ABBEY MEADS: CON HOLD: There were no surprises in the solid Tory ward of Abbey Meads, where Dr Charles Owen Lister retained his seat with 641 votes, or 57.85 per cent of the total cast.

Labour's James Grant received 232 votes and the LibDems' Richard Law 228.

Coun Lister's first thought after the result was to call for more of the thrift which he believes has ensured his party's popularity in Swindon including looking at staffing levels in the council itself.

He said: "The most important thing is to give value for money.

"The council tax has gone up far too fast and far too much in recent years, and we have to be more realistic.

"My own view is that there needs to be a long, cool look at staffing levels. If we could save five per cent on staffing, that would translate into a saving of about ten per cent on council tax, and I know a lot of pensioners who would not mind ten per cent off their council tax."