Servera Clavell hopes to be SNP candidate for Holyrood seat

The constituency's current MSP Gil Paterson will not be seeking re-election in next year's Scottish Parliament election.

Servera Clavell, aged 21, is the youngest candidate to put her name forward so far but she does not believe her age should define her. 

She said: "As a young woman, my age has never defined who I am. I had to grow up very quickly and lived through the harsh realities of life under a callous government.

"From being evicted from my childhood home to using food banks, I understand how tough life can get because we have a Westminster government that deliberately makes decisions to detriment the people living in Scotland".

The 21-year-old moved to Scotland from Catalonia and rose to prominence within the SNP after a 2019 speech at the party conference. 

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Valentina Servera Clavell joined the SNP party campaign bus during the 2019 election.

The self-described 'Catalan new Scot' spoke campaigned against the imprisonment of Catalan politicians by the Spanish government. 

Servera Clavell described seeking selection after being a victim to austerity politics. 

"Like many in Clydebank & Milngavie, I have suffered under austerity politics by a government I did not vote for. Scotland has already carved its own identity as a leader on the world stage," she said. 

"It is time Scotland takes its place as such and becomes an independent country."

Last November, Servera Clavell spoke at an independence rally at George Square alongside Nicola Sturgeon. 

She has also been actively advocating for Scotland's place in the European Union as President of the European Free Alliance Youth (EFAy).