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.
Constituency profile
North West Leicestershire's main settlements are the small towns of Coalville and Ashby-de-la-Zouch. The population is divided between Labour-inclined former mining areas with high rates of employment[2] and low social housing dependency,[3][n 2] and Conservative-inclined rural villages, with most people focused close to the two towns named.[4] The seat has been a bellwether since 1983, as the winning party has formed the government.
In 2011, UK Coal were given permission to develop an opencast coal mining pit on the site of the former Minorca colliery on the outskirts of Measham, in the seat.[5] However, the mine never opened and UK Coal ceased operations in 2015.[6]
Boundaries
Map of boundaries 1997-2024
Historic
North West Leicestershire constituency was created in 1983 from parts of the seats of Bosworth to the south and Loughborough to the east.
1983–1997: The District of North West Leicestershire, and the Borough of Charnwood wards of Shepshed East and Shepshed West.
1997–2024: The District of North West Leicestershire.