nick GardinerConBlunsdon Highworth2023
Steve WeisingerConBlunsdon Highworth2022
Domingos Seby DiasLabCentral2024
Adorabelle Domnica ShaikhLabCentral2023
Anabelle Patricia PegadoConCentral2022
Neil Lawrence HopkinsLabChiseldon Lawn2023
Lawrence William ElliottConChiseldon Lawn2022
Barbara ParryConCovingham Dorcan2024
Dale James HeenanConCovingham Dorcan2023
Kevin James ParryConCovingham Dorcan2022
Marina StrinkovskyLabEastcott2024
Showing 12 of 57·All 57 councillors
§ 02Revenue mix & Band-D bill.MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table

Where revenue comes from.

64%
Council tax
£140.4m · median 59%
26%
Central grants
£57.4m · median 30%
9%
Business rates
£20.7m · median 11%

This is a high-council-tax unitary authoritie: 64% of revenue from council tax, above the cohort median (59%).

Source · MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table · derived (CT exact; grants/rates split from SFA baseline)

Band-D bill.

Council slice£1,778
County / upper-tier£0
Police£283
Fire & rescue£92
GLA precept£0
Parish average£165
Total Band-D£2,318

Parish precepts apply on top, vary by parish

For household tax breakdown

Use the income slider on My place to see income tax, NI, VAT and council tax against your earnings.

§ 03Service spend, ranked against peers.10 buckets · vs 62 other unitary authorities

How does Swindon split its revenue across services, compared with peer unitary authoritie-class councils? Each row is one of the ten standard service buckets. The vertical line at the centre is the cohort median share; the coloured square is where this council sits. Squares to the right of centre mean a bigger share of revenue than the median peer; to the left, a smaller share.

Adult Social Care33.8% of net spend · cohort median 27%
4 of 61+24% vs median
Education32.2% of net spend · cohort median 36%
38 of 61-10% vs median
Children's Services19.5% of net spend · cohort median 15%
14 of 61+32% vs median
Waste & Recycling5.3% of net spend · cohort median 6%
40 of 61-7% vs median
Public Health3.8% of net spend · cohort median 4%
26 of 61+4% vs median
Corporate & Central2.8% of net spend · cohort median 3%
32 of 61-1% vs median
Housing & Homelessness1.1% of net spend · cohort median 2%
54 of 61-45% vs median
Highways & Transport0.8% of net spend · cohort median 3%
56 of 61-69% vs median
Planning & Economic Development0.4% of net spend · cohort median 1%
57 of 61-71% vs median
Culture & Leisure0.3% of net spend · cohort median 2%
60 of 61-88% vs median
How to read these bars

The subtitle on each row (“X% of net spend”) is what share of this council’s revenue goes to that service. The rank (“15 of 61”) is where this council sits within the cohort, sorted by that share descending. The delta (“+26% vs median”) is a relative reading: the council allocates 26% more of its revenue to that service than the median peer would. A small absolute difference can still be a big relative one.

Higher share doesn’t mean waste — it can reflect demographic need (more older residents), rurality, or a policy choice (e.g. keeping a service in-house). Lower share doesn’t mean efficiency — some councils move costs to fees, ringfenced accounts, or grants. £-per-head would be sharper than share-of-revenue; LAD population is pending ingest. Comparisons are within the same council type only.

§ 04Top suppliers.11,124 payments · £72.0m gross · 3 Dec 202530 Jan 2026

Every invoice over £500, published under the Local Government Transparency Code. Best-effort, not statutory — counts and totals net negatives (refunds/reversals).

Top by total — last 180 days

SupplierPaidSharePmts
REDACTED PERSONAL DATA£7.85m10.9%2,333
MATRIX SCM LIMITED£3.03m4.2%9
EDUCATION SUPPORT (SWINDON) LTD£2.36m3.3%11
CROWDYS HILL SCHOOL£1.66m2.3%21
FIRST CITY NURSING SERVICES£1.39m1.9%749
VIRIDOR ENERGY LTD£1.22m1.7%2
THE WHITE HORSE FEDERATION£1.10m1.5%82
ANGLIAN BUILDING PRODUCTS LIMITED£0.98m1.4%162
NEW COLLEGE SWINDON£0.91m1.3%7
WEST MERCIA ENERGY£0.88m1.2%8

By service area · top supplier

ServiceTop supplierPaid
Corporate And CentralREDACTED PERSONAL DATA£3.21m
EducationREDACTED PERSONAL DATA£2.05m
Adult Social CareREDACTED PERSONAL DATA£1.80m
Housing And HomelessnessANGLIAN BUILDING PRODUCTS LIMITED£0.98m
Highways And TransportCONNOR CONSTRUCTION (SOUTH WEST) LTD£0.85m
Childrens ServicesBRUNEL EDUCATION£0.06m
§ 05Westminster constituencies — the overlap.20 wards split across 3 parliamentary seats

Swindon’s territory crosses 3 Westminster constituencies, with 2 MP parties represented. The middle column shows how much of the council each seat carries.

ConstituencyWards% of councilCurrent MP
Swindon South1050% Heidi AlexanderLab
Swindon North840% Will StoneLab
East Wiltshire210% Danny KrugerRef
Of note · the mixed-MP geography

This council holds 2 Ind and 1 Ind MPs. That’s an unusually heterogeneous geography for a Labour Party-controlled unitary — most weeks one MP is asking the council for something and another is praising it.

Sources, methods & last update
Method The dispatch paragraphs are AI-generated from the public sources listed below. Every figure links to its source. If we’re wrong, please tell us — corrections within 48 hours.
CompositionDemocracy Club (live)
DCLEAPIL v1.0 (historic)
Net revenueMHCLG Final LGFS
Core Spending Power table · 2025-26
Service spendDerived from MHCLG CSP shares
vs 62 other unitary authorities
Band-DMHCLG CSP · precept schedules
Police, Fire, Parish on top
SuppliersCouncil publication under LGTC
11,124 payments · 3 Dec 202530 Jan 2026
Westminster overlapONS Open Geography Portal
2023 boundaries
PopulationONS mid-year estimates
Pending ingest at LAD level