SWINDON should not seek to acquire city status, say Adver readers in an online poll.

It follows recent news that residents have taken an interest in launching a new bid for Swindon to become a city.

Rodbourne man Alan Simms, 57, said: “Swindon is quite cosmopolitan in many ways and I think it would be a real badge of honour if we could officially call ourselves a city.”

But senior councillors dismissed the suggestion, describing it as “an unhelpful distraction” which would bring few tangible benefits to Swindon.

Pouring more cold water on the idea, almost 50 per cent of Adver readers who took part in an online poll said ‘No’ to city status.

Out of the 511 votes cast, 35 per cent said ‘Yes’ to the question ‘Would you like to see Swindon become a city?’, 47 per cent said ‘No’ and 17 per cent said ‘Not bothered’.

But with little enthusiasm on the council benches, Swindon is highly unlikely to become a city any time soon.