Selby and Ainsty by-election: Labour win brings mixed reaction

After Labour's Keir Mather overturned a 20,000 Tory majority to become the new MP for Selby and Ainsty - and the youngest MP in the House of Commons - BBC News visited the market town at the centre of the constituency to gauge residents' reaction.

"[It's] absolutely amazing," Lorraine says, as she stops to chat on Finkle Street close to Selby's famous abbey.

"It feels like there's a way forward. I'm feeling optimistic."

Selby and Ainsty has been under Conservative control since it was created in 2010.

And, when Nigel Adams stepped down and triggered Thursday's by-election, many expected it to stay that way.

But, as Lorraine, who asked not to give her full name, added, the result here in North Yorkshire has "well and truly" sent a message to Westminster.

She said she hopes Mr Mather will use his time to make sure the government focusses on the NHS and social care.

However, a few steps further down the street a man is carrying a copy of the local newspaper, The Selby Times.

Asked for his verdict on the by-election result he calls out one word: "Grim."

Over at the newest Labour MP's headquarters in Gowthorpe all is quiet.

For the past few weeks the office has been a hustling, bustling hive of activity, the door open as campaigners come and go.

Today the door is shut - party members have gone to celebrate their success at Selby Town FC's stadium - but stuck to the window is a pink post-it note that sums up Labour's feelings succinctly "Congratulations Keir".

Further along Gowthorpe holidaymakers are browsing shop windows while florists are busy making bouquets ordered as gifts for teachers at the end of the school term.

Outside one of the shops, Alison Carrick stops to chat. She is on her way to get a coffee before going to join the event at the football ground.

How is she feeling after this morning's result?

"I'm delighted. Over the last few years I have been feeling increasingly angry about things. I think you need to act," she said.

Turnout for the by-election was just 44.77%, well below the figure in the 2019 general election when nearly three-quarters of voters, 72%, had their say at the ballot box.

Utitofon Ibanga, 39, says he believes the Conservative Party has improved since the days of Boris Johnson and, briefly, Liz Truss.

"I voted Conservative because of the performance of Rishi Sunak," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service, adding that "of course" he is an improvement on his two predecessors.

However Lesley, who stops to speak on James Street, said she could understand why people may have voted against the Conservatives in this by-election.

"I think people are struggling in the current climate and they may think things would be better with a change of government," she said.

But she said she was "not convinced" that Mr Mather had enough experience for the job.

Outside the town centre, at the Selby Coalfield Mining Memorial, Simon Cahill disagrees.

He is the National Union of Miners delegate for the town and a former miner at Selby Coalfield.

He said he had met with Mr Mather to discuss the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme and said he felt his new MP had "listened" and was "well-informed".

But the 54-year-old said what he believes the town needs now is a good constituency MP, someone to "represent us and give us a voice in Westminster".

Fellow ex-miner, Brian Wood, 68, said he felt "a bit shocked" by the by-election result, before saying Mr Mather had a big job on his hands.

"He has got to fight for Selby to get some money up here. We have been left behind," he says.

The NHS and education are his main priorities, but he is not happy with the current leadership of the Labour party: "I will never be optimistic while Keir Starmer is leader, he's too right wing."

His friend Kenneth Berry, 63, said he felt that "as a community, miners have been let down".

The lines around Selby are set to be redrawn at the next election, with some of the more traditionally Conservative-leaning villages set to be shed under a change of the constituency's boundaries.

While some in Selby believe this could help the party hold on to the seat others believe Mr Mather's triumph is a result of Tory voters staying away. With the next general election set to take place by January 2025 people here will not have to wait long to find out.

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