Fox is full of praise during flying visit
Swindon Advertiser
www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk
By Emily Walker
SHADOW defence secretary Liam Fox praised Conservative town and district councillors for winning every seat on Wootton Bassett Town Council. Mr Fox, who is MP for Woodspring, met nine of the 16 Conservative local councillors now running the town.

Mr Fox addressed a gathering at the town hall and said: "You must all be very, very pleased. This is a perfect example of what we can do if we campaign on local issues. What really matters to people is not just the policies but also how you deliver them. This way we can show people that local campaigning in local issues wins local elections."

Mr Fox asked his following what the most important issues were for people in Wootton Bassett. Councillor Allison Bucknall who regained her seat in te Lyneham Ward local election by double the votes from the last election success in 2003, told Mr Fox: "From our canvassing I think we all saw that there were three priorities that kept cropping up.

"People around here are very concerned about the closure of the leisure centre. The town centre shops are losing business because people have to pay to park outside them just to pop in for a few things and there is a lot of traffic that unnecessarily comes through the centre of town. When considering planning I think it is essential to think about how people are going to get there when there are already so many trucks in this narrow street."

Councillor Toby Sturgis said that the previous Liberal Democrat administration had helped their election battle. "For them to close the leisure centre the month before the election was a stroke of genius. "We couldn't ask for anything better," he said.

Coun Jacqui Lay said she was delighted by the MP's visit. "We have all done really well here and it is great to have Liam Fox come here and tell us that all our hard work is appreciated."

Mr Fox visited the town after a flying visit to RAF Lyneham. The Conservative defence spokesman was given a tour of the base and personnel explained how soldiers killed in Iraq were now repatriated through the base.

"The RAF asked me to thank you for the amount of respect the people of the people of Wootton Bassett have shown to the soldiers brought home. "I think it is very touching for both RAF Lyneham and the soldiers' families to see that kind of welcome."

Members of Wootton Bassett Royal British Legion have paid tribute to the war dead at the town's war memorial. The veterans have saluted the hearses passing through the town centre since repatriation was moved to Lyneham from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.