Harborough, Oadby and Wigston () is a constituency covering the south east of Leicestershire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Neil O'Brien of the Conservative Party.
It is considered a safe seat for the Conservative Party, as the seat has been represented by a Conservative MP since 1950.
Before the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the constituency was known as Harborough up until the 2024 general election.
The Harborough, Oadby and Wigston constituency is located in Leicestershire. It contains the suburban towns of Oadby and WigstonâÂÂwhich lie on the outskirts of the city of Leicester and form part of its wider urban areaâÂÂthe outlying town of Market Harborough and the villages of Great Glen and Kibworth. Oadby and Wigston grew during the 20th century as commuter towns serving Leicester. Wigston has average levels of wealth whilst Oadby is affluent. Market Harborough is a historic market town and is also generally wealthy. House prices in the constituency are similar to national averages and higher than the rest of the East Midlands.
Compared to the rest of the country, residents of the constituency are older and more likely to be homeowners. They have high levels of income and professional employment. White people made up 75% of the population at the 2021 census and Asians, mostly Indians, were the largest ethnic minority group at 18%. The Asian community is concentrated in Oadby, where they make up around half the population. At the local council level, the constituency's three towns are mostly represented by Liberal Democrats whilst the rural areas and villages elected Conservatives. An estimated 52% of voters in the constituency supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, identical to the nationwide figure.
1885âÂÂ1918: The Municipal Borough of Leicester, the Sessional Divisions of Lutterworth and Market Harborough, and parts of the Sessional Divisions of Leicester and East Norton.
1918âÂÂ1950: The Urban Districts of Market Harborough, Oadby, and Wigston, and the Rural Districts of Blaby, Hallaton, Lutterworth, and Market Harborough.
1950âÂÂ1955: The Urban Districts of Market Harborough, Oadby, and Wigston, and the Rural Districts of Blaby, Lutterworth, and Market Harborough.
1955âÂÂ1974: The Urban Districts of Market Harborough and Wigston, and the Rural Districts of Blaby, Lutterworth, and Market Harborough.
1974âÂÂ1983: The Urban Districts of Market Harborough, Oadby, and Wigston, and the Rural Districts of Billesdon and Market Harborough.
1983âÂÂ1997: The District of Harborough wards of Billesdon, Bosworth, Easton, Fleckney, Glen, Houghton, Kibworth, Langton, Lubenham, Market Harborough Bowden, Market Harborough North, Market Harborough South, Market Harborough West, Scraptoft, Thurnby, and Tilton, and the Borough of Oadby and Wigston.
1997âÂÂ2010: The District of Harborough wards of Bosworth, Fleckney, Glen, Kibworth, Langton, Lubenham, Market Harborough Bowden, Market Harborough North, Market Harborough South, and Market Harborough West, and the Borough of Oadby and Wigston wards of All Saints, Bassett, Brocks Hill, Brookside, Central, Fairfield, Grange, St Peter's, St Wolstan's, and Westfield.
2010âÂÂ2024: The District of Harborough wards of Bosworth, Fleckney, Glen, Kibworth, Lubenham, Market Harborough Great Bowden and Arden, Market Harborough Little Bowden, Market Harborough Logan, and Market Harborough Welland, and the Borough of Oadby and Wigston wards of Oadby Brocks Hill, Oadby Grange, Oadby St Peter's, Oadby Uplands, Oadby Woodlands, South Wigston, Wigston All Saints, Wigston Fields, Wigston Meadowcourt, and Wigston St Wolstan's.
Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency is as follows (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
Minor adjustments to take account of ward boundary changes.
The constituency takes its name from the town of Market Harborough, seat of the Harborough local government district, combined with the Borough of Oadby and Wigston which adjoins Leicester.
The seat was created in the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 and in boundary changes in 1974 reflecting the growth in population and electorate of Leicestershire lost a large amount of its territory to the new seat of Blaby.
South Leicestershire before 1885
UKIP originally selected Clive Langley, who was replaced by Mark Hunt in March 2015.
General Election 1939âÂÂ40:
Another general election was required to take place before the end of 1940, however this did not happen due to the Second World War. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected:
General Election 1914âÂÂ15:
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915, however this was not held due to the First World War. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected: