Harborough, Oadby & Wigston / data
Neil O'Brien · Conservative and Unionist Party · sitting since 08 Jun 2017 · every division, speech and committee appearance.
Since election
3242days
from 08 Jun 2017
Divisions
345
of 504 possible
Attendance
68%
159 absent / paired
Whip alignment
100%
vs party majority
Speeches
79
37 debates
Written Qs
713
691 answered
Committees
0
memberships
Expenses
£316k paid
FY 2024–2025 · 155 claims
Interests
1
1 category
A · Overview
Issue volume
Top issues by total divisions voted — engagement only, not direction.
| Issue | Volume | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Taxation | 77 | |
| Economy | 69 | |
| Employment | 37 | |
| Crime & Policing | 34 | |
| Education | 32 | |
| Constitution and Democracy | 22 | |
| Welfare and Benefits | 21 | |
| Housing | 21 |
Speech topics
Words spoken, by topic. Source: Hansard.
| Topic | Debates | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Education | 21 | 16,204 |
| Economy Jobs | 13 | 9,825 |
| Social Care | 11 | 6,950 |
| Fiscal Policy | 9 | 6,457 |
| Labour Market | 7 | 4,740 |
| Technology | 3 | 4,228 |
| Mp Performance | 6 | 3,825 |
| Cost Of Living | 4 | 3,274 |
B · Notable divisions
Free votes, rebellions and high-salience whipped votes — the moments that distinguish this MP from the party machine. The full division-by-division record will follow once the per-MP archive is wired.
No notable votes recorded for this MP yet.
C · Speeches
| Date | Contribution | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Mar 2026 | Student LoansIn January, the Chancellor was saying that the student loans system was “fair and reasonable”. She now admits —as of yesterday—that it is broken. In one sense, we have won this deb… EducationEconomy JobsFiscal Policy | 492 |
| 18 Mar 2026 | Student LoansJust one moment. Analysis by the IFS found that total returns on going to university will be negative for about 30% of both men and women—and that is based on the cohort from the n… EducationEconomy JobsFiscal Policy | 300 |
| 18 Mar 2026 | Student LoansPerhaps the hon. Gentleman will tell me why he thinks that is fair. EducationEconomy JobsFiscal Policy | 13 |
| 18 Mar 2026 | Student LoansYes, and I am grateful for that question. Under our proposed reforms, four fifths—80%—of plan 2 graduates would benefit and pay less over their lifetime. The hon. Gentleman can loo… EducationEconomy JobsFiscal Policy | 80 |
| 18 Mar 2026 | Student LoansWe have already talked about that. If the hon. Gentleman wants a full list, he can go on my Substack and see a whole bunch of different institutions with low returns. He can also d… EducationEconomy JobsFiscal Policy | 264 |
| 18 Mar 2026 | Student LoansIf the hon. Gentleman reads to the end of the IFS report, he will see that it costs our proposal in single-digit billions, and we have explained exactly how we will pay for it—I wi… EducationEconomy JobsFiscal Policy | 258 |
| 12 Feb 2026 | Rural Mobile ConnectivityOn a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. For the last 18 months, the Government have been sitting on the guidance relating to gender-questioning children in schools—a very contro… TechnologyEconomy JobsLocal Government | 100 |
| 09 Feb 2026 | Standards in Public LifeI thank the Chief Secretary for advance sight of his statement. The Prime Minister’s authority is gone and his Government are starting to collapse. The Prime Minister’s decision to… Mp PerformanceCrimeOther | 963 |
| 04 Feb 2026 | Lord MandelsonI absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, and I want to know whether the Minister agrees that the ISC should be able to give the gist of documents, even if they are not fully release… Mp PerformanceDefenceOther | 101 |
| 04 Feb 2026 | Lord MandelsonMy hon. Friend makes an excellent point—he is completely correct. Today, I actually feel quite a lot of sympathy for Labour Back Benchers. Once again, they have been put in a total… Mp PerformanceDefenceOther | 241 |
| 04 Feb 2026 | Lord MandelsonThis has been an absolutely extraordinary day in British politics. It is not often that there is an audible intake of breath in this Chamber, but we all heard it earlier—that gasp … Mp PerformanceDefenceOther | 1,098 |
| 15 Oct 2025 | Official Secrets Act Case: Witness StatementsI should declare an interest as I am named in the witness statements. As someone sanctioned by China, I was shocked to learn that the Prime Minister knew that this case was about t… DefenceMp Performance | 438 |
| 15 Oct 2025 | Official Secrets Act Case: Witness Statements(Urgent Question): To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the three witness statements in relation to the alleged breach of the Official Sec… DefenceMp Performance | 37 |
| 12 Oct 2025 | Security Update: Official Secrets Act CaseOn a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. DefenceMp PerformanceCrime | 8 |
| 12 Oct 2025 | Security Update: Official Secrets Act CaseYes, Madam Deputy Speaker. Like you, I am one of the parliamentarians sanctioned by China. Like many Members of this House, I am left wondering whether it was not just our offices … DefenceMp PerformanceCrime | 188 |
D · Written questions
Top departments
| Department | Questions | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Department for Education | 120 | 16.8% |
| Department for Work and Pensions | 85 | 11.9% |
| Ministry of Justice | 74 | 10.4% |
| Home Office | 67 | 9.4% |
| Department of Health and Social Care | 52 | 7.3% |
| Treasury | 44 | 6.2% |
| Department for Transport | 39 | 5.5% |
| Department for Business and Trade | 28 | 3.9% |
Most recent
| Date | Department | Question | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Apr 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of mail deliveries of NHS correspondence to patients. | Pending |
| 23 Apr 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of hospital appointment letters sent by post do not arrive before the appointment. | Pending |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much was spent on forensic support services in the most recent year for which data is available; and how many people were dealt with by such services | Pending |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Cabinet Office | To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Lord Mandelson was in Downing Street during the Cabinet reshuffle on 5 September 2025. | Pending |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Department for Education | To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students who are not United Kingdom nationals received a student loan for the first time in each of the last five academic years, broken down by (a) nationality group and (b) type of loa… | Pending |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, according to data supplied to the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health, how many patients in recent (12 months) contact with mental health services… | Pending |
| 21 Apr 2026 | Home Office | To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many, in each of the last 10 years (a) individuals and (b) organisations were empowered under the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme. | Pending |
| 21 Apr 2026 | Department for Education | To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish a breakdown of the total value of student loans issued, by nationality of recipient, in each of the last five years. | Pending |
| 21 Apr 2026 | Department for Work and Pensions | To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish a breakdown of the number of mobility points scored by Personal Independence Payment claimants by primary health condition of the claimant. | Pending |
| 21 Apr 2026 | Department for Work and Pensions | To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 1 May 2025 to Question 47466, how many Personal Independence Payment claimants there are, broken down by (a) disability category and (b) health condition; and of… | Pending |
| 21 Apr 2026 | Department for Education | To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish data on the repayment rate of student loans, by nationality of borrower, in each of the last five years. | Pending |
| 20 Apr 2026 | Home Office | To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many grants of indefinite leave to remain have been revoked this month | Pending |
| 20 Apr 2026 | Ministry of Justice | To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total value of court-imposed fines outstanding in England and Wales is. | Pending |
| 20 Apr 2026 | Home Office | To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many grants of indefinite leave to remain have been revoked and have lapsed in the most recent year or quarter for which data is available. | Pending |
| 20 Apr 2026 | Ministry of Justice | To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people paid court fines in the (a) quarter ending in November 2025 and (b) other four most recent quarters for which data is available. | Pending |
E · Committees
No committee memberships recorded for this MP.
F · Expenses
Every business-cost claim reimbursed by IPSA in the current financial year, grouped by category. “Aggregated” rows are IPSA’s own year-end totals for cost types like payroll and rent that aren’t itemised claim-by-claim.
Category breakdown
| Category | Claims | Paid (£) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation | 50 | 32,656 | 10.3% |
| Office Costs | 94 | 29,423 | 9.3% |
| Staffing | 3 | 242,307 | 76.6% |
| MP Travel | 0 | 9,253 | 2.9% |
| Staff Travel | 0 | 2,289 | 0.7% |
| Dependant Travel | 0 | 407 | 0.1% |
Top itemised cost types
| Cost type | Category | Claims | Paid (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | Accommodation | 12 | 28,871 |
| Stationery & printing | Office Costs | 28 | 8,419 |
| Rent | Office Costs | 4 | 7,286 |
| Bought-in services | Staffing | 3 | 6,760 |
| Pooled staffing services | Office Costs | 2 | 5,269 |
| Service charge & ground Rent | Office Costs | 5 | 4,241 |
| Utilities | Accommodation | 14 | 1,709 |
| Council tax | Accommodation | 12 | 1,406 |
| Software & applications | Office Costs | 14 | 1,206 |
| Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Office Costs | 12 | 931 |
| Equipment - purchase | Office Costs | 6 | 707 |
| Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Accommodation | 12 | 670 |
Most recent
| Date | Category | Description | Paid (£) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | XMA March 2025 | 615 | Paid |
| 11 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | XMA March 2025 | 615 | Paid |
| 11 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | XMA March 2025 | 615 | Paid |
| 11 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | XMA March 2025 | 501 | Paid |
| 11 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | XMA March 2025 | 406 | Paid |
| 31 Mar 2025 | Staffing Bought-in services | Comms & Media | 4,000 | Paid |
| 31 Mar 2025 | Staffing Bought-in services | Professional & consultancy | 1,560 | Paid |
| 31 Mar 2025 | Staffing Bought-in services | Professional & consultancy | 1,200 | Paid |
| 29 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Newspapers, journals, magazines | ECONOMIST GBP - GBP [200011725-9593] [200011804-217] | 2 | Paid |
| 28 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Newspapers, journals, magazines | Harborough Mail [200011802-209] | 29 | Paid |
| 20 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Newspapers, journals, magazines | AMAZON [***] [200011725-5941] [200011804-215] | 59 | Paid |
| 17 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Rent | Office quarterly rent [200011804-209] | 182 | Paid |
| 17 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Service charge & ground Rent | Office quarterly service charge [200011804-210] | 80 | Paid |
| 15 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | Evolution print [200011803-51] | 1,026 | Paid |
| 14 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Insurance - contents | HOWDEN UK BROKERS LIMI [200011725-5838] [200011804-212] | 22 | Paid |
| 12 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Software & applications | JOTFORM LTD [200011725-4465] [200011804-222] | 23 | Paid |
| 11 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Rent | Accommodation rent [200011804-162] | 1,371 | Paid |
| 10 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Council tax | Council Tax March | 117 | Paid |
| 08 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Landline & internet package | 44 | Paid |
| 05 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Landline & internet package | 68 | Paid |
G · Register of interests
Every financial interest declared by the MP, grouped under the Register’s official categories. Retracted entries are hidden but counted above.
8. Miscellaneous1 entry
18 Apr 2024
A member of the advisory board of Onward, a think tank which aims to produce modernising ideas to address some of the biggest challenges facing the UK. This is an unpaid role.
Date interest arose: 25 April 2018
(Registered 16 June 2020)
H · Ward results
Most recent winning councillor in each ward — 17 wards, 41 councillor seats.
| Ward | Councillor | Party | Votes | Election |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glen | James Hallam | Conservative and Unionist Party | 864 | 04 May 2023 |
| Glen | Rani Mahal | Conservative and Unionist Party | 758 | 04 May 2023 |
| Kibworths | Phil King | Conservative and Unionist Party | 951 | 04 May 2023 |
| Kibworths | Robin Hollick | Conservative and Unionist Party | 945 | 04 May 2023 |
| Kibworths | Simon Christopher Whelband | Conservative and Unionist Party | 801 | 04 May 2023 |
| Lubenham | Jo Asher | Liberal Democrats | 391 | 04 May 2023 |
| Market Harborough Great Bowden Arden | Buddy Anderson | Liberal Democrats | 740 | 04 May 2023 |
| Market Harborough Great Bowden Arden | Phil Knowles | Liberal Democrats | 899 | 04 May 2023 |
| Market Harborough Little Bowden | Peter James | Liberal Democrats | 641 | 04 May 2023 |
| Market Harborough Little Bowden | Stuart James Finan | Liberal Democrats | 587 | 04 May 2023 |
| Market Harborough Logan | Barbara Johnson | Liberal Democrats | 804 | 04 May 2023 |
| Market Harborough Logan | Geraldine Whitmore | Liberal Democrats | 706 | 04 May 2023 |
| Market Harborough Welland | Darren Woodiwiss | Green Party of England and Wales | 821 | 04 May 2023 |
| Market Harborough Welland | Lynne Mary Taylor | Green Party of England and Wales | 657 | 04 May 2023 |
| Market Harborough Welland | Rose Lillian Forman | Green Party of England and Wales | 661 | 04 May 2023 |
| Oadby Brocks Hill | Jeffrey Kaufman | Liberal Democrats | 342 | 04 May 2023 |
| Oadby Brocks Hill | Mohammed Latif Darr | Liberal Democrats | 286 | 04 May 2023 |
| Oadby Grange | Kamal Ghattoraya | Conservative and Unionist Party | 673 | 04 May 2023 |
| Oadby Grange | Naveed Alam | Conservative and Unionist Party | 757 | 04 May 2023 |
| Oadby Grange | Priti Joshi | Conservative and Unionist Party | 672 | 04 May 2023 |
| Oadby St Peters | Ian Keith Ridley | Liberal Democrats | 525 | 04 May 2023 |
| Oadby St Peters | Jasvir Kaur Chohan | Liberal Democrats | 491 | 04 May 2023 |
| Oadby Uplands | Rupa Joshi | Conservative and Unionist Party | 545 | 04 May 2023 |
| Oadby Uplands | Samia Zuffar Haq | Liberal Democrats | 616 | 04 May 2023 |
| Oadby Woodlands | Dean Adam Gamble | Liberal Democrats | 707 | 04 May 2023 |
| Oadby Woodlands | Santokh Singh Athwal | Liberal Democrats | 680 | 04 May 2023 |
| South Wigston | Carl Andrew Melvin Walter | Liberal Democrats | 645 | 04 May 2023 |
| South Wigston | Richard Edward Rue Morris | Liberal Democrats | 619 | 04 May 2023 |
| South Wigston | Rosemarie Helen Adams | Liberal Democrats | 685 | 04 May 2023 |
| Wigston All Saints | Gary Glendon Hunt | Liberal Democrats | 863 | 04 May 2023 |
| Wigston All Saints | Lee Andrew Bentley | Liberal Democrats | 905 | 04 May 2023 |
| Wigston All Saints | Michael Henry Charlesworth | Liberal Democrats | 916 | 04 May 2023 |
| Wigston Fields | Bill Boulter | Liberal Democrats | 910 | 04 May 2023 |
| Wigston Fields | Carl James Richard Martin | Liberal Democrats | 830 | 04 May 2023 |
| Wigston Fields | Kevin John Loydall | Liberal Democrats | 888 | 04 May 2023 |
| Wigston Meadowcourt | Colin Spencer Gore | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,091 | 04 May 2023 |
| Wigston Meadowcourt | John Keith Ford | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,080 | 04 May 2023 |
| Wigston Meadowcourt | Liz Darling | Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,117 | 04 May 2023 |
| Wigston St Wolstans | Clare Denise Kozlowski | Liberal Democrats | 836 | 04 May 2023 |
| Wigston St Wolstans | Frank Stephen Broadley | Liberal Democrats | 876 | 04 May 2023 |
| Wigston St Wolstans | Linda Margaret Broadley | Liberal Democrats | 888 | 04 May 2023 |
I · Demographics
| Indicator | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Population (2021 Census) | 98,639 | Electorate 77,075 (2024) |
| Median age | 43 | years |
| Degree-educated | 35.1% | level 4 or above |
| Ethnicity (White) | 74.8% | 2021 Census ethnic group |
| Owner-occupied | 75.6% | households |
| Private-rented | 15.6% | households |
| Social-rented | 8.8% | households |
| Employment rate | 56.7% | 16-64 in work |
J · Public spending
HMT publishes headline spending identifiable by region in PESA. Constituency-level capital allocations (Levelling-Up Fund, Towns Fund, UKSPF, transport capital, BEIS R&D) are published as separate departmental datasets. We are evaluating the cleanest reconciliation for a per-constituency view.