Election 2019: Who is the young SNP MP who beat Jo Swinson?

Amy Callaghan, pictured, beat Jo Swinson in East Dunbartonshire

In Thursday's election, a first-time SNP candidate unseated Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson, taking the biggest scalp of the night. So who is Amy Callaghan, the 27-year-old who took on one of the UK's highest-profile MPs?

She campaigned hard on protecting the NHS - an issue very close to her heart. Twice she says it has saved her life from cancer.

Amy Callaghan has promised to be a "local, accountable MP" for East Dunbartonshire, in it "for the people, not the profile".

She had intended to become a teacher after university, but after her cancer diagnosis she decided she wanted to get involved in politics - a decision she made during a gap year she had to take for treatment.

It gave Amy her first-hand experience of the NHS.

Cancer diagnosis

Her cancer journey started when she was 17, when she noticed a mole on her cheek - which she'd had since she was a child - was changing.

Her doctor sent her home, and put it down to a young girl being concerned with her image. She had it removed anyway.

A few years later, she felt a lump on the inside of her cheek. Doctors told her she had developed skin cancer. It had spread to her bone, nerves and muscle.

She had to have surgery on her face, which included removing nerves and a chunk of bone.

Then, at 21, she relapsed. She credits the NHS with saving her life for a second time.

Amy Callaghan described her victory as a "euphoric" moment

Cancer had a "monumental impact" on her life. Not long out of school, Amy was "flying" through her politics course at Strathclyde University when she was diagnosed.

"It hit me like a tonne of bricks," she said. "Your whole life changes overnight [with a cancer diagnosis]."

"People are quick to say 'Now that you've had the all-clear, you should go back to normal', but normal doesn't exist after a cancer diagnosis - no matter what age you are."

Now cancer-free for five years, one of her key priorities is to protect the "vital and precious" health service.

"It's a lifeline to me and so many people... it needs to be protected at all costs," she said.

Amy plans to use her profile as an MP to make sure people know the signs of skin cancer. She also hopes to work with the Teenage Cancer Trust.

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The result in East Dunbartonshire was close - Jo Swinson lost her seat by 149 votes - but the implications were huge.

Nicola Sturgeon praised Amy's "brilliant campaign", which she had won "against all the odds".

Her election team knew the result would be tight - but she describes the confirmation from the returning officer as a "euphoric" moment.

"Hearing the result... was completely monumental, it was amazing," she said.

Later on Friday, she was so tired that the night out she had planned was ditched in favour of "a curry in my pyjamas with a gin".

It wasn't until Saturday that Amy was able to enjoy some family celebrations, before thinking ahead to her first day at Westminster on Monday.

• SNP wins election landslide in Scotland

• Election 2019: the result in Scotland in numbers

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Although from Clydebank herself, she is used to working in East Dunbartonshire. Until her election, she was working as the office manager to local MSP Rona Mackay.

And in her free time she has served on the children's panel. She said it had shown her the "devastating" reality of poverty and austerity.

She's not the Commons' youngest MP - it is currently 23-year-old Labour MP Nadia Whittome - but she is certainly younger than most of her colleagues.

One of the closest to her in age in the SNP is Mhairi Black, 25, who was the youngest MP in 300 years when she was elected at the age of 20 in 2015.

To have won such a victory so young has won her praise from the highest level in the SNP.

A video of Ms Sturgeon enthusiastically celebrating the East Dunbartonshire result drew a lot of attention.

The SNP leader described her as "a young woman who has overcome a lot of personal adversity in her own life... who deserved to win that election".

"She was one of the stars of the campaign," Ms Sturgeon added. "I predict she'll be one of the stars of the next House of Commons."

The newly-elected MP said her party leader had encouraged her to keep being herself.

And does she have her own leadership ambitions? She says her focus is solely on her constituents.

What about Jo Swinson?

Jo Swinson was forced to step down as party leader after losing her seat

It's not the first time Ms Swinson has lost her seat - she was defeated by the SNP's John Nicolson in 2015, but won it back in 2017.

The Lib Dem leader started the campaign claiming she could be prime minister but was swiftly forced to step down as party leader.

But in her constituency, the SNP candidate criticised her voting record from when her party were in coalition with the Tories, saying she was an "austerity architect".

Amy Callaghan says she sympathises with the Lib Dem leader's position, but points to the East Dunbartonshire constituents, calling Ms Swinson a "pop-up" MP.

She says: "I've been there for this community and she hasn't.

"If you're there for the community and standing up for their interests then you're best person for the job."

She said the candidates were introduced on the evening of the count, and afterwards they exchanged congratulations and commiserations.

The pair don't agree on much, but share common ground in that both want to champion young women in politics.

Amy said it is "certainly something to work on that [Jo Swinson] has left a legacy of".

What was the election result in Scotland?

• The night was a huge success for the SNP across Scotland, winning in 48 of 59 constituencies - a result only surpassed in 2015, when they won 56 of Scotland's 59 seats.

• The Conservatives won an overall majority across the UK, but in Scotland they only won six seats.

• The Scottish Liberal Democrats remained on four seats - one was North East Fife, which was the SNP's only loss.

• Ian Murray is now Scottish Labour's only MP, after the party lost the other six seats it was defending.

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