Hannah Tomes Hannah Tomes

Could the Tories still scrape through in the Selby by-election?

Keir Starmer and Keir Mather at a campaign event in Selby (Credit: Getty images)

‘Absent’ seems to be the word that most often springs to mind for voters in Selby and Ainsty when asked about their former MP, Nigel Adams. Back in my home constituency, one of the most common complaints is that he was a Westminster politician who didn’t care about the area; a Boris Johnson loyalist who hitched his wagon to the former PM – and came undone by association. 

Adams resigned on 10 June – a day after Johnson – in a row over his removal from the peerages list by the House of Lords Appointments Commission. Selby is one of three by-elections Rishi Sunak will face on 20 July. Two more could follow courtesy of Nadine Dorries (if she ever formally quits) and Chris Pincher, after his recommended eight-week suspension from parliament. 

In Selby and Ainsty, which, since its creation in 2010, has been regarded as a very safe seat, even formerly loyal Conservative voters appear to be turning against the government they once supported.

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