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Jun 2023

Last Updated: 22/06/2023

Politics

Knaresborough man to contest local by-election for Lib Dems

by John Grainger

| 21 Jun, 2023

Matt Walker says his priority will be the NHS.

The Liberal Democrats have selected NHS worker Matt Walker as their candidate for the forthcoming Selby and Ainsty by-election.

Mr Walker was brought up in Knaresborough, just outside the Selby and Ainsty constituency boundary, and currently represents the Knaresborough West division on North Yorkshire Council.

He previously campaigned to be the Lib Dems' candidate for the Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency at the next General Election, but Tom Gordon was selected instead.

A manager in the National Health Service who has raised funds for charities in Harrogate, Mr Walker said he will be putting the NHS at the top of his concerns during the by-election.

He said:

“As a candidate I will be a passionate campaigner for the area, listening to residents' views and championing their issues.

“Residents across Selby and Ainsty have been let down, our NHS is on its knees. In my professional life I am a manager in the NHS, and in one of my previous roles I spent time managing the GP out-of-hours and minor injuries unit at Selby Memorial Hospital. I’ve seen first hand just how amazing our NHS is and just how much damage the Conservatives have done to it.

“The Liberal Democrats will be fighting for every vote at this election. Whether it’s the crisis in our NHS or the cost of living, the government has taken North Yorkshire for granted for too long and it’s time for a change.”

The Lib Dems polled just 4.5% of the vote in the 2019 election, which Nigel Adams won with a majority of 20,137 for the Conservatives.

Mr Adams' decision to resign triggered the by-election, which will be held on Thursday, July 20.

The other candidates declared so far are: for the Green Party, Arnold Warneken, the councillor for Ouseburn on North Yorkshire Council; for the Labour Party, Keir Mather, a senior public affairs adviser for the Confederation of British Industry (CBI); for the Conservative Party, barrister and East Riding of Yorkshire councillor Claire Holmes; for the pro-Brexit Reform Party, David Kent; and for the Yorkshire Party, Mike Jordan, whose defection from the Conservatives earlier this month lost the party its majority on North Yorkshire Council.

Tyler Callum Wilson-Kerr, a councillor for Aberford & District Parish Council and former Yorkshire Party member, has also confirmed he will stand as an independent. The youngest candidate in the field, he will be campaigning on a platform of devolution, sustainable energy, tenants' rights, social housing, and the abolition of tuition fees.

Although Selby and Ainsty is centred on Selby and reaches almost as far south as Pontefract, its northern portion includes Spofforth and many of the villages in the Vale of York, such as Great Ouseburn, Green Hammerton and Tockwith.

Photo ID required to vote

In a statement, North Yorkshire Council said anyone interested in becoming a candidate in the Selby and Ainsty by-election must submit a completed set of nomination forms before the deadline at 4pm this Friday (June 23).

Residents of the Selby and Ainsty constituency have until midnight on Tuesday, July 4, to register to vote and until 5pm on Wednesday, July 5, to apply for a postal vote. If someone is unable to vote in person or by post, they have until 5pm on Wednesday, July 12, to apply for a proxy vote.

Voters attending the polling station for the by-election will need to bring photographic identification, such as a UK photocard driving licence, a passport, or concessionary travel passes, such as an older person’s bus pass or blue badge.

Anyone without an accepted form of ID should apply for a free voter authority certificate by 5pm on Wednesday, July 12.