Mhairi Black to step down as SNP MP at next election

SNP MP Mhairi Black is stepping down at the next general election.

Ms Black, the party's deputy leader at Westminster, became the parliament's youngest MP since 1832 when she was elected aged 20 in 2015.

She is the sixth SNP MP to announce they will not contest the next election, which is expected to be held in 2024.

In a statement Ms Black, 28, described Westminster as an "outdated, sexist and toxic" working environment.

The Paisley and Renfrewshire South MP cited safety concerns, social media abuse and unsociable hours as she explained her decision.

"I have also made clear that I have no desire to have a long career in elected politics, and as we approach the next general election, I will have been elected for almost a decade," Ms Black said.

"I have dedicated a third of my life so far to Westminster - a truly unhealthy working environment."

She said it was "beyond demoralising" to see constituents "harmed by a UK government they never voted for".

The MP added: "Since 2015, the lives of my loved ones have been turned upside down and inside out.

"Between media attention, social media abuse, threats, constant travel, and the murders of two MPs, my loved ones have been in a constant state of anxiety for my health and safety."

Ms Black, who married her partner Katie in June 2022, also said she wanted to spend more time with loved ones.

She said: "I will of course continue to represent my constituency to the best of my abilities, and I look forward to continuing to campaign for an independent Scotland and for the SNP at the general election, but I will do so as a campaigner rather than a candidate."

Humza Yousaf, the SNP leader and Scotland's first minister, described Ms Black as a "trailblazer" who was a "passionate supporter of independence, equality, social justice, and simply of trying to make life better for her constituents and the wider Scottish public".

He added: "She has also served as a role model for young people, especially women, with an interest or a desire to get involved in politics."

Mr Yousaf's predecessor, Nicola Sturgeon, said the announcement by the Paisley and Renfrewshire South MP was the "loss of a unique talent".

She added on Twitter: "I only hope it's temporary. The world needs more Mhairi Blacks in politics, not fewer."

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn tweeted that Ms Black is "in a class of her own".

Former SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford has already announced he will be standing down at the next election.

Party colleagues Peter Grant, Angela Crawley, Douglas Chapman and Stewart Hosie are also set to quit.

Ms Black defeated former Labour government minister Douglas Alexander as the SNP won a landslide north of the border in the 2015 election.

She successfully defended her seat in the 2017 and 2019 general elections.

The SNP MP's maiden speech – in which she paid tribute to her constituents and attacked benefit sanctions – was viewed online more than 10 million times within a week.

And early in her parliamentary career, she hit out at Westminster's "silly traditions", describing it as outdated.

In 2018, she made headlines after detailing some of the abuse she received during a parliamentary debate on misogyny to mark International Women's Day.

She listed graphic misogynistic insults she had been sent during her time as an MP.

The next general election is due to be held by January 2025, with the autumn of next year seen as the most likely date.

Mhairi Black was a symbol of the SNP's landslide in 2015, the 20-year-old who conjured up a massive swing to unseat a Labour heavyweight in Douglas Alexander.

It wasn't just her youth. Her straight-talking style encompassed a lot of what the SNP wanted to be at Westminster - a renegade element in the Commons shaking things up and agitating for radical change.

But now, she is the latest in what is becoming a string of SNP members to announce they will not stand in the next election.

Is that too a symbol of something?

Labour are gearing up for a big push to try to retake ground from the SNP - Mr Alexander is targeting a comeback of his own, albeit in a different seat.

But Paisley and Renfrewshire South is fairly steady SNP territory these days, with Ms Black commanding a majority in excess of 10,000 votes in 2019 - or almost 25%.

The salient point may be that no SNP MP really wants to be at Westminster, and the question of independence has for years now been caught in a log-jam.

Perhaps what Ms Black fears isn't so much losing her seat - but the prospect of keeping it for the long term.

Scottish Conservative Chairman Craig Hoy MSP described Ms Black's announcement as "yet another damning verdict from a senior SNP MP on the failing leadership of both Humza Yousaf and Stephen Flynn".

He added: "It speaks volumes about how bitter those feuds have become that Mhairi Black has thrown in the towel, just a few months after agreeing to become deputy leader, and decided not to fight another election despite not yet turning 30."