ECONOMY Secretary Keith Brown is to stand to become the next SNP depute leader, saying he wants to help get the party ready for “any future referendums”.

He is the third candidate to come forward in the contest and the most senior figure to throw his hat into the ring to succeed Angus Robertson, who stood down last month.

Speaking exclusively to The National, Brown said: “Since Angus Robertson stepped down I have been approached by party members, councillors, MSPs and MPs asking me to stand for depute leader.

“I’m grateful for the faith they have shown in me and the encouragement they’ve given me.

“I’ve taken the advice of senior colleagues past and present, people I like and respect, and I’m pleased to be putting my name forward.

“There’s a serious job for the depute leader in supporting Nicola and getting the party in shape to face the future.”

He added: “The SNP is also the biggest party in Scotland by a long way and we need to get all of our members ready to fight and win elections and to be ready for any future referendums – getting the party ready and giving the members the tools they need will be my focus.

“The massive increase in party membership since indyref1 means we have to change our structures to engage and involve every member. The depute leader will have to drive the internal reforms already under way to get us ready to take the SNP’s positive and progressive vision forward.

“We modernised the party under John Swinney’s leadership, proved ourselves effective in government under Alex Salmond and we’re creating a better country under Nicola Sturgeon. The SNP has come a long way but we have a long way still to go and we’ve got to get geared up for the journey.”

The Clackmannanshire and Dunblane MSP was first elected to Holyrood in 2007 after previously serving as a councillor for 11 years. He was the leader of Clackmannanshire Council from 1999 to 2003. Before his career in politics he was a member of the Royal Marines and served in the Falklands War.

He has held the post of Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work since May 2016 and has previously served as minister for schools and skills and minister for transport and veterans. Brown ran in the SNP’s depute leadership contest in 2014 when he was defeated by Stewart Hosie.

Meanwhile, two high-profile figures ruled themselves out of the contest. Edinburgh East MP Tommy Sheppard, who lost out to Angus Robertson in a 2016 depute election, and Joanna Cherry QC, the party home affairs spokeswoman at Westminster, announced over the weekend that they would not stand.

Writing in the Sunday Herald, Sheppard said he is “much more at ease as a protagonist than a referee”.

MPs Pete Wishart and Ian Blackford and Finance Secretary Derek Mackay have already ruled themselves out of running for the position. Cherry said she had received support to stand, but decided against it.

She tweeted: “Huge thanks to all across the indy movement who’ve asked me to stand for @theSNP depute leader. After long & careful consideration I’ve decided that, for now, I can best further the cause of independence in my current role.”

Sheppard said the depute role is more about how policy is made rather than its content. He said: “I want to be to free to contribute and lead debates about the policy we should advocate and that’s harder if you’re running the policy-making machinery.

“And I think we’ve had some success here. On fracking, the National Investment Bank and other policy areas we’ve seen grassroots policy working its way through branches and conference to end up as party and government policy. I intend to continue to work with others to similarly shape our future policy agenda.”

Glasgow MSP James Dornan was the first to announce he was seeking the post, with Julie Hepburn announcing her bid last month. Hepburn is not in elected office, but is well known within the party. Wishart, chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee, said he did not believe he had “sufficient support” to stand for the post, and Blackford said he wanted to concentrate on his constituency and his role as SNP Westminster leader.