Keir Mather: Labour’s out gay winner of Selby and Ainsty by-election is youngest MP in parliament
Out gay Labour politician Keir Mather has become the youngest MP in parliament after he stormed to victory in the Selby and Ainsty by-election.
Mather, who is just 25, managed to overturn a Conservative majority of 20,137 in his North Yorkshire constituency on Thursday (20 July). He came out with 16,456 votes while his Tory opponent Claire Holmes trailed in second place with 12,295.
The seat was previously held by Tory MP Nigel Adams, who resigned in June. He had held the seat since it was created in 2010.
Speaking after his win, Mather hit out at the Conservative government, saying it was “time for a fresh start”.
“In a year’s time I believe we will be on the precipice of a Labour government,” he said, adding: “Today we have made history.”
Mather’s electoral success was also praised by Labour leader Keir Starmer, who said it was a “historic” moment.
Keir Mather celebrates winning with 16,456 votes the Selby and Ainsty by-election on July 21, 2023 in Selby, England. (Ian Forsyth/Getty)
“Keir Mather will be a fantastic MP who will deliver the fresh start Selby and Ainsty deserves,” Starmer said.
“It is clear just how powerful the demand for change is. Voters put their trust in us – many for the first time. After 13 years of Tory chaos, only Labour can give the country its hope, its optimism and its future back.”
*Who is Keir Mather, Labour’s newest out gay MP? *
Keir Mather is parliament’s newest out gay MP. He was born in Hull in 1998 and he grew up near Selby. His mother told BBC News that he set up a youth parliament as a child and later founded a Labour youth group.
Mather went on to study history and politics at Oxford University. In 2018, he garnered a mention in his student newspaper when he grilled Russia’s ambassador to the UK on the torture and murder of gay men in Chechnya.
“Ambassador, I’m a gay man. And if I lived in Chechnya over the last year I would have run the risk of being imprisoned, and tortured, and possibly killed by either my family or the state,” Mather said, according to Oxford student newspaper Cherwell.
He went on to ask the ambassador why those torturing LGBTQ+ people in Chechnya had not been “brought to justice”, receiving an extended round of applause from the audience.
Keir Mather, candidate for the Selby and Ainsty by-election campaigns on polling day on July 20, 2023 in Selby, England. (Ian Forsyth/Getty)
After graduating with a first class honours, Mather went on to work as a parliamentary researcher for Labour’s Wes Streeting. He stayed there until September 2020, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He went on to work in public affairs for the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
In a video on the Yorkshire and the Humber Labour Party website, Mather spoke about his childhood growing up in Brough and said he had spent his life supporting the Hull Kingston Rovers.
“There isn’t much I love more than being down on the terraces, a place where people come together, where you’re part of a community and you sing with one voice. It’s that sense of community that drives me everyday,” Mather said.
Laying out his vision, Mather described North Yorkshire as a “beautiful part of the world” – but he said people were suffering due to high mortgage costs, energy bills and food prices.
“When I speak to people on the doorstep they tell me that they’re worried, that they can’t get a GP appointment or a train to where they want to go,” Mather said.
Keir Mather celebrates winning with 16,456 votes the Selby and Ainsty by-election on July 21, 2023 in Selby, England. (Ian Forsyth/Getty)
Shortly after his election victory, Mather told reporters at the Selby Leisure Centre: “As a young person in politics, I really hope to be a representative for the power that young people have to make a difference.”
When asked if he felt he could fully understand the concerns of the public due to his young age, Mather said: “Well, I’m a taxpayer too, I feel the pressures like anyone else.”
He also said he supported Keir Starmer’s plan to keep the controversial two-child benefit cap if Labour wins the next election, telling journalists: “I think we’re going to inherit an absolute echoic mess from the Conservatives when we take power and we’re going to have to make extremely difficult decisions once we do, and I support the Labour government in doing so.”
Mather’s success came on a disastrous day for the Tories, who lost two out of three seats in closely-watched by-elections.
The Conservatives ultimately managed to hold on to their seat in Uxbridge – Boris Johnson’s former seat – but lost out in Selby & Ainsty and Somerton & Frome respectively.