How will Selby swing?

THE Selby constituency contains the largest worked coalfield in Britain: but don't let that fool you. The coal industry here is a comparatively late arrival, and far from being a Labour stronghold, the seat has had a history of returning Conservative MPs.

Labour's John Grogan changed all that when he won the seat by a slim 3,800 vote margin in 1997.

Other than coal, the constituency's mainstay industries are agriculture and brewing, and the burgeoning power industry. Its diverse economy also includes chemical works, and food and animal feed factories. The flat farmland south of the city of York that characterises the constituency is punctuated by huge, modern power stations such as Drax and Eggborough. It is also prone to some of the worst flooding in England.

Due to the oddities of constituency boundaries, the University of York in Heslington and the Archbishop of York's palace at Bishopthorpe both fall within the Selby seat. Other points of interest include Selby's 900-year-old abbey and Yorkshire's oldest brewery, Samuel Smith's in Tadcaster.

We spoke to four local people about the issues that matter to them. None mentioned rail safety, perhaps oddly. Common concerns included floods, traffic congestion, the need for the Selby bypass, and job prospects for the future.

Alison Seabrooke

Alison, 37, is a working mum with three school-age children and chair of Riccall's community centre, Riccall Regen 2000.

She won't be drawn on where her political sympathies lie but admits she has a lot of time for John Grogan. "He's a hard-working MP."

Alison insists she's not the complaining sort. The floods which threatened Selby and Riccall were a 'freak occurrence', she says, for which nobody was really responsible.

Generally, she says, things have been improving in the constituency over the last few years. There has been regeneration and refurbishment in Selby itself, and public transport in the surrounding villages is getting better thanks to the transport partnership between the countryside agency and local councils.

But there are still problems. The northern road entry into Selby is one: narrow, congested and still run down. And while Selby itself is in an ideal position to serve the hinterland areas of York, Leeds and Doncaster, she fears local industry needs to look to the future if it is to avoid a damaging brain-drain of talented local young people to hi-tech jobs elsewhere.

Many bright 19-25-year-olds are leaving, she says; finding little to attract them in the traditional, low-paid local industries - coal-mining, power and chemicals. "I think there needs to be more investment in businesses that use high technology," she says.

Jim Lund

THE 52-year-old farmer from Wistow Lordship near Selby works a mixed arable and cattle farm that has been in his family's hands for a century. He has a voting preference - he won't say what - but nevertheless describes himself as a floating voter who will make his mind up only after listening to what politicians have to say.

One of the key issues for him will be Europe. He won't say directly what his views are, but gives a strong hint. "I'm an Englishman," he says.

Like many farmers, he says times have been tough recently. Last year's floods left his entire 160-acre farm on the banks of the Ouse north of Selby under 25 feet of water. He managed to move his 50 head of cattle to safety, but his entire crop of wheat and barley was lost. The only way to prevent a repeat, he says, is to cut a flood channel from the Wistow side of Selby round to the Hemingbrough side. But he accepts that would cost 'megabucks' and is unlikely to happen.

He wasn't affected by foot and mouth, but criticises the Government for being slow to react. If MAFF had been quicker in tracing sheep that had passed through markets where they could have become infected the outbreak could have been contained much sooner, he says.

Married, with four daughters, he says the future of farming is bleak. He sees a day when the countryside has been turned over to vast farming factories, or "little hobby farms with two to three horses". "I have not encouraged my daughters to go into farming," he says.

Richard Durham

THE 46-year-old miner from Riccall is married, with two sons aged 14 and 16. He works at Wistow mine.

Richard makes no secret of his political leanings: Labour. He likes John Grogan. "It's just a shame he didn't come along earlier. We've been Tory for years."

Mining has been good to him, he says - but he wouldn't want his two sons to follow in his footsteps. "It's a hard industry. I wouldn't wish it on anybody." In any case, he says the Selby mines probably won't last that much longer. "They are essentially coming to the end of their lives. It may or may not just see me out."

He would like his sons to stay in the Selby area, but is worried about future employment prospects. Much of the region's traditional manufacturing base has shut down, he says - including the Selby shipyards. He worries there is not enough hi-tech industry taking its place. "I think Selby is a bit behind the times."

Other local issues are the floods - something has to be done to prevent a repeat of last year's disaster, he says - the need for a Selby bypass, and rural transport. "It's shocking".

He's in favour of closer ties with Europe. "We're too little," he says. "We're just a little island."

Peter Burrans

RETIRED estate agent Peter Burrans, 63, lives in Riccall - a "very pleasant place to live," he says. Married with two children, he describes himself as "open to persuasion" when it comes to voting.

He will listen to what candidates have to say and try to assess whether they would make good constituency MPs. He didn't vote for John Grogan last time, but admits he's done a good job.

Top of the list of Mr Burran's concerns is traffic congestion. It can be "virtually impossible" to get into Selby on the A19, he says. The bypass is desperately needed and can't come soon enough.

"It's been an awfully long time," he says. "My father was talking about it in the 1920s."

Peter says Selby has a lot going for it: good shops, good sporting facilities. He concedes there is not much in the way of theatre or cinema. "But we're not far from Leeds or York."

Job prospects aren't great, he admits - especially for graduates. "If kids go to university there's going to be no suitable work in the Selby area." But again, he points out, York, with its hi-tech industries, is just down the road.

He has mixed feelings towards Europe. "I'm a European, and there's a lot to be said for Europe. But I'm not in favour of a United States of Europe and I like the pound."

Candidates for June 7, 2001

John Grogan, Labour

Helen Kenwright, Green

Bob Lewis, UK Independence

Michael Mitchell, Conservative

Jeremy Wilcock, Liberal Democrat

1997 Election results:

John Grogan Labour 25,838 votes (45.9%)

Ken Hind Conservative 22,002 votes (39.1%)

Ted Batty Liberal Democrat 6,778 votes (12.0%)

David Walker Referendum 1,162 votes (2.1%)

P Spence UK Independence 536 votes (1.0%)

Labour majority: 3,836.

Turnout: 56,316 (74.7 per cent).

Total population (1991 census): 89,428.

Updated: 10:57 Thursday, May 24, 2001