Youngest MP will give half her salary to local charities

THE youngest MP of the 2019 general election intake is to give half her salary to charities in her constituency.

Nadia Whittome became Labour MP for Nottingham East at 23, making her the most junior member of the House of Commons.

She said that until pay rose for public servants, like teachers and nurses, she would take home a “worker’s wage” of £35,000. The remainder of her £79,468 salary, £44,000, will go to charities in Nottingham, including those that support homeless people, sex workers and struggling local families.

Ms Whittome told The Independent: “I think it is really important for workers’ representatives to be on salaries that reflect workers more closely. And it is not berating MPs for taking the full salary. It is saying workers need a pay rise; carers, teaching assistants, nurses and I’ll take mine when they take theirs.

“It is about giving back to the labour movement as well; my local area and grassroots projects supporting people, but also directly enabling workers to go on strike,” she added.

Ms Whittome won 64 percent of her vote, regaining the seat for Labour after Chris Leslie, who had been the area’s MP since 2010, defected to the

Independent Group for Change Party, or Change UK, earlier this year. The Conservative candidate came second with 21 per cent of the vote, while the Liberal Democrats received 5 per cent, followed by Change UK with 4 per cent. The constituency, which covers north-eastern Nottingham, has been held by Labour since 1992.

Ms Whittome, who grew up in a working-class family in The Meadows

‘This election was ultimately about Brexit. I reject that this is the fault of the Left or that we were too Remain’

area, said representing the city where she was born and raised would be the “greatest honour” of her life.

Speaking after the election results, she said: “We have lessons to learn and need a period of reflection to look at the issues that went wrong. This election was ultimately about Brexit. We tried to cut through that and talk about other issues in the country. I reject that this is the fault of the Left or because we were too Remain.”

Nicola Richards, 24, gained West Bromwich East for the Conservatives from the Labour Party for the first time since its creation in 1974.