Selby and Ainsty was a

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

. Further to the completion of the

2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies was the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency map for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The new constituency b ...

, the seat was subject to boundary changes involving the loss of the

Ainsty The Ainsty or the Ainsty of York was a historic district of Yorkshire, England, west of the city of York. Originally a wapentake or subdivision of the West Riding of Yorkshire it later had a unique status as a rural area controlled by the corpo ...

area. As a consequence, it reverted to the name of

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse. At the 2021 Census, it had a population of 17,193. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire; from 1974 until 2023, ...

, which was first contested at the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

History

For 2010, the Boundary Commission recommended the creation of this seat following a review of parliamentary representation in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and

. The constituency was formed from the former

constituency, except for some villages near

that were moved to the new

York Outer York Outer is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2024 by Luke Charters of the Labour Party. Constituency profile The constituency is in the form of a ring surrounding the York Cent ...

constituency and rural areas south and east of

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

previously in the

Vale of York The Vale of York is an area of flat land in the northeast of England. The vale is a major agricultural area and serves as the main north–south transport corridor for Northern England. The Vale of York is a broad area of flat land in northe ...

constituency. Until 2023, the seat had been won by the Conservative Party by a successively larger set of majorities each time it has been contested, though the 2017 general election had the unusual result of the Conservatives slightly increasing their majority despite a slight swing towards the Labour Party, mostly due to a significantly higher turnout. On 12 June 2023 the seat became vacant following the formal resignation of the incumbent,

Nigel Adams Nigel Adams (born 30 November 1966) is a British former politician who served as Minister of State without Portfolio at the Cabinet Office from 2021 to 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Selby and ...

, and the resulting

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

returned Labour's

Keir Mather Keir Alexander Mather (; born 29 January 1998) is a British Labour politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Selby, formerly Selby and Ainsty, since 2023. He has served as an Assistant Government Whip since July 2024. Early life ...

. Before

, Boundary Commission's

abolished the constituency. It was succeeded by newly reformed Selby constituency with similar boundaries.

Boundaries

The constituency consists of: *The entire former District of Selby *The

electoral wards The wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom are electoral districts at sub-national level, represented by one or more councillors. The ''ward (subnational entity), ward'' is the primary unit of English electoral geography for civil pa ...

of Marston Moor, Ouseburn, Ribston, and Spofforth with Lower Wharfedale in the former

Borough of Harrogate The Borough of Harrogate was a local government district with borough status in North Yorkshire, England, from 1974 to 2023. Its council was based in the town of Harrogate, but it also included surrounding settlements, including the cathedral ...

Constituency profile

The constituency was mainly rural. The only towns were

Tadcaster Tadcaster is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, north-east of Leeds and south-west of York. Its historical importance from Roman times onward was largely as the lowest road crossing-point o ...

, and

Sherburn in Elmet Sherburn in Elmet (pronounced ) is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Yorkshire (district), district and county of North Yorkshire, England. It is to the west of Selby and south of Tadcaster. It was part of the W ...

. The rural areas included parts of the ancient

Wapentake A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and in Cumberland County in the British Colony of ...

of the

Ainsty of York The Ainsty or the Ainsty of York was a historic district of Yorkshire, England, west of the city of York. Originally a wapentake or subdivision of the West Riding of Yorkshire it later had a unique status as a rural area controlled by the corpo ...

. ;In statistics The constituency consisted of Census Output Areas of two local government districts with similar characteristics: a working population whose income is close to the national average and lower than average reliance upon

social housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

. At the end of 2012, 2.2% of the population were claiming jobseekers' allowance, compared with the regional average of 4.7%. The district contributing to the bulk of the seat has a low 14.5% of its population without a car, 21.2% of the population without qualifications, and a relatively high 26.1% with level 4 qualifications or above. 75.0% of homes were owned outright or on a mortgage by occupants as of the 2011 census across the Selby district.

Members of Parliament

MPs 2010–2024

prior to 2010''

Election results 2010–2024

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2020s

Notes

References

External links

Selby and Ainsty UK Parliament constituency
(boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at ''MapIt UK'' {{Authority control Parliamentary constituencies in North Yorkshire (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 2010 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 2024