MP Mhairi: I wanted to be a nun
SHE has spoken of her love of a tipple and once declared a desire to headbutt opponents.
So it may come as something of a surprise that before Mhairi Black became an MP she had her eye on a career in a convent.
Miss Black rose to prominence after the 2014 independence referendum, declaring she wanted to headbutt a group of Labour councillors on the morning of the No independence result.
She also referred to Smirnoff Ice alcopop as ‘the drink of the Gods’.
But the SNP representative for Paisley and Renfrewshire South has disclosed that as a youngster she had her heart set on a more demure life as a nun – until she was put off by the ‘sexist’ attitude of a priest. Miss Black, 23, told the Scottish Secular Society at Strathclyde University: ‘I am a staunch atheist after a very long, interesting journey. I was raised in a really, really Catholic family. My granny has 13 weans. I went to Catholic school and everything – at one point I wanted to be a nun.
‘In fact, the first time I can remember experiencing sexism was after the priest had been in, telling us all about basically what his job was.
‘At the end he was like, “Who wants to be a priest?” I was like, “Yeah, I do.” He says, “You can’t be. You’re a girl.” And I thought, “Wait a second, that’s not right”.’ According to The Herald, Miss Black also told the students she had ‘hated’ Alex Salmond’s 2013 White Paper on independence and told people to ignore it in the run-up to the vote.
Of the Yes campaign she said: ‘Although we managed to get to 45 per cent, we did not get there because of Alex Salmond.
‘In many ways, during the Yes campaign it was in spite of Alex Salmond, because it was used as a weapon – “Independence is all about the SNP and Alex Salmond”. Anyone who was in the Yes campaign knows it had nothing to do with it.’
Miss Black unseated Labour heavyweight Douglas Alexander in the 2015 general election, when she was 20 years old, the youngest MP elected since 1667.