It seems unbelievable but Mhairi Black says she hasn't given thought to her place in the history books. “That’s the first time I’ve heard it put like that,” said Black, the 20-year-old new MP who made history last week by becoming the youngest representative at Westminster since the 17th century when she defeated Labour giant Douglas Alexander for the SNP.

She’s responding to suggestions her youth has earned her a unique place in the history books. “I haven’t thought about it like that,” she said modestly. “I’m extremely humbled the people of Paisley and Renfrewshire South have put their trust in me. And now it’s about getting organised and getting down to London to get to work.”

She was speaking as SNP party leader Nicola Sturgeon unveiled her party’s 56 new MPs in front of the Forth Bridge over the weekend. Among the new in-take Black is, thanks to her youth, one of the most high profile. She’s been rapidly catapulted onto the national scene since she defeated Labour’s shadow foreign secretary by 5,684 votes, but she is in many ways already an SNP veteran after becoming a key public speaker during the independence referendum campaign last year.

The university student is already an accomplished and well-drilled media performer too and speaking to the Independent, she stuck closely to the party line on its new role in Westminster, asking for no more or no less than the “powers Scotland was promised after the referendum.”

The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Show all 16 1 /16 The major political figures who lost out in the General Election The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Ed Balls Ed Balls lost his seat in what was the biggest shock of an extraordinary night of election results. His defeat in compounded Labour's woes in a dismal night, which saw the party lose all but one of its Scottish MPs and will undoubtedly lead to Ed Miliband standing down. The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Nigel Farage OK, so he came close to being upstaged by a professional comedian – Al Murray aka the Pub Landlord, had also lost in South Thanet. But as he lost his fight to become an MP and resigned his Ukip leadership, Nigel Farage did manage to get in a few gags. He began by railing against the editors of the The Sun and the Daily Mail, sarcastically calling them “geniuses”. But perhaps bearing the last election in mind, when he was in intensive care following an air crash, he said after the result that he felt “pretty good”. “Never felt happier,” in fact. A weight lifted off the old shoulders. Quite right too, old boy. More time for the saloon bar and a pint, or five. AFP/Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Vince Cable A huge scalp for the Conservatives, even though he was part of their coalition government. The Liberal Democrat Business Secretary lost his Twickenham seat to Tory candidate Tania Mathias. Cable had held the seat since 1997 and was a strong figure in the Lib Dems, having previously been deputy leader. Christopher Furlong | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Jim Murphy A sign of how dire things are in Scotland now for the Labour party. The leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Jim Murphy, lost his Renfrewshire East to the SNP, having held the seat since 2005. He held a number of cabinet positions under the administrations of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Jeff J Mitchell | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Danny Alexander The Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Nick Clegg's right-hand man, Danny Alexander, lost his seat of Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey to the SNP. His aides admitted defeat several hours before the formal decision was due. There were suggestions that the SNP vote could be as high as 50 per cent. BEN STANSALL | AFP | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Esther McVey The Minister of State for Employment and one of the few women in David Cameron’s male-dominate cabinet, Esther McVey had only held Wirral West since 2010. Her 2,436 majority was overturned and Labour's Margaret Greenwood won the seat with a 417 majority. BEN STANSALL | AFP | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election George Galloway The former Labour MP had held the seat of Bradford West since 2012 for the Respect Party. He previously held the constituency of Bethnal Green and Bow for Respect between 2005 and 2010, although he unsuccessfully contested Poplar and Limehouse in 2010. Nigel Roddis | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Charles Kennedy Another huge Lib Dem scalp, with the SNP taking the seat of Ross, Skye and Lochaber from the former leader of the party. Kennedy had led the Lib Dems between 1999 and 2006 and had become something of an elder statesman of the party. He conceded defeat ahead of the official declaration and said he would not give any TV interviews. He had been an MP since 1983. Jeff J Mitchell | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Douglas Alexander The shadow Foreign Secretary and Ed Miliband's Chair of General Election Strategy, Danny Alexander had been the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South since 1997. He lost his seat to the SNP, with the party now holding a 9,076 majority. Labour's share of the vote was down by 21.3 per cent. Jeff J Mitchell | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Simon Hughes Simon Hughes held a key Liberal Democrat seat in London, Bermondsey and Old Southwark, which he held from 1983. Hughes is a former deputy leader of the Lib Dems and had been minister of state at the Ministry of Justice since 2013. He was previously the President of the party, as well as a two-time leadership candidate, and stood for the party in the 2004 Mayoral election. Rob Stothard | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Mark Reckless An MP for Rochester and Strood since 2010, Reckless switched from the Conservatives to Ukip in September 2014 and winning the seat outright in November. He was the second Ukip MP after Douglas Carswell, and his loss is a huge blow to Nigel Farage’s party. Carl Court | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Margaret Curran Margaret Curran had held Glasgow East since 2010 and was the shadow Secretary of State for Scotland. She had previously been the MSP for Glasgow Baillieston (a seat she might wish she still held, as it is still held by Labour under the title Glasgow Provan). Jeff J Mitchell | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election David Laws A Liberal Democrat MP for Yeovil since 2001, he was the minister of state for Schools. He had briefly been Chief Secretary to the Treasury after the 2010 election, only holding the office for 17 days after resigning due to the disclosure of his Parliamentary expenses claims. Laws was a key negotiator for the Lib Dems when the coalition was being formed five years ago. Jeff J Mitchell | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Jo Swinson On her election in 2005, she was the youngest member of the House of Commons. Under the Coalition government, the Lib Dem MP was the Under-Secretary of State for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs and for Women and Equalities. She lost her seat of East Dunbartonshire to the SNP's John Nicholson. Matthew Lloyd | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Ed Davey The Liberal Democrat Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey had been the MP for Kingston and Surbiton since 1997. Davey championed the Lib Dems' role in ensuring the Conservative-led Coalition championed the green agenda. However, the well-known Lib Dem MP lost his seat to the Tories, having held the seat in 2010 by 7,560 votes. Jeff J Mitchell | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Lynne Featherstone Lynne Featherstone lost her London seat of Hornsey and Wood Green to the Labour party. She was a former junior Home Office minister with responsibility for equality, then becoming junior minister with responsibility for international development. Dan Kitwood | Getty Images

She said: “I think what we’ve campaigned on is to make sure the people of Scotland have the largest voice possible. We’ve just seen the biggest success story in the SNP’s history, we an extremely loud voice now, so that’s something I don’t think any government can ignore.”

Despite her youth she’s already been talked of as a key anti-austerity voice in parliament by some, who hope as one of 19 SNP women she will be prominent at Westminster and help connect with younger female voters.

For her party she’s very modest about her early political success. She said: “It’s an experience, but ultimately it’s quite representative of what we’ve seen on election night across Scotland. People are looking for change and they’ve voted for the party they think can deliver that change and now it’s our job as representatives to deliver that change.”

Scottish National Party (SNP) member of parliament, Mhairi Black (C), stands with Labour candidate Douglas Alexander (L) and Fraser Galloway, Conservative Candidate (LESLEY MARTIN/AFP/Getty Images)

Speaking to journalists on 9 May in Edinburgh, the Paisley native was at ease fielding off questions designed to trip her up. “Aye, of course I’ve been to London before”, she told one, before telling the next that she “hadn’t given much thought” to the £67,060 salary she will now be commanding in Westminster, a remarkable sum for a 20-year-old, but surely a reasonable one for an elected representative of the people.

She has a good stock answer to accusations of inexperience too. ““As I said through the campaign I would never claim to have the life experience of a 30 or 40 year old but when you look to your representatives, the most important thing is whether you understand what is happening in this area, do you understand what the struggles and problems are, and more importantly do you have the answers..”

Now, she says she’s “trying to get organised” and plan her move down to London, where she will now spend most of her working week, though she’s yet to find a place to live or it turns out, got used to living in a suit. She said: “I’ve not got my bags packed just yet, but we wouldn’t have put our names forward for this if we were not serious about it.”