YOUR SWINDON, YOUR VERDICT: In the third of a series of special reports ISABEL FIELD looks at how Swindon will vote in the general election, whether they feel they are getting value for money from their council tax and what Swindon Council's top priority should be.

SWINDON is in for a nail-biting general election night with Labour and the Tories neck and neck in their support across the town.

With a General Election likely to be only a few months away and with May 5 being the expected polling date, the fight is on for the backing of undecided voters who could determine the election result.

The Your Swindon Your Verdict survey shows exactly the same number of people just over one in five back Labour and the Tories, while the only larger group is made up of those people who have not yet decided how to vote.

Of the 897 people surveyed 192, or 21.4 per cent, each backed Labour and the Conservatives and 23.9 per cent did not know who they would vote for. The Liberal Democrats got 14.5 per cent of the vote.

The news was welcomed by the town's Conservatives, who are challenging for control of the South and North Swindon seats.

Robert Buckland will stand for the Tories in South Swindon where Labour MP Julia Drown is standing down.

"This shows that any suggestion by Labour that this is a straight-forward handover from Julia Drown to a successor is a lot of nonsense," he said.

"I am very interested to know that a lot of people are still to make up their minds and it will be those people I will be seeking to convince. I think we are going to win it."

But Anne Snelgrove, Labour candidate in South Swindon, insisted she was not complacent.

"I always said that we can never take any vote for granted," she said.

"Labour will have to fight South Swindon very hard.

"I have never been complacent about it. I think a lot of people haven't made up their minds yet. The choice is whether they want to go forward with Labour or back to the Tory party."

Mrs Snelgrove also pointed to the party's success in the recent Walcot by-election, in which Labour won the seat from the Conservatives.

"That result has given me some confidence that Labour will win again in North and South Swindon," she said.

The Liberal Democrat candidate for South Swindon, Sue Stebbing, insisted the Lib Dems were still in the running.

"Of course with that percentage of 'don't knows' it is very far from a two horse race," she said.

"Nearly a quarter of the electorate are still to make up their minds and probably many of them are looking for an alternative to Labour and the Conservatives.

"That is the opportunity for the Lib Dems to convince people that our policies are very much the best and we are the party they should support."

Ms Drown won the seat in 2001 with a majority of 7,341 while in North Swindon Labour MP Michael Wills had a slightly larger majority of 8,105.

Justin Tomlinson, Abbey Meads councillor and Tory candidate for North Swindon, was not surprised the survey had the two parties more closely matched four years on.

"That actually does reflect what we are seeing on the streets," he said.

"There are a huge number of people who are still to make their minds up. We have got to convince them we are worth their vote.

"I am not surprised it is neck and neck. It clearly shows that Swindon is a two-horse race and I am sure it will be a nail-biting finish.

"Both parties will be targeting the Swindon constituencies as key seats and this proves there is everything to play for."

Mr Wills agreed the fight would be a close one but said he did not take too much notice of opinion polls.

"At the end of the day people will make their decision on polling day," he said. "You do your best and try to work hard for people. There is not much else you can do.

"You can't worry about polls, good or bad. It was always going to be a very close race it is a marginal seat. There is one vote that counts and that is on polling day."

One element of the poll certain not to hold true is the proportion of Swindon residents who vote.

Just nine per cent of people said they would not vote but at the last election almost 40 per cent of eligible residents did not turn out at the polls.

Of the 7.7 per cent of people who would vote for another party around half named the UK Independence Party, which polled 800 and 713 votes in North and South Swindon respectively last time round.

Mike Evemy, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Eastcott and candidate for North Swindon seat, was not available for comment.