Selby byelection result an indictment of the Government’s record - The Yorkshire Post says

Selby has been a bellwether for voting intentions at General Election with the sitting MP coming from the governing party of the day.

This result shows the actions of the Government has left voters alienated from the party that it trusted with a majority.

Forget the spin from the various factions of the Tory Party. Former PM Boris Johnson’s allies will claim it is because he was defenestrated by his own MPs that the Tories have suffered one of the worst byelection results in living memory. And Rishi Sunak’s Government will point to narrowly holding the Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency as a success.

The reality is that people have lost trust in the Conservative Party after years of successive Government failures. The Selby byelection result is a damning indictment of the Government’s failure to level-up, a key reason for its successes in this region at the last General Election was its pledge to tackle regional inequality.

The NHS is on its knees, crippled by years of underfunding. Mishandling of the Covid crisis, where Mr Johnson himself was caught flouting the laws that his own Government drafted. Brexit promises of a brighter new future never materialised.

However, the Labour Party needs to be aware that this byelection result doesn’t necessarily guarantee it gains across Yorkshire.

In fact, it should serve as a cautionary tale for the Opposition that unless it lays out a vision that delivers for Yorkshire then it will struggle to win a majority at the next General Election. And if it fails to fulfil that vision then the voters will be just as quick to punish it as they have been the Tories.