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** Monthly News from Neil O’Brien MP
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December 2025

Hello,

Welcome to the December edition of my e-newsletter.

Update on city expansion

Last month I was joined by two other Leicestershire MPs (Alicia Kearns and Peter Bedford) to present a petition of more than 12,000 signatures in opposition to proposals that would see large areas of Leicestershire absorbed into the city. We presented the petition to Leicester City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby, and will also present it to government ministers.


Under forthcoming Local Government Reorganisation proposals required by the Labour Government, the City Council has submitted a bid that could see the whole of the Borough of Oadby & Wigston, Harborough District, and Blaby District taken into Leicester City’s boundaries.


We launched the petition earlier this year against these plans which represents a major land and tax grab, threatening higher council tax, more forced housebuilding, and stripping investment from county communities.


We handed in the petition at Leicester City Hall before we met with the City Mayor to set out our concerns.

Congratulations to Cllr David Page

Earlier this month, yet another by-election took place in the Logan ward of Market Harborough, and I’m pleased to share that the Conservative candidate, David Page, won the seat from the Liberal Democrats. David’s win will give opposition councillors a stronger voice to hold the Council to account - particularly on the Local Plan, which proposes thousands of new houses in our area, despite us already building at a much higher rate than most parts of the country.

David already serves as a County Councillor and has been heavily involved in the campaign to stop the Leicester land grab and will be working with me and other councillors on our campaign to say no to this outrageous proposal.

New Aurora trains enter service

I recently visited Derby to see the brand-new East Midlands Railway Aurora trains which have now entered service on the Midland Main Line, serving passengers travelling to and from Market Harborough, Leicester and London.


During the visit, I was shown the full range of features in the new £400 million fleet, including the upgraded interiors and the driver’s cab.


The new fleet consists of 33 five-car bi-mode units, built by Hitachi Rail, which can run on electric overhead wires where available – reducing carbon emissions by up to 66% and providing a much quieter ride.


Key improvements for passengers include:
* More capacity: around 24% more seats than the current Meridian trains.
* More comfort: 19% more legroom.
* Modern connectivity: free high-speed WiFi, power and USB points at every seat, and improved mobile signal thanks to specially-designed window glass.
* Greater accessibility and luggage space: automatic doors with sensors, dedicated wheelchair spaces with power sockets, and up to 136% more luggage capacity.


It is great to finally see these new trains on the line, and like many others I am looking forward to using them in service. This is long overdue, as they were commissioned under the last government but have been delayed. However, it is hugely welcome that they will enter service next month.


The current Meridian trains are definitely showing a lot of wear and tear after years of intensive use. It will be great to ride on these new trains, which are a vast improvement. The better WiFi and phone signal will also be something to look forward to.


I will keep pressing for the full electrification of the Midland Main Line, as well as improvements to timetabling. I am also pressing ministers on ticket pricing.

Fix the A6 junctions in Kibworth

I have launched a new petition calling for urgent safety improvements to the Church Road and New Road junctions in Kibworth, after Leicestershire County Council confirmed that it has no longer has any plan or timetable to fix them, despite identifying the need to do so nine years ago.


Residents will be astonished to learn that instead of prioritising the most dangerous points on the A6, the County Council is pushing ahead with a separate scheme at Wistow Road roundabout – prioritising cycle and pedestrian upgrades while leaving the Kibworth junctions untouched.


The County Council has known since 2016 that these junctions are unsafe. In 2017 it formally identified the need for improvements. As recently as 2021 I was assured it was pushing ahead with plans to improve them and would get the money needed from contributions from housing developers.


Those promises have now been withdrawn and today we are told there is now no plan, no money and no timetable. Everyone in Kibworth can see this is totally unacceptable.


People aren’t asking for fancy extras – they’re asking for the basics: safe junctions they can pull out of without risking their lives. It’s staggering that the County Council has chosen to spend the entire £1.1 million pot elsewhere, when these two junctions have been the biggest problem for nearly a decade.


People in Kibworth will think it is mad that they are prioritising cycle paths elsewhere over fixing these increasingly dangerous junctions.


Harborough District Council should also accept some of the blame for pushing through a new Local Plan without properly addressing traffic pressures on the A6. They still don’t have a serious, joined-up plan for the A6 corridor. They are pushing through a Local Plan that puts hundreds of new houses in Kibworth and surrounding villages – and that will only make the problems at these junctions worse.


With the Labour Government increasing Harborough’s housing target by 42%, the pressure is only going to increase – yet neither council has a credible plan for the A6.
Sign the petition here ([link removed])

Meadow Hill residents deserve better
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I am demanding an urgent action from developer Vistry and Severn Trent Water after heavy rain recently caused drains on Meadow Hill in Wigston to overflow with sewage, leaving residents facing deeply unpleasant and unsafe conditions.


During the downpour, sewage spilled into the street and some nearby homes were left unable to use their toilets due to waste backing up through the system. Other residents reported being unable to use washing machines because of the drainage issues.


The problem is not new: these issues have been affecting the estate for seven years.


This situation is totally unacceptable. No one should have sewage coming into their street or be unable to use basic facilities in their own home. Residents have been living with this for years and they’ve had enough.


We were making some progress following a meeting we held several months ago with Vistry and Severn Trent, but with various people having left their positions, the issue seems to have been dropped, and the problem persists.


I have contacted Vistry and Severn Trent again to demand immediate action. I have been raising this issue with them for many months, but progress has been far too slow. Residents deserve a proper fix.

Good news for Kibworth Scouts

Kibworth Scouts have secured a six-month extension to continue using the former library building on the Square.

The building, which is owned by Leicestershire County Council, has been used by the Scouts since the library relocated to the Old Grammar School Hall, now known as the Kibworth Hub. With the lease due to end in early January 2026, the group faced uncertainty about where they would meet while progressing plans for a new permanent Scout facility elsewhere in the village.

After I wrote to the Council’s chief executive, the County Council has now agreed a six-month licence, giving the Scouts valuable breathing space while they continue fundraising and planning for their new home.

This is really good news. The six-month extension gives the group the certainty they needed and means they can keep meeting in a space that works well for them. I’m grateful to the officials at the Council for engaging constructively and reaching a sensible solution.

Christmas Delivery Office visit

Earlier this month I visited the Market Harborough Royal Mail Delivery Office to see operations during the busy Christmas period.

I met some of the posties before they set off on their morning delivery rounds and spoke to Customer Operations Manager Paul Smith about the scale of Christmas mail volumes and the challenges of delivering cards and parcels in the run-up to Christmas Day.

The visit comes as Royal Mail enters its busiest time of year, with thousands of items passing through the Market Harborough office each day in the final weeks before Christmas.

Keep in touch

As ever, you can follow the work I am doing on my Facebook page ([link removed]) . Please do consider forwarding this to anyone living locally, and if I can be of any help, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.

I’d like to wish you a very Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year!

With best wishes,

Neil O’Brien

Member of Parliament for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston

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