Neil O’ Brien was first elected as the Conservative MP for Harborough in 2017, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 17,278 over the Labour Party.
The constituency of Harborough is found just below Leicester, in the south east of Leicestershire and contains the towns of Market Harborough, Fleckney, Oadby, and Wigston. One of the more affluent areas of the East Midlands, this has been a safe Conservative seat ever since the 1950 General Election.
In 2021, O’Brien was appointed as the Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. He previously served as Boris Johnson’s “levelling up” advisor.
Born in 1978, O’Brien studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford. Prior to being elected to Parliament, he worked from 2012 to 2016 as a Special Adviser to the former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne. He later worked in Downing Street, an adviser to the Prime Minister, Theresa May.
Having authored a number of publications, he was once Director of the Think Tank, Open Europe. Having worked in politics for most of his life, he formerly worked at the think tank, Policy Exchange.
O’Brien is married to a doctor, and the couple have two children.
Neil O’Brien is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Loneliness.
Email: neil.obrien.mp@parliament.uk
Website – www.neilobrien.org.uk
Twitter – @NeilDotObrien