Will Stone

Early life Will Stone was born in Swindon, and grew up in Pinehurst. He attended the Headlands School, now Swindon Academy. He was an Army rifleman in the 1st Battalion, The Rifles.

Election Stone was elected as a councillor on Swindon Borough Council for the ward of Rodbourne Cheney in 2022. As a councillor, Stone called for more support for veterans.

He won in the Swindon North constituency as a member of the Labour Party at the 2024 general election, defeating the Conservative Party incumbent Justin Tomlinson by a margin of 4,103 votes (9.3%). and urging the government to provide veterans with more opportunities.

Drone manufacturing In early 2025, Stone was appointed as a 'business champion' of defence and green technology by the Labour Party. In this role, Stone has noted that one of his missions for Swindon North is to return the town to a place of high quality employment. To do this, he is leading efforts to utilise the Panattoni site for manufacturing in sectors like Defence and Drone production, in line with the Government's increase to defence spending of 2.5% from April 2027 and foster economic growth in Swindon. Overarching reasons for this move are to utilise the extra investment in defence whilst also supporting the UK's wider mission of scaling up defence capability. Many of the drone manufacturers he has engaged with have been involved in the defence of Ukraine and note their desire to support the UK and Ukraine's defence infrastructure. He is quoted as stating that the arrival of TEKEVER and other drone companies to the area 'opened the door for Swindon to become a hub for global exports, not just MOD contracts, and "We want Swindon to become a manufacturing and testing hub for global exporters and play its part in supporting the UK’s sovereign defence capability".

He has successfully brought Five major companies to Swindon, which note Will Stone's direct involvement being a root cause for their moves. Key voices in these companies noting Stone's involvement include Jon Parker (the founder and chief executive officer of Flyby and a former RAF fighter pilot and fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society), Mike Armstrong (Managing director of STARK in the UK) and Karl Brew (TEKEKVER's Head of Defence Unit)

The first investment in Swindon drone production was announced on 17 July 2025, with the German Defence company STARK announcing a 40,000 square foot factory in Swindon, outlining an initial 100 high-skilled jobs in the town, and marking the company's first expansion outside of Germany.

Will Stone commented "I’m proud to be working alongside STARK to bring defence manufacturing back to Swindon".

Beyond STARK, Stone has been engaging with small businesses involved in the drone industry. On 22 August 2025, Stone welcomed anti-drone personal defence SME Munin Dynamics "to the town, and was quoted for saying, "Having another defence company set up in Swindon highlights that we are transitioning into becoming a drone manufacturing hub supporting the nation's security". and noted that Stone's direct involvement had played a key part in their decision to set up in the town. FLYBY's new vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), pioneered in collaboration with the RAF, prompted the expansion and Mr Stone noted the investment "bolsters our nation’s defence and provides high-skilled jobs to the people of our town."

On the 15 September 2025, Stone announced alongside the Defence Secretary John Healey, that TEKEVER would be establishing themselves in the Spectrum building in Swindon to produce AR5 drone and AR3 model drones and bring 400 jobs to the town. The move to Swindon was facilitated by Stone, who supported the company in finding a facility, and co-ordinated the talks between Swindon Borough Council and TEKEVER. Stone commented "This announcement supports my ongoing commitment to establishing a drone cluster of excellence in Swindon".

On 3 March 2026 Neros UK also announced their plan to establish their headquarters in Swindon, Neros produce UAS and are aiming to bolster UK sovereign capability with Neros’ flagship system, Archer, is described by the company as having become the NATO standard for strike UAVs in its class. It uses a China free supply chain for all critical components with Will Stone noting "With five companies confirmed and more in the pipeline, it is undeniable that Swindon is now a major player in drone manufacturing".

Alongside the growth in the Drone Cluster, supply chain companies like Westwire are also expanding due to the rise in local business. Will Stone opened Westwire's expansion in Swindon, growing the company by 80 jobs in the town. Alongside this there are reports that Will Stone has secured investment by the MoD into Swindon on the Panattoni site, as part of the sites redevelopment after the closure of the Honda factory under the previous administration.

iCOMAT, a company specialising in advanced components for the aerospace industry and spun out of a Bristol University research project secured £5m funding from the UK Space Agency and decided to set up in Swindon North following the establishment of Stone's Drone hub in order to support the work of Swindon producers . MyDefence, a Danish Drone manufacturer also established their UK footprint in Swindon North, opening a commercial unit in Swindon's Town Centre, and a desire to open a manufacturing facility within the town by the end of 2026.

MOD Drone Testing Facility - DroneTEX After months of work, the UK Ministry of Defence has announced it will be occupying part of the Panattoni development in Swindon to host the largest indoor testing facility for uncrewed systems in Europe. The facility is the size of more than 10 football pitches, larger than the next alternative in Latvia and marks a central point of Will Stone MP's mission to turn Swindon into the Drone Manufacturing hub of the UK. This investment of a minimum lease of 15 years is the largest MOD investment in the Southwest in 2026 and is noted to support the UK in improving the quality and testing of uncrewed systems .

Brigadier Stu Nasse, Head of the UK Drone Coalition said: "This location was chosen for all the right reasons, access to a technically proficient workforce, strong physical and digital infrastructure, and proximity to all facets of defence. But most of all, it was the emerging ecosystem of uncrewed systems companies rallying here, thanks to the tireless efforts of Will Stone MP. His personal belief in this emerging technology, and in what the Uncrewed Systems Centre should be, is what will make this a success."

Whilst Will Stone referred to the announcement as "Having the MOD Uncrewed Testing Centre in Swindon is fantastic news for the town. it is going to provide hundreds of good jobs for the people of Swindon whilst supporting national security. Getting to this point has been a journey, but I am proud to have worked alongside the MOD, especially Brigadier Stu Nasse, as well as the Panattoniteam and Swindon Borough Council officers to get it across the line. Having the largest uncrewed testing facility in Europe based in Swindon will only increase investment in the town. Before being elected, I promised to bring back good employment to Swindon, and today's announcement delivers on that promise."

Road safety In February 2025, Stone introduced a Ten Minute Rule Bill to amend the Road Traffic Act 1988, which would make death caused by an unlicensed driver a careless driving offence under Section 3. Stone was motivated to introduce the bill in response to the death of 14-year-old teenager from Swindon, who was killed by an unlicensed driver in 2022. After the bill did not progress past its second reading due to debate time being used on the Terminally Ill (Adults) End of Life Bill, Stone put forward two amendments to the Police and Crime Bill, which would (1) make the maximum penalty for a driver convicted of driving without a licence who has never held one six months in prison or an unlimited fine or both. (2) make it possible to send someone who does not stop after an accident to prison for up to a year or to give them an unlimited fine. Following this the government confirmed it was considering addressing this issue in the Road Safety strategy.

The Government announced their Road Safety Strategy on 7 January 2026, announcing that Mr Stone's amendments to the Police and Crime Bill, addressing both a lack of license and insurance would be included in the Strategy's consultation.

Positions On March 27th 2025, Stone raised the prospect in the House of Commons of a direct passenger train between Swindon and Oxford . After campaigning on this issue, on the 18th May 2026 Will celebrated the First Swindon to Oxford direct passenger train journey in 23 years .

On 20 May 2025, Stone spoke out in favour of transgender rights in the United Kingdom saying "We should be doing our utmost to protect the trans community and ensure they have the same rights as everyone else and that they can live in dignity".

Stone has campaigned for local health service improvement, securing over £400,000 for repairs at Swindon's Great Western Hospital and £508,090 for Prospect Hospice between 2024–25.

Stone has also urged for improvements by Thames Water for their repeated failings in Swindon, accusing them of "failing spectacularly" and urging they claw back the £2.5mn of bonuses paid to senior executives in April and scrap plans to pay the same package again in December and instead reinvest the money into water infrastructure.

Stone has also supported the farming community through demanding the government bring forward a one-stop shop for farmers to access support, removing the myriad of funding streams and competing options for the farming community.

During the 2025 Freedom Flotilla, Stone supported Swindon North resident Mohammed Ali, and alongside Home Office ministers secured his release from an Israeli jail.

Personal life Stone is a black belt in both Judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He has committed to joining the Army Reserves.

Stone is a fan of the Warhammer series of tabletop games and played at a tournament in Nottingham on 2 September 2025.