20/08/2026
"They laughed at me. They said there's no defence industry in Swindon, no reason for us to move here."
That was the response Will Stone MP got when he first went out to large defence companies with an idea about what this town could become.
Swindon now has the UK's largest drone manufacturer and the largest uncrewed systems testing facility in Europe.
We sat down with Will for our Take One! series and talked about how that actually happened. The Honda closure and what it really cost the town beyond the jobs. Five years in the Ri**es and the mindset it left him with. More than 170 company meetings. Reading up on how drones work before bed because he refused to be the MP who did not understand his own brief.
It gets more personal too. Why he would rather educate someone than argue with them. What he says to people who worry the drone industry makes Swindon a target. The Harry Parker Bill and the weight of representing a family through the worst thing that can happen. And how he looks after his own head while carrying all of it.
As a Swindon resident running a Swindon business, this one genuinely left us feeling optimistic about where the town is heading.
Full interview on our YouTube channel, VisualPRUK. Link in the first comment.
Visual PR Productions - video production in Swindon for businesses, charities and organisations across Wiltshire and the South West.
www.visual-pr.co.uk | [email protected] | 01793 209806
