Britain’s youngest MP has vowed to donate more than half of her annual salary to charity, saying she wants to “give back to the labour movement”.
Nadia Whittome, 23, who became Labour MP for Nottingham East on Friday, said that until wages rise for the likes of carers, teaching assistants and nurses, she would take home a “worker’s wage” of £35,000 after tax.
The remainder of her salary – around £44,000 a year – will be donated to local Nottingham charities including those supporting groups such as homeless people, sex workers and families struggling to afford the basics.
Speaking to The Independent, Ms Whittome, who is now the youngest MP in parliament, said: “I think it’s really important for workers’ representatives to be on salaries that reflect workers more closely.
“And it’s not berating MPs for taking the full salary. It’s not saying MPs don’t deserve the £79,000. It’s saying workers need a pay rise – carers, teaching assistants, nurses – and I’ll take mine when they take theirs.”
She added: “It’s 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.”
The 23-year-old won 64 per cent of the vote on Friday, regaining the seat for Labour after Chris Leslie, who had been the MP since 2010, left Labour for the Independent Group for Change earlier this year.
In second place was the Conservative candidate, with 21 per cent of the vote, while the Liberal Democrats came third with 5 per cent and Mr Leslie fourth with 4 per cent. The Brexit Party and Green Party candidates each won 3 per cent of the vote.
Responding to the election results, Ms Whittome 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.
“I will work to tackle the vast inequality people will face. The next five years are about protecting local services, doing what we can to protect our right and to tackle inequality.”
