You should get a makeover Mhairi... the last woman I said that to was Nicola!
Nationalist MP reveals former leader’s advice as she hits out at the party
THE youngest MP in the Commons has claimed that Alex Salmond suggested she needed a makeover – and even offered to help her find her ‘own style’.
Now aged 23, Mhairi Black was only 20 when she was elected Nationalist MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South.
She said that after her victory at the 2015 election, the former First Minister offered to arrange a shopping trip for her with Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, then also a Nationalist MP.
She said Mr Salmond claimed he had proffered similar advice to the young Nicola Sturgeon.
Miss Black, who said she was ‘never going to be told how to dress, especially by a man’, added that she was worried about having to ‘come out’ to Mr Salmond – and feared their meeting was a ‘date’.
Giving a rare glimpse into the workings of the SNP, Miss Black added that she has never had an in-depth conversation with First Minister Miss Sturgeon – despite being elected to Parliament more than two years ago.
The rare interview features in the latest issue of Holyrood magazine, which is published today.
Recalling the ‘awkward’ conversation with Mr Salmond after winning her seat – at a time when she was seen as an SNP rising star – she said: ‘I was just sitting chatting away to him and the whole time I’m thinking, “What is the point of this meant to be – is this a date, do I need to come out to Alex Salmond?”
‘It was fine, really, he was just giving me tips here and there and then he says, “I’m sure Taz will take you out to go shopping or something at some point and you’ll find your own style.”
‘He then said that the last time he’d had this conversation it was with a young woman called Nicola Sturgeon.
‘I thought, “Oh, very good” and I just left the awkward silence hanging when he asked me if I wanted him to arrange it with Taz. I’m like, “I am never going to be told how to dress, especially by a man”.’
Despite only being an MP since 2015, Miss Black’s political career has not been without controversy.
In February 2015, ahead of the election campaign to unseat then Labour shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander in Paisley and Renfrewshire South, she caused controversy after tweeting about wanting to put ‘the nut’ on gloating No voters.
During the same rant Miss Black also reportedly condemned antiindependence voters as ‘gullible’ and ‘selfish’.
Her Tweet sparked a backlash in the SNP at the time, with Miss Sturgeon facing calls to sack the young politician.
In another high-profile incident, in March this year, during a debate about housing benefits with work and pensions minister Caroline Nokes at Westminster, Miss Black appeared to mouth: ‘You talk s***e, hen.’
In the interview with Holyrood magazine, Miss Black added that apart from her meeting with Mr Salmond, she has not had many other substantive conversations with senior SNP figures.
She claimed that her only meeting with Miss Sturgeon came during the 2016 election for the Scottish parliament when the First Minister asked her to help with the SNP’s youth campaign.
Recalling how the party leader had visited Westminster, Miss Black said: ‘She came down to greet us all but no, we’ve not had that kind of chat.
‘The only time that I really sort of had a conversation with her was when she asked me to do the youth stuff during the Scottish elections, but other than that, no. I mean, we’ve been at public things and meet-and-greets but nothing special.’
Miss Black revealed that Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop was assigned as her mentor during the 2015 election, but they only met twice. She added: ‘I think I frightened her.
‘I think things should change and that it might be an idea for Nicola to take the time to talk to folk or whatever, but I hope that someone else further down the line does have a different experience to me. There should be more care... there you go. I know I’m doing that thing again, where I’m maybe minimising it because it’s myself I’m talking about and I don’t want to make out I was really needy or anything, but I think that’s an area where the party does need a kick up the backside, especially given the kind of caring ethos that we like to preach in the party.’
Earlier this year Miss Black claimed she was thinking about standing down before the next election. She claimed that she ‘hates’ being at Westminster and finds it ‘depressing’.
Asked by a newspaper if she would seek re-election, she said at the time: ‘I don’t know.’
She opted to stand in May’s election and held onto her seat, despite a drop in her majority.
‘I’m sure Taz will take you shopping’ ‘Party needs a kick up the backside’