THE Conservatives suffered a record loss after Selby and Ainsty voted against the Government in a by-election.
A vote in the North Yorkshire seat was triggered last month after Boris Johnson ally Nigel Adams resigned from the House of Commons.
Labour overturned a Tory majority of 20,137 – the largest majority ever reversed at a by-election.
Labour’s Keir Mather – aged just 25 – won by 16,456 votes, compared to the 12,295 cast for Tory candidate Claire Holmes.
This equals a majority of 4161. It was a bad night for the Conservative Party, who lost two of the three seats in contention having managed to retain Boris Johnson’s former constituency.
The loss means that for the first time since the seat was created in 2010, the constituency will not be represented by the Tories – or indeed Nigel Adams.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “This is a historic result that shows that people are looking at Labour and seeing a changed party that is focused entirely on the priorities of working people with an ambitious, practical plan to deliver.
“Keir Mather will be a fantastic MP who will deliver the fresh start Selby and Ainsty deserves.
“It is clear just how powerful the demand for change is. Voters put their trust in us – many for the first time. After 13 years of Tory chaos, only Labour can give the country its hope, its optimism and its future back.”
Mather will become the youngest MP in the Commons following his victory and he joked that he had “heard far worse” when asked about how he felt about becoming “the baby of the House”.
He said: “The people of Selby and Ainsty have sent a clear message. For too long, Conservatives up here and in Westminster have failed us, and today that changes.
“Over the past few months, speaking to hundreds of people on the doorstep, I’ve encountered so much hardship. Hardship made worse by 13 years of negligence and complacency from the Conservatives.”
