MHAIRI Black has blamed stomach problems and the norovirus for having one of the worst voting records at Westminster in the aftermath of the general election.
The SNP’s youngest MP was criticised in mid-October after voting just five times since her re-election in June.
In an interview with Holyrood magazine, Ms Black revealed why she had been absent and said there was a unsympathetic, bullying attitude among some MPs.
Mhairi Black: Sturgeon needs to talk to her MPs more
She said: “This job takes a real toll on people, in every sense - emotionally, physically and mentally. The constant travel is just a field day for bugs and germs.
“I was really unwell for a few months back there with stomach problems and I’m still getting tests but I literally couldn’t get out and about.
“Then I got the norovirus as well. I kept calling it the no-voter virus because I just couldn’t get into my work to vote. I wasn’t fit to travel and was given a medical line, etc, and yet the entire time I was getting sent dug’s abuse for not being in, not voting.
“Twitter, Facebook, email was full of it and it even crept into the workplace itself.”
The Paisley MP, seen as a rising star since being elected aged 20 in 2015, said a Tory MP with a “smug grin” told her during the Budget: “Oh, how nice of you to join us, Mhairi’.”
She went on: “I knew the other Tories could hear so I thought, no chance am I taking crap off this guy... So I boomed back, ‘Aye, and poor health, have ye’ heard of that?’ to which his face dropped, he went bright red and began profusely apologising.
“I’m still on the mend, but when I was telling my doctor about that encounter and many others, they were astounded at how horrible it was down here.”
Mhairi Black: Sturgeon needs to talk to her MPs more
She has now voted in 45 of 73 votes since June.
Ms Black said she retained her “disdain” of Westminster and its archaic procedures.
She said: “I don’t enjoy it in the slightest. It is over 300 miles away from my home, it is filled with sociopaths, and if it was any other building, health and safety would shut it down in a heartbeat….It is not a parliament that is fit for purpose.
“I certainly don’t want to spend my life at Westminster.The number of failed marriages, affairs and miserable and soulless relationships that exist at Westminster is pretty depressing.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel