Young MPs Ready To Take On Westminster Heavywights
Some of Britain's youngest MPs have insisted their tender years will prove an advantage as Parliament returns from the summer break and a fresh political cycle begins.
Some of Britain's youngest MPs have insisted their tender years will prove an advantage as Parliament returns from the summer break and a fresh political cycle begins.
Conservative Tom Pursglove, Labour's Louise Haigh and the SNP's Stuart Donaldson are all in their 20s and brushed off suggestions that they are too young for their jobs.
Mr Pursglove, who at 26 is almost certainly too young to remember Margaret Thatcher, said he was frustrated at being constantly asked about his age, considering the former prime minister was 24 when she first stood for Parliament.
He said: It's a bit frustrating I have to say, but it's something I expected.
I was 24 when I was selected so I always expected there would be an element of 'you're too young to do the job' but Mrs Thatcher was 24 when she first stood in Dartford and it didn't turn out too badly I'd argue.''
Similarly Ms Haigh, Labour's youngest MP at 28, insisted she has the life experience and common touch to properly represent her Sheffield Heeley constituents.
Asked whether she had the experience for the job, Ms Haigh said: I can understand that but I've been a trade union rep for the best part of 10 years, I've worked in the City, I've been a special constable and I come from a pretty normal background, I think that's what most people really want in their politicians - is for people to look and sound like them.''
But she admitted that sitting so closely opposite the likes of David Cameron and George Osborne that she can see the whites of their eyes was daunting at first.
Ms Haigh said: You've got all these massive political heavyweights in there so it does sort of run doubt through your mind every now and again - do you have the life experience and the weight to attack them?
But we're all MPs, we've all been equally elected there now, we're not MPs in training or anything like that so I've been trying to get stuck in straight away and hold the Government to account.''
Remarkably, Mr Donaldson at 23 is not the SNP's youngest MP, with the honour going to 20 year-old Mhairi Black.
Mr Donaldson, whose grandfather Hamish Watt was an SNP MP in the 70s, insisted more experienced hands can learn from the raft of new, young Scottish talent in Parliament.
The West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MP even suggested their presence could help SNP doyen Alex Salmond look at things from a different perspective.
Mr Donaldson said: I think it's an advantage. I think it gives you a different perspective on things. There's a lot of people who have been here for an awful long time and who are the kind of stereotype of what people see an MP as.
We're a representative democracy so I think having people of all ages - myself and Mhairi Black particularly - is incredibly important.
Obviously we may not have the experience of other MPs but we have got a lot of colleagues who have been here a long time, particularly Alex Salmond who has served nearly three decades in different parliaments.
We can learn a lot from him, but I think they can also learn a bit from us on how to look at things and to see things from a younger person's perspective.''