Who is Keir Mather? Labour's new MP for Selby and Ainsty is youngest in Parliament - age and school explained

Labour took a historic victory in Selby and Ainsty, electing Keir Mather to the House of Commons.

It was the biggest Tory majority Keir Starmer's party has overturned in history, with the Labour leader saying the dramatic win is a "cry for change". There was a 23.7 percentage point swing in the share of the vote from the Conservatives to Labour, which if replicated in a general election would see Starmer become Prime Minister in a landslide.

The by-election, held after Boris Johnson's ally Nigel Adams quit after he was not made a peer, also makes the new MP the youngest in Parliament.

So how old is Keir Mather, what is his background and how did he become an MP? Here is everything you need to know.

Who is Keir Mather?

Mather was born in Hull in 1998, and grew up near Selby - his current constituency. He reportedly went to school at the independent Hymers College, in Hull. According to its website, it charges £4,735 a term for years seven to 11 currently, however it does provide bursaries for families whose collective income is less than £61,500.

Mathew studied history and politics at Oxford University, and according to his LinkedIn received a first-class degree. While at Oxford, he was an elected officer of the union debating society and co-chair of the Oxford University Labour Club.

In 2018, Oxford's student newspaper Cherwell reported Mather questioning Russia's ambassador to the UK about LGBTQ+ rights in Chechnya. He said: “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."

After his undergraduate degree, Mather's LinkedIn says he worked as a parliamentary researcher for Ilford North MP and current Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting for one year and three months. He then went back to Oxford to study a Master of Public Policy as a Political Leadership Scholar.

Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford says Mather's "motivation to pursue a career in public service stems largely from his upbringing in Hull, a city in northern England with high levels of poverty and deprivation".

At the time, Mather said: "I benefitted from a system in which political representatives ensured that people like me could receive a good education and go on to study at world-class universities. I feel a moral obligation to work towards ensuring future generations of children have those same opportunities.”

Before being elected as MP, Mather worked as public affairs adviser at the under-fire Confederation of British Industry. He is also reportedly a fan of rugby league side Hull KR.

How old is Keir Mather?

Mather is just 25, which makes him the youngest MP in Parliament at the moment - the baby of the house. And he is one of the youngest new MPs in recent history.

However Mather is older than the previous youngest MP in the House of Commons. Fellow Labour member Nadia Whittome was just 23 when she was elected in Nottingham East in 2019.

And the new Selby and Ainsty MP is a positive veteran compared to the SNP's Mhairi Black, who was 20 years and 237 days when elected in 2015.

What did he say after being elected?

In a speech after he was declared the winner of the by-election, Mather said he “understood the enormity of what has just happened”. “We have rewritten the rules on where Labour can win. People have opened their doors to us and embraced our positive vision for the future,” he said.

“The people of Selby & Ainsty have sent a clear message. For too long, Conservatives up here and in Westminster have failed us, and today that changes. Over the past few months, speaking to hundreds of people on the doorstep, I’ve encountered so much hardship. Hardship made worse by 13 years of negligence and complacency from the Conservatives.”

Speaking after the results were announced, Mather told reporters: “As a young person in politics, I really hope to be a representative for the power that young people have to make a difference.”

Asked about whether he could fully understand voters’ concerns at the age of 25, he said: “Well, I’m a taxpayer too, I feel the pressures like anyone else.” He said his first priority would be setting up financial support centres in the constituency, for people to get expert help with issues including mortgage payments and energy bills.

He told journalists that he supported Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s policy of keeping the two-child benefit cap, saying: “I think we’re going to inherit an absolute economic 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 said the cost-of-living crisis was the number one issue on the doorstep throughout the campaign.

Asked if people were voting for Labour or against the Tories, Mather said: “Well, I make no bones about it, I think local residents were extremely frustrated at the way the Conservative MP (Nigel Adams) stepped down, but they only voted Labour to the extent that they did because they knew we had a plan that would actually deliver on their concerns.”

What did Keir Starmer say?

Labour leader Keir Starmer said Mather would be a "fantastic MP who’ll deliver the fresh start that Selby and Ainsty deserves".

Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, described the result in Selby and Ainsty as a "historic win", adding she was "pretty certain [Mr Mather]... understands some of the challenges his generation faces".

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Ms Rayner said: "Being 25, he’s of that generation that is looking at insecure work, looking at not being able to ever own their own home - and looking at the challenges that they face with cost of living now, that leaves them in this spiral of not being able to get on in life."