Swaythling passenger cars in the UK, leaving the Southampton made Transit as their only British-made vehicle. In 2009, with the new Kocaeli, Turkey, plant in full production, Ford reluctantly halved production at Southampton and reduced the workforce to just over 500. Employing 500 workers, the factory produced up to 35,000 Transit chassis/cab variant vehicles annually, of which 50% were exported. The Ford Southampton plant closed on 26 July 2013. The very first branch of the DIY chain B&Q was opened in Swaythling in 1969. The shop was owned by Messrs Block and Quayle. Swaythling railway station is on the main line
Dan Quayle and supported Bush. Quayle, then working as an investment banker in Phoenix, was mentioned as a candidate for Governor of Arizona prior to the 2002 election, but eventually declined to run. In a February 2010 interview with Megyn Kelly of Fox News, Quayle announced that his son, Ben, would be a candidate for the U.S. Congress, running for a seat representing Arizona's 3rd congressional district. Ben later won the election. In his first bid for re-election, due to redistricting, he faced off against fellow Republican Congressman David Schweikert in a primary and narrowly lost. On January 31, 2011, Quayle wrote