Keir Mather Biography: British Labour politician Keir Alexander Mather has been a serving Member of Parliament (MP) for Selby and Ainsty since the 2023 by-election. At the time of his election, aged 25, Mather became the youngest serving MP. He was born in 1998. His religion is unknown.

Who is Keir Mather?

• G@y
• Politician
• British citizen

Keir Mather Parents

• Mother: Jill Tambaros (née Golding)
• Father; Unknown

Keir Mather Biography

Keir Mather was named after Keir Hardie, the founder of the Labour Party. He spent his childhood in Brough, East Riding of Yorkshire.

His mother, Jill Tambaros (née Golding), is as of July 2023 a supply teacher. Mather had once joined the Youth Parliament, and had set up a Labour group for young people in Hull.

He was educated at a private prep school and at South Hunsley School in Melton. He was 16 when he picked up an interest in politics. According to his mother, Mather was interested in politics as a schoolboy.

“When he was 16, I was dropping him off at the office of every MP in Hull, … He said ‘I’m going to introduce myself to them’. I thought it was funny he was so determined to go and see all those MPs.”

Keir Mather Education

He received undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Oxford, graduating with a first in history and politics at Wadham College before receiving a Master of Public Policy (MPP) degree at University College.

He studied for the MPP at Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government as a Political Leadership Scholar, in a scheme that was “open to applicants from the UK and Republic of Ireland who intend to run for public office”. While a student at Oxford, he was appointed official of the Oxford Union debating society as head of research and was also a co-chair of the Oxford University Labour Club. While at the University of Oxford, Mather worked as a researcher for The Times journalist and former Conservative MP Matthew Parris.

Keir Mather Political Career

After working as a public affairs adviser for 1 year and 6 months for the Confederation of British Industry, Mather decided to enter politics fully. He worked as a parliamentary researcher for Labour MP Wes Streeting from 2019 to 2020.

Mather won the seat of Selby and Ainsty in North Yorkshire in a by-election held on 20 July 2023, caused by the resignation of Conservative MP Nigel Adams. Labour won the seat with the largest by-election swing since the 1990s, overturning Adams’s 20,000+ majority.

Mather, who was elected at the age of 25, holds the distinction of being the youngest serving MP, commonly referred to as the Baby of the House. He succeeded Nadia Whittome (born 1996) in this position.

Upon his election, the veterans’ affairs minister, Johnny Mercer, said that parliament “mustn’t become a repeat of The Inbetweeners”, a television show that featured adolescent schoolchildren. This was considered to be a derogatory reference to Mather’s age, which Mercer denied.

Mercer’s comment was criticized by Labour politicians, including Labour leader Keir Starmer. The Guardian noted that former prime ministers William Ewart Gladstone and Winston Churchill became MPs at the ages of 22 and 25, respectively.

He was sworn in as an MP on September 5, 2023, following the summer break. In an interview with The Press from the same month, Mather said his main priority as an MP was the cost of living crisis. Other priorities included rural crime, anti-social behaviour, underperforming NHS services, little public transport provision and supporting small businesses.