THERE were few surprises at the Selby and Ainsty count in the General Election with Conservatives doing well throughout the district.

Tory Nigel Adams was again voted MP for the constituency, five years after he was first elected to the role.

He said he was delighted with the turnout at this year’s election, which saw him take victory with a lead of more than13,000 votes.

"In 2010 we had a stunning result, but to come back five years later and increase the majority and vote share over the 50 per cent mark is more than we dreamed of.

"I'm absolutely delighted and want to thank all the voters across Selby and Ainsty who have turned out and given me their trust once again and I will carry on working hard for everyone in our part of North Yorkshire and I won't let them down.”

Mr Adams said he believed the public had considered his track record for the region, but said his party would be capable of running a minority Government if they did not reach an overall majority.

He said: "The country's had a coalition for the last five years and I think it's time we had an outright party in Government, minority or otherwise."

Also competing for the seat was Labour’s Doctor Mark Hayes, who said he was disappointed with the outcome, and called for electoral reform.

He said: “The campaign has been a problem for us, in politics and in society. We have a presidential campaign, but not a presidential system. It shouldn't be Miliband versus Cameron, it should be individual MPs and constituencies under proportional representation.”


The full results for the Selby and Ainsty seat are:

Nigel Adams (Con) - 27,725
Mark Hayes (Lab) - 14,168
Colin Heath (Ukip) - 7,389
Ian Richards (Green) - 1,465
Nicola Turner (Lib Dem) - 1,920
Ian Wilson (TUSC) - 137

(172 ballot papers rejected)

Turnout: 69.4%