Harborough District

Harborough (/ˈhɑːrbərə/) is a local government district in Leicestershire, England. It is named after its main town, Market Harborough, which is where the council is based. The district also includes the town of Lutterworth and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. In the north of the district it includes parts of the Leicester Urban Area, notably at Thurnby, Bushby and Scraptoft. Covering 230 square miles (600 km²), the district is the largest by area of the eight districts in Leicestershire and covers almost a quarter of the county.

The neighbouring districts are Blaby, Oadby and Wigston, Leicester, Charnwood, Melton, Rutland, North Northamptonshire, West Northamptonshire and Rugby.

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of four former districts, which were all abolished at the same time:

The new council was named Harborough, after its largest town of Market Harborough.

Harborough District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Leicestershire County Council. Much of the district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.

The council has been under no overall control since the 2023 election, being run by a coalition of the Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Greens, led by Liberal Democrat councillor Phil Knowles.

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Since 1974 political control of the council has been as follows:

The leaders of the council since 2000 have been: