Stephen Kinkead

The Government is about to announce a pause to its local government reorganisation plans for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. We should never have been put in this mess. While I welcome this decision to pause, like many of you, I will not be satisfied until city expansion is taken off the table. In July, ministers, who are no longer in their jobs, chose Sir Peter Soulsby’s map for an expanded Leicester. I am incredibly grateful that thousands of you have already said no to these plans and that message needs to be heard properly this time. If this is a pause that is just going to delay the same takeover, it is not good enough. If this is a genuine review, city expansion should come off the table and I will not stop making that case to ministers. Thank you again to everyone who has signed my petition and helped us put pressure on the Government to reconsider this decision.