Petition opposing city expansion signed by 12,000

A group of MPs in Leicestershire have handed in a petition signed by more than 12,000 people opposing any expansion of Leicester's political boundary.

Conservative MPs Neil O'Brien, Alicia Kearns and Peter Bedford represent suburbs, towns and villages on the edge of the city which could be absorbed by an enlarged Leicester City Council as part of a major shake-up of council boundaries.

They presented the petition to Leicester's Labour mayor Sir Peter Soulsby on Friday, saying it demonstrated the strength of feeling against an expanded city council.

Soulsby said the Tory MPs had "little understanding of the issues" surrounding local government reorganisation and that an expanded city would benefit people who would be incorporated in a larger Leicester.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has said it wants to end the existing two-tier council system by creating new, larger, unitary authorities, with populations of about 500,000.

The 10 existing councils in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland have been asked to submit their preferred vision of the future local political map to ministers by Friday 29 November.

Soulsby has said the city's current boundary was a "historic accident" and there was now a "once-in-a-generation" chance for Leicester City Council to grow to provide the jobs, housing and council tax base it needed to make it sustainable in the future.

That would mean it growing into areas currently served by neighbouring councils.

However, Bedford, the MP for Mid Leicestershire, said he carried out a survey of residents on the issue and had between 3,500 and 4,000 responses.

"Only about 2% support the city council's position of creating an expanded city," he added.

"Quite clearly the residents in my constituency are totally against the city land grab."

Kearns, MP for Rutland and Stamford, who represents villages near Leicester including Bushby, Thurnby and Scraptoft, said: "Rural communities ought to be served by rural councils which understand rural needs and we don't want to be a tax cash cow for the city mayor."

O'Brien, MP for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston, said the "overwhelming majority" of people in his constituency also opposed expansion.

The three MPs said there should be a local referendum on any plans to expand the city, but the government has ruled that out.

At a council meeting on Thursday night, Leicester city councillors debated the authority's proposal.

A majority of Labour councillors voted to endorse the proposal while Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green opposition members opposed it.

Soulsby told the meeting most leaders of councils in Leicestershire had privately acknowledged the "overwhelming" case for extending the city boundary.

He said: "The only ones who are implacably opposed are county Tory MPs, though it is very evident most of them have little understanding of the issues and are portraying this as some kind of politically-motivated land grab by me personally."

He later told the BBC: "It is by no means to my personal political advantage, or that of my party, to do this, but it is what is best for the city and also the county."

Two rival proposals for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland are set to be presented to the MHCLG before Friday.

Reform UK-led Leicestershire County Council is pressing for it to be merged with the existing seven district councils in Leicestershire, and Rutland County Council, to form a single unitary authority providing public services to around 800,000 people.

The city council's boundary would remain unchanged under County Hall's proposal.

The county's district councils, together with Rutland County Council, said they would be proposing three unitary councils across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

Their preferred option is called North, City, South.

A North Leicestershire and Rutland council would serve the area currently covered by Charnwood borough, North West Leicestershire district, Melton borough and Rutland County Council.

A separate South Leicestershire council would cover the areas of Blaby district, Harborough district, Hinckley and Bosworth borough and Oadby and Wigston borough councils.

When bids have been assessed by ministers, a public consultation will take place in the New Year, before they choose a future model.

Elections for the new councils could be held in May 2027, with them taking over from 2028.

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