Nadia Whittome is to take time off work for mental health reasons. The far left MP for Nottingham East released a statement this morning, naming post-traumatic stress disorder as the main reason. PTSD is normally associated with Armed Forces veterans and was referred to as 'shell shock' in survivors of World War I trenches. In her statement (see below) Whittome doesn't expand on what 'traumatic stress' she has gone through, but some critics have pointed to her status as 'Baby of the House' as a potential factor.
Elected at 23 years old in 2019, Whittome is currently the youngest Member of Parliament. She was notably absent from the most recent pro-Palestine/anti-Israeli protests over the weekend.
Whittome's humble thanks to Keir Starmer will have raised a few eyebrows, given that the Socialist Campaign Group to which she belongs has been engaged in a war of attrition since the Labour leader stripped Jeremy Corbyn of the party whip.
Corbyn was among the first to lend his support to Whittome and attempted to get #StandWithNadia trending on Twitter. It hasn't, in fact there were less than two dozen tweets containing that hashtag at the time of writing. It is also interesting to note how few of Whittome's colleagues have expressed support. Of her far left Parliamentary comrades only Mary Foy, Kate Osamor and Kate Osborne followed Corbyn in posting a public message of support on Twitter. Does this denote how little is felt about Whittome on a personal level, how mental illness is perceived or how they feel about her gratitude to Starmer?
