Selby and Ainsty by-election: Voters to go to polls on 20 July

Nigel Adams has represented the seat since it was created in 2010

A by-election for North Yorkshire's vacant Selby and Ainsty constituency will be held on 20 July.

It comes after Conservative MP Nigel Adams, who has held the seat since 2010, announced on Saturday he would stand down from the role immediately.

His decision came shortly after Boris Johnson and Nadine Dorries also announced their resignations as MPs.

A by-election in Mr Johnson's Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat will also take place on the same date.

Mr Adams, who has held a number of ministerial roles, had previously said he did not intend to seek re-election in 2024.

Following his resignation at the weekend, he said despite standing down as an MP he remained "committed" to the Conservative Party.

He would continue to "support this government in its work to continue delivering on the issues that matter most to the British people", he said.

Mr Adams added it was "essential the Conservatives under Rishi Sunak win the next election" and he would "do my utmost to ensure that happens".

He said he intended to return to a career in the private sector.

Analysis by James Vincent, Political Editor, BBC Yorkshire

We've known for a while that there would definitely be a new MP for Selby. Nigel Adams had already said he was stepping down at the general election.

Turns out there's going to be a by-election in five weeks' time and no one had a clue it was coming.

The Conservative Party had no idea either.

An email about their new candidate for Selby dropped into my inbox just before 9pm last Friday night. It was full of how they were going to fight for the seat at the general election next year.

But by the time anyone had read the press release, Westminster was in meltdown. Boris Johnson had stepped down with immediate effect. Mr Adams followed him the next day.

He leaves a 20,000 majority and a lot of rushing around to get a by-election sorted.

There are certain facts that will make people think - "ah that's an easy Conservative win".

One of those is that Selby and Ainsty has always been a Conservative constituency.

But dig a little deeper and you'll see that the current constituency has only been around since 2010 - and before that Selby had been Labour's since 1997.

No one saw this by-election coming. Not even those getting ready to fight it out.

See you there for the next five weeks.