The Conservative Party has selected its new candidate for the forthcoming Selby and Ainsty by-election following the shock withdrawal last week of its previous nominee.
Claire Holmes, a barrister and East Riding of Yorkshire councillor, will contest the seat in place of Michael Naughton, who quit the race due to an “unforeseen family medical emergency”.
Speaking to the BBC, Ms Holmes said:
“I know right now people want an MP who’ll only focus on improving our local communities across Selby and Ainsty – not on political point-scoring in Westminster.
“That means I will work with Rishi Sunak and the government on our five clear priorities: halving inflation, growing the economy, reducing debt, cutting hospital waiting lists and stopping the boats.”
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of MP Nigel Adams, who was first elected in 2010 and has since held several ministerial posts under prime ministers Theresa May and Boris Johnson. He was nominated by Mr Johnson for a peerage, but did not make the final list.
Mr Adams had already said he would not contest the seat at the next election, but stepped down immediately after former Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation in the wake of the cross-party Privileges Committee report into the Partygate scandal that he had misled Parliament.
The by-election in Selby and Ainsty will be held on Thursday, July 20, the same day as the by-election in Mr Johnson’s Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency.
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); and for the Yorkshire Party, Mike Jordan, whose defection from the Conservatives earlier this month lost the party its majority on North Yorkshire Council.
The Liberal Democrats are due to announce their candidate this week, but are not expected to campaign heavily in the constituency ahead of the ballot, in order not to split the anti-Tory vote. In 2019 they only won 8.6% of the vote in the constituency, compared with Labour’s 24.6%.
The Conservatives, however, won 60.3% of the vote, giving them a 20,137 majority, which means that Labour will need a huge swing of 18% to win, according to Sir John Curtice, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde.
Photo ID required to vote
In a statement, North Yorkshire Council said that 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.
Read more:
- Selby and Ainsty MP resigns with immediate effect
- Andrew Jones MP to vote for Privileges Committee recommendations
- Labour names candidate for local by-election
