The moment I fell in love with Mhairi Black

I think it was when she described Margo MacDonald as ‘just magic’ that I fell in love with Mhairi Black. As summations of pivotal political figures go, it’s akin to a first-time Labour parliamentary candidate calling Nye Bevan an absolute mad lad. This is how Black speaks, assessing political history as if she’s talking about that time Architects played the Cathouse. It’s not what you might expect from a middle-class lassie from Ralston, but it’s nothing so cynical as an act. Glasgow zillennial patter is a rhetorical mix of  imported American sitcoms and a self-consciously Scottish tone. It’s like someone remade The Big Bang Theory with an all-Weegie cast. 

Black has announced that she won’t contest the next general election, which is why I’m recalling her thoughts on Margo MacDonald. MacDonald, incidentally, was also dismissed early on as brash and vulgar because she talks like a normal person rather than a walking press release.