The Boundary Commission for England, the responsible body for ensuring that each constituency in the country has the right amount of voters, is currently undertaking the second phase of its public consultation into proposed new boundaries.

Constituencies should by law have between 69,724 and 77,062 electors, which means that with the development of housing estates, the movement of people, and the implications surrounding these factors, boundary changes need to be made.

Among the proposals is the possible union of Blaby, Oadby and Wigston to create their own ward. Oadby and Wigston currently belong to the Harborough seat, held by MP Neil O'Brien, while Blaby is part of the South Leicestershire constituency where Alberto Costa is MP.

There are also proposals to tie the South Leicestershire ward of Glenfield to Leicester City. The rest of South Leicestershire would be divided between the Harborough seat and a new Mid-Leicestershire constituencies.

The Harborough seat would also cut into parts of what is currently the Melton and Rutland constituency. This means that the Melton and Rutland seat would also face radical changes, with Rutland becoming part of Lincolnshire instead.

Councillor Paul Hartshorn of the Liberal Democrats said: "The current boundaries are perplexing, with a mix of towns – Oadby and Wigston – glued to rural Harborough. As a life-time resident [of the area] this has always felt not quite right.

"Local ties between these towns are strong. All have a similar demographic, with similar hopes and ambitions, as well as concerns and ambitions. Rural countryside communities need a different type of support to that needed by small towns. It is much better for those [rural] communities to have an MP devoted to understanding the challenges they face."

However, the seven Leicestershire MPs have sent a joint letter to the boundary commission outlining their concerns over parts of the proposal – in particular the new Blaby, Oadby and Wigston seat and the loss of Rutland from Leicestershire.

It said: "We do not accept that it is in the best interests of residents of Melton and the Harborough villages to break the link with Rutland, nor for Rutland to be divorced from Leicestershire.

"We consider [the split of the existing South Leicestershire and Harborough constituencies] too disruptive to the existing constituencies and too far a radical departure from the requirement to use the current seats as building blocks for the new ones. The consequences for communities are that existing local ties are broken."

They propose instead of creating a new Blaby, Oadby and Wigston ward, Oadby be split in two with Oadby Grange and Oadby Uplands transferred to the city instead of Glenfield. They also wish to keep the South Leicestershire seat, but transfer one ward – Winstanley – to the new Mid-Leicestershire seat to balance voter numbers.

With Rutland potentially being lost to Lincolnshire under the proposals, to form a Rutland and Stamford seat, Melton will stretch further East, taking the Syston wards and Thurmaston ward – previously under the Charnwood seat which would be disbanded in the proposals. It will also take The Wolds and Sileby wards from Loughborough.

Councillor Hartshorn concluded: "It is really important that any new constituency boundaries work for the communities and people who live within it, rather than for the benefit of its elected representatives."

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