Tory minister mocks Labour's new MP as a 'repeat of The Inbetweeners'

Tory minister Johnny Mercer mocks Labour’s newest MP – 25-year-old Keir Mather who will become the ‘baby’ of the Commons – as a ‘repeat of The Inbetweeners’

• Keir Mather will be ‘baby’ of Commons after winning Selby & Ainsty by-election 

Tory minister Johnny Mercer this morning mocked Labour’s newest MP as ‘a repeat of The Inbetweeners’.

Twenty-five-year-old Keir Mather is set to become the ‘baby’ of the House of Commons after winning the Selby and Ainsty by-election for Labour.

But he has been warned not to expect a warm welcome from the Conservative benches when he travels to Westminster.

Mr Mercer, the veterans minister, swiped that Mr Mather – who will soon become the youngest MP in Parliament – had ‘been at Oxford university more than he’s been in a job’.

He also suggested the youthful politician was ‘inauthentic’ and claimed he ‘just relays Labour lines’.

Twenty-five-year-old Keir Mather is set to become the ‘baby’ of the House of Commons after winning the Selby and Ainsty by-election for Labour

Johnny Mercer, the veterans minister, swiped that Mr Mather – who will soon become the youngest MP in Parliament – had ‘been at Oxford university more than he’s been in a job’

As he made reference to the cult TV series, Mr Mercer added: ‘We mustn’t become a repeat of The Inbetweeners.’

Mr Mather is the first Labour MP to be born after Tony Blair became prime minister.

He grew up in Hull and studied History and Politics at Oxford university between 2016 and 2019 before spending a year as a researcher for Labour MP Wes Streeting, who is now shadow health secretary.

Most recently, he has been working as a public affairs adviser at the Confederation of British Industry.

Asked on Sky News whether he was looking forward to a fresh injection of youth into the Commons, Mr Mercer said: ‘It’s always good to get new people in politics.’

But, as he made reference to the cult TV series, he added: ‘We mustn’t become a repeat of The Inbetweeners. You’ve got to have people who have actually done stuff.

‘This guy has been at Oxford University more than he’s been in a job. You put a chip in him and he just relays Labour lines.

‘The problem is people have had enough of that.

‘They want people who are authentic, people who have worked in that constituency, who know what life is like, who understand what life is like to live, work and raise a family in communities like theirs.

‘So, no, I’m afraid I don’t agree with this style of politics – it’s exactly why people like me didn’t vote before the 2015 election.

‘Because you’ve got people with nothing to do with the constituency just dropped in and, put a chip in them, and they’ll start parroting Labour Party politics.’

Shortly after being declared the winner in Selby and Ainsty, in North Yorkshire, Mr Mather said he hoped to be ‘a representative for the power that young people have to make a difference’.

Asked about whether he could fully understand voters’ concerns at the age of 25, he said: ‘Well, I’m a taxpayer too, I feel the pressures like anyone else.’

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