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Mhairi Black to stand again in general election despite saying she 'hates' Westminster

Parliament is 'so old and defunct in terms of its systems and procedures', SNP MP said last month

Jon Sharman
Tuesday 18 April 2017 17:50 BST
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SNP MP Mhairi Black speaks during a protest in George Square, Glasgow
SNP MP Mhairi Black speaks during a protest in George Square, Glasgow (PA)

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The UK's youngest MP has announced she will stand in June's snap general election just a month after admitting she "hates" Westminster and claiming that "a lot of the time, it is just a waste of time".

Mhairi Black said the election was "our opportunity to once again reject the Tories’ agenda and provide a strong voice for Scotland".

As the SNP's candidate in Paisley and Renfrewshire South in 2015, she defeated Labour's shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander on a day that saw Ed Miliband resign as leader and pave the way for Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.

In March this year, Ms Black said: "It has been nearly two years and I still hate the place.

"It is the personal elements — it is a pain to come up and down every week and you are working with a number of people you find quite troubling.

"Professionally, it is more just that so little gets done. It is so old and defunct in terms of its systems and procedures. A lot of the time, it is just a waste of time."

She had said she was unsure about standing for re-election in 2020. "I have a habit of falling into things," she said. "I fell into university, fell into this and have fallen into most jobs I’ve had."

Ms Black's office has been contacted for comment.

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