Britain’s youngest MP has launched an attack on complacency in the House of Commons, claiming members with safe seats can “skive”.
In an interview with The Herald Magazine, Mhairi Black, the SNP MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South who sensationally took the seat from Labour heavyweight Douglas Alexander in the 2015 general election, was scathing of what she described as the Westminster “bubble”.
Speaking about her experiences over the last year, the 21-year-old, who was still a student at the University of Glasgow when she was elected, said: “Let’s put it this way, if you didn’t care, being an MP in a safe seat would be the best job in the world because you could skive and nobody would know.
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“You could just do whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted, get paid a fortune and get away with it. It’s unbelievable. But when you do care, it’s a stressful job.”
In a wide-ranging interview, the Baby of the House and youngest MP since 1667, also said the media is “waiting for me to mess up”.
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Ms Black’s maiden speech in the House of Commons – an eight-minute attack on Tory welfare policy - became a global internet hit and has now been viewed more than 10 million times.
“I don’t kid myself on,” she said. “I will do or say something that puts me in a spot, whether I deserve it or not.
“The tide will turn on me at some point, I have no illusions about that. The media are waiting for me to mess up. But that’s part of the job – it came as part of my election.”
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Despite her high-profile, Ms Black, who sits on the influential Work and Pensions Committee, admitted she does not necessarily view politics as a long-term career.
“I genuinely don’t have career plans,” she said. “The problem with the House of Commons is that many of the people have been trying to get elected for 30 years and then they finally do. I don’t feel that way.
“I’ll just take things as they come. If I judge that I can still do some good, then I’ll stay in politics. If not, I won’t.”
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