The Liberal Democrats have announced that NHS worker Matt Walker will be their candidate to contest the upcoming Selby and Ainsty by-election. 

Matt Walker was brought up locally in Knaresborough, just outside the Selby & Ainsty constituency boundary, and now represents the Knaresborough West division on North Yorkshire Council. 

Matt is a manager in the NHS, and previously spent time managing the GP out-of-hours and minor injuries unit at Selby Memorial Hospital. He has also previously done charity fundraising for charities in Harrogate.

The candidate says he’ll be putting the NHS at the top of his concerns during the by-election.

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The Liberal Democrats, the party continues, are on the up across Yorkshire and have recently selected their candidates for top targets Harrogate and Knaresborough and Sheffield Hallam.

Matt Walker said: “I’m delighted to have been selected as the local Liberal Democrat candidate for Selby and Ainsty. As a candidate I will be a passionate campaigner for the area, listening to residents' views and championing their issues. 

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“Residents across Selby and Ainsty have been let down, our NHS is on its knees. In my professional life I am a manager in the NHS, and in one of my previous roles I spent time managing the GP out-of-hours and minor injuries unit at Selby Memorial Hospital. I’ve seen first hand just how amazing our NHS is and just how much damage the Conservatives have done to it.”

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Matt added: “The Liberal Democrats will be fighting for every vote at this election. Whether it’s the crisis in our NHS or the cost of living,  the government has taken North Yorkshire for granted for too long and it’s time for a change.” 

The Selby and Ainsty by-election is on Thursday July 20, following the resignation of Conservative MP Nigel Adams.

The Lib Dems polled just 4.5% of the vote in the 2019 election, which Nigel Adams won with a majority of 20,137, around 60% of the vote.

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Nominations for candidates close at 4pm today (Friday).

So far, the candidates include barrister and East Riding Councillor Claire Holmes (Conservative); Ouseburn councillor on North Yorkshire Council Arnold Warneken (Green); Keir Mather, a senior public affairs advisor for the Confederation of British Industry (Labour); David Kent for the Reform Party; Mike Jordan, a North Yorkshire Councillor whose defection from the Tories to the Yorkshire Party caused the Conservatives to lose their majority on the new North Yorkshire Council.

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There is also Tyler Callum Wilson-Kerr, a member of Aberford Parish Council and at 24, is currently the youngest candidate in the by-election.

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. People also have until 5pm on Wednesday July 12 to apply for a proxy vote.