Two Labour councillors have defected to the Green Party, following in the footsteps of a colleague days earlier.

Swindon Borough Council’s Tom Butcher and Repi Begum will sit as Greens until the end of their terms in May 2026. Councillor Ian Edwards made the same move last week.

Labour still has 35 councillors, with a majority of 13. But a spokesman for Swindon Labour Group said the news was “hugely disappointing” and that the defectors were “elected by local people to represent them as a Labour voice”.

New national Green Party leader Zack Polanski said: “Swindon is a political bellwether, and what we’re seeing here is happening across the country.”

In a joint statement, Ms Begum and Mr Butcher said: "Whilst our values and beliefs have not changed, unfortunately, Labour has moved away from those values.

“When we have been elected on our values and beliefs in a just and equal world, it’s important that we can represent that authentically through a party which best aligns with those values.”