Paisley:A 20-year-old student representing the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) was elected Britain’s youngest lawmaker since 1667 on Friday, toppling one of the opposition Labour party’s top figures.
Mhairi Black defeated Labour’s election campaign chief Douglas Alexander in Paisley and Renfrewshire South as an exit poll indicated that the SNP could win 58 out of 59 seats in Scotland. “This election is about making the voice of this constituency and the whole of Scotland heard more effectively in Westminster than ever before,” Black told the crowd in the polling station as she delivered her acceptance speech.
“I pledge to use this voice not just to improve Scotland, but to pursue progressive politics for the benefit of people across the UK.” Conceding, Alexander said Black had run a formidable campaign. Black beat Alexander, who was Labour’s foreign affairs spokesman, by 23,548 to 17,864 and screams of victory drowned out the numbers as they were called out. The SNP has seen its support surge since Scots voted to reject independence in a referendum last September.
