One Leicester is a locally-based political party in Leicester, England. Promoting localism, it was founded by Rita Patel, a former assistant mayor.
One Leicester is a locally-based political party in Leicester, England. Promoting localism, it was founded by Rita Patel, a former assistant mayor.
Patel, who was assistant mayor for adult social care and for communities, founded the party after being suspended from the Labour Party following an attempt by her and two other Labour councillors to abolish the office of the Mayor. The party was founded in August 2023, promising a referendum on the Mayoralty if elected; the launch coincided with the suspension by Patel's former party Labour of the whole Leicester East party. Patel had earlier stood as an independent for the mayoralty with a pledge to abolish the role, losing to incumbent Peter Soulsby.
In May 2024, councillor Diane Cank joined One Leicester. A long-standing representative of Troon Ward, Cank had left Labour in August 2023 and had sat as an independent.
In May 2024, Fizza Askari stood for One Leicester to be Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner.
Former Labour MP Keith Vaz stood for the party in Leicester East in July 2024, the constituency he stood down from in 2019 following a sex and drugs scandal. He announced his campaign for One Leicester while still a member of Labour, from which he was expelled.The Guardian said his campaign was "well-publicised and slick", receiving support from Shilpa Shetty. Election pledges included donating his salary to charity and having his office open every day. He came fifth, with 3,681 votes (7.9%) The party's candidate for Leicester West was businessman Rahoul Naik.
In February 2026, Alef Uddin stood for the party in a council by-election in Stoneygate, coming third with 638 votes.