Mhairi Black

Paisley & Renfrewshire South

In 2011 I joined the SNP after hearing there would be a referendum on Scottish independence.

From this, I began to regularly stand on Paisley High Street handing out leaflets for the Yes campaign. Slowly I began to build more confidence and began to canvass and chap people’s doors. As time went on and momentum began to build I found that there was a desire everywhere you looked for more knowledge. I began to attend more public meetings and devote more and more time to the campaign.

One night, my lecturer at the time emailed me about an hour before a public meeting asking if I could speak for the Yes campaign as someone else had pulled out. I jumped at the opportunity and I’m glad to say I received a warm response and began to get invited to more and more public meetings.

One night I had the pleasure of speaking alongside Jim Sillars, who afterwards invited me to join him on the Margo Mobile campaign to travel throughout the working class communities of Scotland, spreading the message of independence.

After the referendum result, I was heartened by the number of local party members who urged me to put my name forward to become the candidate for Paisley and Renfrewshire South. I was thereafter elected by the local party members to become the candidate and to eventually go on to win the election.

Subsequently, I have now found myself travelling to Westminster each week as the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South.