Roddick Opens Up About Experiences as Youngest MSP

Emma Roddick, MSP for the Highlands & Islands, has spoken out about her experiences as a young, female and disabled elected representative. Roddick, the youngest MSP elected in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, made the comments as a number of young people announced their intention to seek selection as candidates for the upcoming Scottish Council Elections. 

The MSP spoke openly about how she believed that Holyrood would be a more accepting environment than the Council chamber. Roddick is of the opinion that, despite great improvements, there is still far to go in ensuring that people from all backgrounds feel able to put themselves forward for election and that progress is undoubtedly slow. 

In an exclusive interview with ‘The Stooshie’ podcast, Roddick said that, “there’s definitely differences in how people react to me…my age tends to be brought up quite a lot in terms of people looking for a way to dismiss what I’m saying, even if what I’m saying has absolutely nothing to do with how old I am.” 

The MSP also disagreed with the suggestion that young people lack sufficient life experience by stating that, “people talk to me about not having enough life experience and I’m not ever really sure what they mean by that…I know I have experiences that 70-year-old politicians do not have, and will never have.” 

The full podcast can be accessed at the following link: https://podfollow.com/1488113653/episode/84c45dbb3450216527b95e144bc2cd96ddcac374/view