North West Leicestershire (constituency)

North West Leicestershire is a constituency in Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England, covering most of the local government district of the same name. Its largest town is Coalville, which has a population of around 23,000.^[2] Other settlements include the towns of Ashby-de-la-Zouch and Castle Donington and the villages of Whitwick, Hugglescote, Ibstock, Measham, Moira and Kegworth.

Coalville and its nearby villages form part of the Leicestershire and South Derbyshire Coalfield and have a history of coal mining. Ashby-de-la-Zouch is surrounded by coal mining villages but itself has no history of the industry; it is instead a historic small market town known for its ruined castle. Castle Donington lies adjacent to East Midlands Airport, which is a significant local employer. The constituency generally has average levels of wealth; there is some deprivation in Coalville whilst Ashby-de-la-Zouch and Castle Donington are mostly affluent.^[3] House prices are similar to the rest of the East Midlands and lower than the UK average.^[4]

Residents have a similar age profile to the rest of the country with a marginally higher proportion of over-50s.^[5] They have average levels of income, low rates of child poverty and are more likely to be homeowners compared to the rest of the UK.^[4][6] Residents have average levels of education and a high proportion work in the transport and manufacturing sectors.^[4][7] The percentage claiming unemployment benefits is around half the UK-wide rate.^[6] White people made up 96% of the population at the 2021 census.^[8]

At the local district council, the constituency's towns and larger villages are represented by Labour Party councillors (except Coalville's eastern neighbourhoods which elected Liberal Democrats) whilst the rural areas and small villages voted for Conservatives. At the county council, which held elections more recently, almost all seats in the constituency were won by Reform UK. Voters here strongly supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum; an estimated 61% voted in favour of Brexit compared to the UK-wide figure of 52%.^[4]

The constituency was contested for the first time in 1983, and Conservative candidate David Ashby became its first MP that year. He stood down in 1997 and Labour's David Taylor won the seat, holding it until he died of a heart attack in December 2009. Taylor had already announced that he would stand down at the 2010 general election. With the next election being due on 6 May 2010, it was considered uneconomic and (based on precedent) unnecessary to arrange a by-election. In the 2010 election, Andrew Bridgen took the seat for the Conservatives, with a swing of 12% from Labour to the Conservatives and with a smaller Labour–Liberal Democrats swing. Bridgen's majority was 7,511 or 14.5% of the total votes cast.

Bosworth and Loughborough prior to 1983

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Leicestershire and Rutland