Leicestershire

image
Ceremonial County in England
Region: East Midlands

§ This page provides an overview of an England's ceremonial county. Our website has 48 such county pages.

Overview ⁞ Leicestershire sits centrally within England and is known for its mix of city life, market towns, and countryside. Leicester, the largest city and a unitary authority, has Roman roots and a strong multicultural identity. Beyond the city, towns like Loughborough, Hinckley, and Market Harborough dot a landscape of gentle hills and farmland. The rest of the county is overseen by Leicestershire County Council and several district councils, forming a cohesive but diverse ceremonial area.

Is Leicestershire a historic county? Yes—Leicestershire is a historic county. Administratively, the ceremonial county consists of Leicestershire County Council (with its districts) plus the separate unitary authority of the City of Leicester.

Leicestershire has 8 Local Authority Districts. The chart below shows how this compares with other counties in England.

Number of local authority districts in Leicestershire and other counties
Number of local authority districts in Leicestershire, compared with other counties
This county page, Leicestershire, is a sub-page this region page: East Midlands. It zooms in to local authorities, administrative districts, and parliamentary constituencies in this county. We have this list page for easy browsing of all historic counties, ceremonial counties, and administrative counties: List of all counties in the UK.

Local Authorities in Leicestershire

Leicestershire, in England’s East Midlands region, has a two-tier local government structure with Leicestershire County Council responsible for services such as education, transport, and social care, alongside seven district and borough councils managing local functions like planning, housing, and waste collection. These are Blaby District Council, Charnwood Borough Council, Harborough District Council, Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, Melton Borough Council, North West Leicestershire District Council, and Oadby and Wigston Borough Council. Separately, the City of Leicester operates as a unitary authority with Leicester City Council handling all local services independently, while the City of Rutland, historically part of Leicestershire, is now a separate unitary authority. Together, these councils provide governance across a county that ranges from the industrial and commercial hub of Leicester to rural market towns, historic villages, and scenic countryside.

Districts in Leicestershire

In the International Territorial Levels (ITLs) hierarchy, Leicestershire is within one of ITLs Level 2 area, Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire, that contains the following 4 ITLs Level 3 areas:

(ITL 1) East Midlands
(ITL 2) ⇒ Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire
(ITL 3) ⇒⇒ Leicester ⁞ Leicestershire CC and Rutland ⁞ West Northamptonshire ⁞ North Northamptonshire

Constituencies in Leicestershire

A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies, 46 of them are in the East Midlands region, 11 of them are in Leicestershire.

Counties in East Midlands