Angela Gorrie

At just 21 years old, Angela Gorrie is the youngest candidate on the SSP’s European list. But her youth belies her wealth of experience as a socialist campaigner across the north east of Scotland.
She joined the Scottish Socialist Party as a 16 year old school student, living in Newburgh, a village on the Tay coast.

“It’s hard to put my finger on one thing that motivated me to get involved. I suppose I was always moaning that there was nothing around, and you couldn’t get any place to do anything. The real lack of public transport makes folk’s life difficult in lots of ways, not least trying to get jobs.”

Angela is a mainstay of Scottish Socialist Youth, and was heavily involved in the group’s campaign for young workers’ rights.

“We’ve campaigned hard against the differentials in the minimum wage, where people aged 16 to 21 receive a lower rate than those over 21, and anyone working under the age of 16 has no minmum wage whatsoever.

“Rent doesn’t get cheaper and food doesn’t cost less if you’re under 22, so it’s an insult that employers can exploit us with lower wages.

“It’s argued that it’s a training rate, but if that were the case it would be based on how long you’d been in the job, not your age. Young workers are paid less for doing exactly the same job as older workers.

“The government has legalised discrimination.”

Angela and the Scottish Socialist Party, along with socialist parties across the continent, are fighting for a European-wide minimum wage of at least £8 an hour for all workers, regardless of age.