MP's 'referendum' shows opposition to city expansion

An MP has said an informal referendum has shown people in his constituency are almost entirely opposed to a potential expansion of Leicester's political boundary.

Next month the government is set to reveal a new political map for Leicestershire, which will see existing councils abolished and replaced with new local authorities.

One of the options ministers are considering is increasing the size of the city to absorb neighbouring areas, including Oadby and Wigston.

Conservative MP for Oadby and Wigston, Neil O'Brien, said he had recently written to 22,000 households in the area asking them whether they wanted to be incorporated into the city, and 97% of responses were against the idea.

The expansion of the city has been proposed by its Labour mayor Sir Peter Soulsby.

"This is a major change that will affect many thousands of people," O'Brien told the BBC.

"We've said those people should be given the final say in the decision through a local referendum.

"The government said 'no' to that, so I have carried out an informal referendum and the response was incredible.

"About half the people responded, and almost all of them were opposed to being swallowed up by the city.

"They couldn't have been clearer that this is something they really don't want to happen."

O'Brien secured a debate in parliament on Wednesday in which he and other Leicestershire Tory MPs set out their concerns

O'Brien said nobody had asked for the process, known as local government reorganisation (LGR).

"It's a bad idea being done for the wrong reasons in an undemocratic way," O'Brien said.

Melton and Syston Conservative MP, Ed Argar, said: "The reality is this is the answer to a question that no-one asked and, whatever anyone thinks about it, the government has made clear it will impose it, and if we and councils don't engage with it, it will simply be done to us."

Mid Leicestershire Conservative MP Peter Bedford said: "Reorganisation must be done with the consent of local residents, but the government appears to be unwilling to give the final say to the people who matter the most."

The Tory MPs said they believed their constituents would face higher council tax bills as part of an expanded city and said the proposal was a "land grab" by Soulsby to acquire land for housing for the city's growing population.

Soulsby said: "Neil O'Brien and the other Tory MPs have a job to do on behalf of their constituents, but I would warn them against misleading people on whether their council tax will rise.

"In reality, these areas (on the edge of Leicester) rely on the city for their services, but people in them have no say on how those services are administered.

"That would change if we expanded the city to cover the areas that are in effect part of a greater Leicester already and have been for many years."

Labour local government and housing minister Alison McGovern told MPs LGR was intended to address a "suite of failings" in local government, including in councils' finances, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision, homelessness and social care.

The government intends to end the existing two-tier council system by creating fewer, but larger, councils with greater powers.

McGovern said: "In two-tier areas, services and functions are split across county and district councils. It slows down decisions as different councils try to agree. It leads to fragmented public services, and it is confusing about who does what and who is responsible."

She said Leicestershire County Council had previously reported 140,000 people called the wrong council when trying to get help or support.

She said the government wanted "councils that matched the real economic footprint of our cities and towns, rather than lines drawn on a map 50 years ago."

Last year, Leicester City Council, Leicestershire County Council, the county's seven district authorities and Rutland County Council were asked to set out their preferred visions for the future to the government.

The city council's proposal would see the city boundary widened in all directions to take in suburbs, towns and villages currently served by neighbouring district and borough councils.

Areas that would be absorbed by the city include Oadby and Wigston, Blaby, Enderby, Braunstone Town, Glenfield, Anstey, Birstall and Syston.

Leicester currently has a population of about 372,000, but that would grow to 623,000 under the proposal.

The expansion would provide space for the city's estimated future housing need of 30,000 new homes by 2046, the council said.

The city council has also calculated the move would allow £46m of annual efficiency savings for councils across Leicestershire by reducing duplications of services, saving back office costs - allowing the money to be redirected to front-line services.

Leicestershire County Council also believes there should be two unitary councils covering Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

However, it is opposed to losing any political territory to an expansion of the city council.

Reform UK-led County Hall says its preferred business case would preserve historic borders and create one large council around the city serving some 800,000 residents.

The county council says its proposal would save £40m annually by reducing senior management and back office costs, allowing more council tax to be put into services.

Whatever the outcome, the county's district and borough councils are set to be abolished.

They, together with Rutland County Council, are proposing three unitary councils across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, and 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.

The district leaders said their plan would create three equally-balanced councils, each serving about 400,000 people, delivering economic growth, and saving £44m in efficiencies.

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