Next Thursday, July 20, Selby & Ainsty goes to the polls in a by-election caused by the resignation of sitting Conservative MP Nigel Adams.

To help our readers decide how to vote, The Press approached all 13 candidates who hope to become the next MP for the constituency of Selby and Ainsty.

We have asked for their views on a range of topics, and we will publish their responses both in print and online.

Today, we feature Keir Mather, candidate for the Labour Party.

 

What is the biggest crisis facing us?

The cost of living crisis is the biggest issue the country is facing.

12,300 families in Selby and Ainsty will be paying an average of £2,700 a year more on their mortgage after the Tories crashed the economy, and energy bills are almost double what they were in November 2020.

Local people deserve a strong MP who is going to support them in this crisis. As Selby and Ainsty’s MP I would urgently deliver financial support surgeries and regular Local Community Support Fairs across the constituency.

Labour’s energy plans will bring down bills by at least £1,400 a year for tens of thousands of households in Selby and Ainsty, putting that money directly back into people’s pockets.

 

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What about Net Zero and Energy Generation?

Labour has a plan for energy that will cut bills, create jobs and provide energy security for Britain. Our plan will see the UK reaching net zero by 2030, through a publicly-owned clean energy company which will bring down people’s bills by an average of £1,400 a year and feed profits back into local communities.

However, we are realistic about the scale of the challenge and have said that oil and gas will play an important part in the transition for years to come. We will ensure a fair transition for workers, so any fields that are active at the next election will be allowed to continue to produce to the end of their natural lifetimes. Companies like Drax and its workers are vital to the local economy, and we would not be able to begin clean energy generation without them.

What would you tell the Covid Inquiry?

It is right that the Covid inquiry investigates the impact long-term Conservative mismanagement of public services- including NHS capacity- had on our ability to cope during the pandemic. The NHS went into the pandemic with record waiting lists, 100,000 staff shortages, and 17,000 fewer beds. The impact that this had on the incredibly brave staff is still being realised years on.

Although we must look forward, I do not accept that this does not matter to people anymore. I have spoken to many local people who lost loved ones.

While other countries’ Covid inquiries have already concluded, unforgivable delays caused by Tory ministers dragging their heels have held back the already painfully slow process of getting to the truth.

 

NHS at 75: Something to celebrate?

After 13 years of the Tories, the NHS is under enormous pressure. Even Rishi Sunak’s own Ministers are admitting that the waiting lists will 'probably go up’.  As the MP for Selby and Ainsty, I’ll fight to make sure our local NHS services are fit for the future, and Labour will be unashamedly ambitious for the NHS with the biggest expansion of the NHS workforce in a generation, funded by removing the non-dom tax loophole. 

Labour would double the number of medical school places, creating 10,000 more nursing and midwifery clinical placements each year, doubling the number of district nurses qualifying each year and training 5,000 more health visitors.

The Conservative Government has put our NHS under huge threat, only Labour can be trusted to secure its future.

What about Housing?

Under a Conservative Government, Council and MP over the last eight years Selby has lost green belt land equivalent to 56 football pitches, but the housing crisis has still not gone away.

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I know there is a better way. Labour will protect our genuine green spaces and under our proposals, local people will be bought in earlier in the process to ensure you can have your say. We also think it’s absurd that the Conservative Council is approving developments on high-quality green belt land where poor-quality land labelled ‘green belt’ is available.

We also need to improve our local services so we can cope with increased demand. Labour has a plan to breathe life back into Selby’s services. We will put local people in control of buses and give the NHS the staff it needs.

Immigration?

Ministers have gone for gimmicks instead of getting a grip on the crisis, and slogans instead of solutions. The Rwanda scheme is unworkable, unethical and extortionate. Ministers have admitted that it will cost £169,000 to send each person to Rwanda on top of the £140m of taxpayers’ money they have already spent on the scheme.

Labour has a five point plan to fix the asylum system:

1. Crackdown on criminal smuggler gangs, through new Cross-Border Police Unit

2. Clear the backlog and end hotel use

3. Reform legal routes for refugees to stop people being exploited by gangs

4. New agreement with France and other countries on returns and family reunion

5. Tackle humanitarian crises at source helping refugees in their region

A Final rallying cry?

After 13 years of the Conservatives, Selby and Ainsty deserves a fresh start. This by-election is an opportunity to send the Government a message that people have had enough of the Conservative chaos and infighting, it’s time for change.