Britain's youngest MP Nadia Whittome on what it's like being 'baby of the House'
Britain's youngest MP, Nadia Whittome, has opened up to the Acting Prime Minister podcast about what it's like being the new 'baby of the House'.
Entering Parliament at just 23 years of age has been a "whirlwind" for Ms Whittome, who went from looking for temporary Christmas jobs to being the MP for Nottingham East in just a matter of weeks.
"I was looking for Christmas temp work," she told podcast host Paul Brand, "I'd applied for loads of stuff, Paul Smith, a call centre, Poundland, loads of things."
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending how you look at it) she did not get accepted for any of the jobs she went for - except the one where she applied to be Labour's Nottingham East candidate.
Within a month of being selected by the party, she won her seat in the 2019 general election.
Looking back at the rollercoaster month in which she hoped to earn some extra cash at Christmas and ended up with a £79,500 a year job, she said: "All's well that ends well."
But the MP, who describes herself as a "democratic socialist", has decided she will only use a small chunk of her salary for herself.
"I've said that I'll take home £35,000 and I'll give the rest to local causes and strike funds," she said.
She explained why, saying she thinks it's "important" for workers' representatives to be on a "workers' wage".
"It's not a criticism of other MPs, and it's not saying that MPs don't work very hard - we do - but so do care workers, firefighters, teaching assistants and nurses.
"I'll take my pay rise when they take theirs," she said.
On the European Union, Ms Whittome, who was a firm Remainer, said she doesn't believe it would be right to rejoin the bloc.
Rather, she said, the government should work to implement good trade deals and create a visa-free immigration system rather than a points-based one.
She said "visa-free immigration is a workers' right," but said it should the policy should be implemented incrementally and "first with countries that have similar economies to ours so that there's no loss on either side".
She said she finds it "a little bit patronising" to be called 'baby of the House' but she doesn't mind because it gives her a "platform to talk about things that people might not otherwise listen to".
"I've used it to raise the climate crisis, to raise the immense amounts of poverty in my constituency," she said.
Despite positioning herself firmly on the left of Labour, Ms Whittome says it's good to have representation in the party from the right as well.
She said she wants Rebecca Long-Bailey to be the next Labour leader, but said she isn't worried about the prospect of Sir Keir Starmer winning the election and taking the party toward the centre.
If she herself was leader, she said the first policies she'd try to implement would be a green new deal and a "livable living wage".
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