It is a bleak prospect at the best of the times, a place where unsuspecting motorists pause, stare and, all too often, panic. Yesterday, however, even the Magic Roundabout was not the gloomiest place in Swindon.

With less than five weeks to go before Christmas, Honda, the town’s largest employer, said that it was suspending production for two months at its largest European car plant next year. Within hours, rumours spread through this corner of Wiltshire and over the internet that worse was to come. Kenneth Keir, Honda’s managing director, said that the company was “totally committed” to Swindon and that no jobs would be lost – but that was being taken with a grain of salt by locals. Mr Keir also admitted that the market for Honda’s products appeared unlikely to improve soon.

Swindon is facing an uncertain future. Having become one of the UK’s most economically successful towns, it could, until recently, boast almost 100 per cent employment. Its location on the M4 corridor has attracted several large employers, including Motorola, WH Smith – and Honda. The Japanese manufacturer’s giant factory at South Marston, three miles from the centre of Swindon, covers more than 350 acres.

The Honda factory is symbolically significant, too. Swindon’s fortunes were built on the railway works founded by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, which turned out its last engine in 1960. Cars have replaced trains as the powerhouse of the local economy.

Market researchers regard Swindon as the perfect microcosm of the UK. If it is heading in an uncertain direction - something that many wonder when confronted by the bewildering six-into-one-won’t-go, less-than-magic roundabout in the town centre, it doesn’t bode well for the rest of the country.

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