
Nadia Whittome has barely been a Labour MP for Nottingham East for 48 hours and she's already an icon.
Yesterday she told Nottingham Live that she would donate more than half her salary to local charities, saying until wages rise for workers, she will only take a "worker's wage".
She has vowed to take home £35,000 – still a lot more than the average salary of £28,677 – but £44,000 short of the pay she is entitled to (£79,468).
Whittome said:
It's not about philanthropy and it's not that MPs don't deserve that salary, it's the fact our teaching assistants, nurses and firefighters do as well. When they get the pay rise they deserve, so will I. I hope this decision sparks a conversation about earnings.
The day after the election, she tweeted that being elected a socialist MP for her home city was "the greatest honour of [her] life", and that she would be "a new kind of MP, inspired by radical women of colour across the world".
Thank you everyone. It is the greatest honour of my life to be elected as the socialist MP for Nottingham East, my… https://t.co/GfZklSCEoQ— Nadia Whittome MP (@Nadia Whittome MP) 1576210435
Labour has suffered a defeat and I’m devastated that we’ve lost the chance of some fantastic representatives. But… https://t.co/mn1O9ToNwW— Nadia Whittome MP (@Nadia Whittome MP) 1576210435
People were into her even before her promise to donate her salary, people were loving her vibe, and she was actually interacting with her constituents on social media, which sadly feels all too rare.
@katieTPcrisis @lifevssuicide Thanks Katie! I’d love to visit and see the work you do.— Nadia Whittome MP (@Nadia Whittome MP) 1576268684
@katieTPcrisis @lifevssuicide Thanks Katie! I’d love to visit and see the work you do.— Nadia Whittome MP (@Nadia Whittome MP) 1576268684
@NadiaWhittome genuinely heartbroken about the results from tonight, but (as a young female), you give me hope that… https://t.co/hlxBWznmZN— 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘩 🪐 (@𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘩 🪐) 1576219015
@NadiaWhittome I only moved away from Nottingham East a few weeks ago, and as such had to vote in another constitue… https://t.co/dIuFmz2asS— dvyng (@dvyng) 1576225440
But as soon as her huge gesture for financial inequality made headlines, the support and excitement for her win got even bigger, seemingly across all demographics.
@C4meronM4tthews @AyoCaesar @NadiaWhittome As an old bloke can I just remind other blokes there is a good chance we… https://t.co/tOPGy6Usmp— Ian Shooter (@Ian Shooter) 1576339513
@C4meronM4tthews @NadiaWhittome Amazing gesture! This MP is living her principles, something we should all do more… https://t.co/r4KQM3719i— Lee Ballard (@Lee Ballard) 1576406499
Scottish ministers, including Nicola Sturgeon, have refused a pay increase for years, choosing to use taxpayers' money to pay for public services, but it's a small percentage of their total salary, and Nicola Sturgeon still makes £135,605 before tax.
In the 1980s, MP for Coventry South East Dave Nellist chose to only take 40 per cent of the salary he was entitled to, as he believed it was the equivalent of the salary for a skilled factory worker. In 1991 he was expelled from the Labour Party for Militant tendencies.