For 2010, the Boundary Commission recommended the creation of this seat following a review of parliamentary representation in York and North Yorkshire. The constituency was formed from the former Selby constituency, except for some villages near York that were moved to the new York Outer constituency and rural areas south and east of Harrogate previously in the Vale of York constituency.
Until 2023, the seat had been won by the Conservative Party by a successively larger set of majorities each time it has been contested, though the 2017 general election had the unusual result of the Conservatives slightly increasing their majority despite a slight swing towards the Labour Party, mostly due to a significantly higher turnout.
On 12 June 2023 the seat became vacant following the formal resignation of the incumbent, Nigel Adams,[3] and the resulting by-election returned Labour's Keir Mather.
The constituency consisted of Census Output Areas of two local government districts with similar characteristics: a working population whose income is close to the national average and lower than average reliance upon social housing.[4] At the end of 2012, 2.2% of the population were claiming jobseekers’ allowance, compared with the regional average of 4.7%.[5] The district contributing to the bulk of the seat has a low 14.5% of its population without a car, 21.2% of the population without qualifications, and a relatively high 26.1% with level 4 qualifications or above. 75.0% of homes were owned outright or on a mortgage by occupants as of the 2011 census across the Selby district.[6]