Selby and Ainsty by-election: Voters on what they want from new MP

Later this month, voters in one North Yorkshire constituency will go to the polls in a by-election. The BBC spent a day in Selby and asked voters what they wanted from their new MP.

"This is the land that time forgot," Tony Botty tells me when I ask him to sum up the impact of what happens in Westminster on the streets of Selby.

Standing in his bike workshop, surrounded by cycles, with his dog Flynn napping in a basket nearby, he puts more infrastructure at the top of his wish list from any new MP.

"There's nowhere to go. There's no investment at all.

"In Sheffield and Doncaster, new things are being built.

"You just get forgotten about here in Selby."

Residents in the town, best known to outsiders for its historic abbey, and surrounding area will go to the polls on July 20 after incumbent Conservative MP Nigel Adams stood down in June.

The Selby and Ainsty seat has been Tory since since its creation in 2010 - with the party having a hefty majority of more than 20,000 votes in the last national ballot.

Cycle lanes are, perhaps unsurprisingly, a priority for Tony.

Most of his customers are commuters and he explains many fear cycling along some of the busier roads in the area.

People living in the constituency travel further to get to work than in most other parts of the UK, with more than 32% of the population travelling 6.2 miles (10km) or further to reach their job.

But the majority drive, rather than taking public transport or cycling, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

Tony shows me the buckled rear wheel of one of the bikes he is repairing.

The owner is injured and shaken up after being hit by a car.

He might give up cycling altogether, Tony tells me.

Despite the challenges, the 50-year-old business owner says he does not currently plan to vote on 20 July.

When pressed on why, he says: "I really do think nothing will change.

"We just can't trust them, trust is a massive issue."

Selby and Ainsty by-election candidates confirmed

Tony's friend Emma Brown pops into the shop.

She is on her lunch break from a nearby veterinary surgery and still in her blue scrubs.

Emma, who lives in a village near Church Fenton within the constituency, is more upbeat about Selby: "People think it's a scruffy town but it's really nice, especially some of the little streets."

She said she feels she "can't trust" politicians, but is unhappy with how Boris Johnson was treated after he served as prime minister through the pandemic.

"My theory is they should bring back Boris. He's just a normal person."

It's not a view shared by 69-year-old Ineata Hanks, who is working at Mollie Sharp's Cheese and Deli in Finkle Street.

Ineata stands behind a counter of cheeses - the Black Bomber Cheddar is the most popular but there are wheels of Stinking Bishop, blue cheeses and a new mushroom brie, which she recommends.

Ineata is clear who she won't be voting for: "I am disgusted with the Conservative Party after the pandemic and what they have done."

She says she feels Selby has too many pubs and that the town centre needs "a complete overhaul".

"A lot has changed, people say 'what a lovely shop' and it is, but it's not as busy as it used to be.

"The cost of living is affecting businesses, especially small ones such as this."

At the other end of the town centre, at environmentally-friendly shop Refill It, Carole Holliday says the issues facing voters have changed dramatically since the last election in 2019 - including the rising cost of living.

A young family are filling paper bags from the row of dispensers containing cereal, rice, nuts and grains.

The shop, now on Gowthorpe, has already moved once due to rising expenses, Carole says.

"I think the cost of living has hit this area harder than the cities, because the wages are lower," she says.

She tells me she would like to see more help for people who are on low wages and and struggling to keep up with their bills, particularly food and energy prices.

The constituency stretches between Leeds, York and Goole, taking in the towns of Selby, Sherburn in Elmet and Tadcaster as well as more rural villages.

But, despite only emerging in 2010, its boundaries are due to change in a shake-up of England's electoral map, ahead of the next general election.

Under proposals by the Boundary Commission for England, the northern part of the constituency is expected to be absorbed into a new constituency, called Wetherby and Easingwold.

But with the next general election not due until January 2025, the new MP would have responsibility for the existing Selby and Ainsty constituency for up to 17 months.

Listen to more about the by-election

Lubna Salim, 45, recently moved to the area from London with her family and says she believes cost of living concerns could make the by-election result close.

The healthcare worker, who has two children, said the environment, libraries and education were among the most important issues to her.

She says: "It's no longer about party politics, it's about the main characters.

"It is difficult to choose. I definitely think Labour has got a chance."

Back at Refill It with Carol, and her message to whoever gets the job is clear - transport is key.

"All the roads are terrible.

"We have lots and lots of potholes.

"And all these train strikes affect everybody."

No matter who becomes the constituency's new MP on Friday 21 July, it's clear that residents want somebody who will win back their trust by acting on the issues that matter to them.

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