Selby is facing something of a rematch when it comes to the General Election.

Recently-elected MP Keir Mather is facing a couple of adversaries, whom he soundly beat in last August’s by-election.

To date, they are Dave Kent for Reform UK and the SDP’s John Waterson.

Dave told the Press he stood in the by-election to introduce himself to politics and be Reform’s eventual General Election candidate.

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Last August, he gained 3.7% of the vote, similar to Reform’s national support at the time.

Dave recalls “thousands of Labourites hit the area” for the by-election campaign and even though they won the seat “there is a massive vacuum of voters who are disillusioned with the Tories but could never vote Labour, as they have swung so far away from the normal working guy/girl.”

In the by-election, Dave says voters simply wanted to “give the Tories a bloody nose” and since then Reform multiplied its support to 16% in some polls.

York Press: Keir Mather, Labour MP for Selby and Ainsty

Based on current polling the Electoral Calculus has sitting MP Keir Mather on 47.2%, the Conservatives on 32%, Reform on 9.9% and the Lib-Dems and the Greens way behind on 3.7% a-piece.

Dave says the new Selby seat still remains largely rural and he will be helped by the sitting MP being just 26 and “lacking life experience.”

Aged 62 with a background in production management, Dave believes he can “make things happen.”

And whilst Tories nationally accuse Reform of taking support from them and helping Labour, Dave thinks he can hurt both, especially Labour accusing it of “diverting away from the working class.”

Either way, Dave says he loves Selby and wants to change the town and the country for the good, for both to realise their full potential.

He added: “I’ve never shied away from hard work and wherever I have been, I’ve brought a difference to business the people and the location.”

Since taking the seat from former Conservative MP Nigel Adams, Labour’s Keir Mather says the campaigning has never stopped and he is out several times a week.

He told the Press the by-election gave people a chance to make a fresh start and “it’s been great to hear from local people who are supporting me again having seen the difference a hardworking local MP can make.”

Keir won’t be drawn into whether Reform or the Conservatives pose any threat to him. He says he is focussed on his own performance, which has seen him handle more than 5,000 pieces of casework and attending many local events.

The MP added: “The work has only just begun, and I want to deliver lasting change. When the General Election comes, I hope that people vote to endorse our fresh start locally and to give Britain its future back."

York Press: Conservative candidate Charles Richardson

As previously reported, the Conservative candidate is Charles Richardson. The Green Party candidate is Angela Oldershaw.