MP Anne SnelgroveSouth Swindon's new Labour MP, Anne Snelgrove, talks to reporter Tamash Lal about her hopes for the town.

SLEEP was the last thing on the agenda for Anne Snelgrove during her first day as the new Labour MP for South Swindon.

After a gruelling election night, she was up bright and early for her first appointment.

Unfortunately, it was with her dentist.

Voters would have been none the wiser, but she spent election day nursing a painful abscess.

And yes, she did go to an NHS dentist. Yesterday was spent knocking back espressos in an effort to keep her brain cells fizzing during a series of interviews.

It was a narrow win she saw off the Tories by just 1,400 votes.

She blames distrust over the Iraq war for Labour's reduced majority in Westminster, and admits there is a gap between the Government and the public.

Backbenchers like herself must take more responsibility for bridging this void, she says.

In spite of weeks of arduous campaigning, she is buzzing with energy and raring to get stuck in to her political career.

And she has plenty of issues in her sights.

Education is a priority she plans to fight for better funding for Swindon.

A former teacher and local authority education advisor, she has taken a keen interest in the concerns of Swindon headteachers.

"I do recognise that funding per pupil in Swindon is less than elsewhere," she said."This is due to historic factors which are hard to change, but I intend to look into it."

Although not a critic of league tables per se, she would like to see adjustments to help schools with large numbers of pupils with learning difficulties.

"Some schools face a double whammy they use up more resources but don't score well in the tables," she said. Anne is also well aware of the amount of time teachers spend on paper work her husband Mike is a college lecturer.

The daughter of a blue-collar factory worker, Anne grew up on a council estate in Bracknell. It was a modest upbringing, and has left her with a passion for helping deprived areas of Swindon.

She plans to work closely with Swindon Council on regeneration projects, like that in Cavendish Square.

However, she believes Swindon's new housing developments could learn from less affluent areas.

"I grew up in an area like Parks and Walcot, it was a fantastic place where everyone looked out for each other," she said.

"We need this kind of community spirit to spread to other areas of Swindon."

Before embarking on her ambitious workload, there was still time for a celebration lunch with her team.

So was she looking forward to an early night? "No, I've got my first official engagement tonight, an arts project at St John's Church, I can't wait," she said.

IN ANNE'S VIEW

On the Blair Government in general: "We need to listen more in the future or we will be punished."

On the Coate Water development: "I'm in favour of the medical faculty of the university going there, but not the 2,000 homes and I'm alarmed at the business park. Others sites in the town have not been explored enough."

On business in Swindon: "We need to listen to small businesses about issues like cutting regulations, and to larger firms to ensure they stay in Swindon."

On the future of Swindon: "I want to see a bid for city status on the agenda again. We could easily become a world-class centre."

On international development: "This is an area I am really interested in. We need to increase the percentage of Gross Domestic Product we give to other countries and work towards cancelling more Third World debt."

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