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SNP MP Mhairi Black 'held her nose' while voting Remain in EU referendum

The SNP's official policy was to back remaining in the EU

Social Affairs Correspondent

Saturday 12 November 2016 12:43 GMT

SNP MP Mhairi Black is the youngest member of parliament in the House of Commons (Getty Images)

SNP MP Mhairi Black has said she ‘held her nose’ while voting for Remain, it has been reported.

The Scottish politician reportedly expressed serious misgivings about the referendum campaign, causing her to reluctantly cast her vote. Ms Black made the admission while addressing a public meeting in Aberdeenshire this week, The Daily Telegraph reports.

An SNP spokesperson later said the MP’s exact wording was: “If I’m honest, there was an element of holding my nose a bit when I voted Remain.”

Her comments come amid revelations a number of prominent SNP figures voted Leave, including former Scottish Government Health Minister Alex Neil. Former SNP deputy leader Jim Sillars claimed he has been made aware of ‘five or six’ MSPs who had done the same.

The SNP’s official party position was to back Remain. The party’s policy in the lead up to the referendum was that: “The SNP believes that membership of Europe Union is in Scotland’s best interests. There are a huge number of benefits for Scotland from EU membership including that the EU is the main destination for Scotland’s international exports and as citizens of the EU we are able to travel freely throughout Europe – for work, study or travel – without the need for visas.

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What experts have said about Brexit

Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond

The Chancellor claims London can still be a world financial hub despite Brexit “One of Britain’s great strengths is the ability to offer and aggregate all of the services the global financial services industry needs” “This has not changed as a result of the EU referendum and I will do everything I can to ensure the City of London retains its position as the world’s leading international financial centre.”

Reuters

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Yanis Varoufakis

Greece's former finance minister compared the UK relations with the EU bloc with a well-known song by the Eagles: “You can check out any time you like, as the Hotel California song says, but you can't really leave. The proof is Theresa May has not even dared to trigger Article 50. It's like Harrison Ford going into Indiana Jones' castle and the path behind him fragmenting. You can get in, but getting out is not at all clear”

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Michael O’Leary

Ryanair boss says UK will be ‘screwed’ by EU in Brexit trade deals: “I have no faith in the politicians in London going on about how ‘the world will want to trade with us’. The world will want to screw you – that's what happens in trade talks,” he said. “They have no interest in giving the UK a deal on trade”

Getty

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Tim Martin

JD Wetherspoon's chairman has said claims that the UK would see serious economic consequences from a Brexit vote were "lurid" and wrong: “We were told it would be Armageddon from the OECD, from the IMF, David Cameron, the chancellor and President Obama who were predicting locusts in the fields and tidal waves in the North Sea"

PA

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Mark Carney

Governor of Bank of England is 'serene' about Bank of England's Brexit stance: “I am absolutely serene about the … judgments made both by the MPC and the FPC”

Reuters

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Christine Lagarde

IMF chief urges quick Brexit to reduce economic uncertainty: “We want to see clarity sooner rather than later because we think that a lack of clarity feeds uncertainty, which itself undermines investment appetites and decision making”

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What experts have said about Brexit

Inga Beale

Lloyd’s chief executive says Brexit is a major issue: "Clearly the UK's referendum on its EU membership is a major issue for us to deal with and we are now focusing our attention on having in place the plans that will ensure Lloyd's continues trading across Europe”

EPA

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Colm Kelleher

President of US bank Morgan Stanley says City of London ‘will suffer’ as result of the EU referendum: “I do believe, and I said prior to the referendum, that the City of London will suffer as result of Brexit. The issue is how much”

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Richard Branson

Virgin founder believes we've lost a THIRD of our value because of Brexit and cancelled a deal worth 3,000 jobs: We're not any worse than anybody else, but I suspect we've lost a third of our value which is dreadful for people in the workplace.' He continued: "We were about to do a very big deal, we cancelled that deal, that would have involved 3,000 jobs, and that’s happening all over the country"

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Barack Obama

US President believes Britain was wrong to vote to leave the EU: "It is absolutely true that I believed pre-Brexit vote and continue to believe post-Brexit vote that the world benefited enormously from the United Kingdom's participation in the EU. We are fully supportive of a process that is as little disruptive as possible so that people around the world can continue to benefit from economic growth"

Getty Images

What experts have said about Brexit

Kristin Forbes

American economist and an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England argues that the economy had been “less stormy than many expected” following the shock referendum result: “For now…the economy is experiencing some chop, but no tsunami. The adverse winds could quickly pick up – and merit a stronger policy response. But recently they have shifted to a more favourable direction”

Getty

“The SNP doesn’t believe the EU is perfect and agree that it needs reform, however we want Scotland to have a louder voice in Europe, an increased contribution to EU policy making and an opportunity to be part of discussions about reform, rather than becoming even more distant by removing ourselves altogether.”

In Scotland, 62 per cent of voters backed Remain.

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