THE SNP grassroots want the party to build a fresh case to win Scottish independence and to begin campaigning on the big constitutional question ahead of a new referendum.

These were the two key messages given by five randomly selected members about what they wanted to see in the forthcoming contest to elect a new depute leader.

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Most supported a new independence referendum next year saying the mandate given to the party in the 2016 Holyrood election to hold a referendum in the event of a Scottish remain vote and a UK leave vote in the EU referendum should be exercised.

Members also said they wanted to see the party review its organisational structures, recruit more staff in headquarters and open up its main policy-making body to allow the grassroots more influence.

They also spoke about what qualities they wanted in a future depute, with several citing Edinburgh MP Tommy Sheppard’s pitch in the 2016 depute leadership contest about engaging the grassroots and getting it “match fit” for a new independence campaign as one which had a strong appeal.

The contest is expected to begin in March and comes after the former Moray MP Angus Robertson stood down as depute earlier this month.

We spoke to members before hearing that a second candidate for the role, Julie Hepburn, had come forward.

Jane Phillips, retired English teacher, Dundee

Apart from the day to day running of SNP business and helping to support MPs at Westminster and Nicola at Holyrood, the contest should be about the next referendum, how to win independence and how efforts should be co-ordinated.

We are very spoilt for choice and have lots of very talented people, but I would like to see Tommy Sheppard stand. I felt what Tommy was saying about getting the grassroots of the party ready and growing the grassroots was important both in 2016 and now. Much as I like Pete Wishart – very much – I think he is wrong on holding back on a second referendum. We could wait and wait and wait until all the signs are there and we will never get independence.

We really have to move before we lose our mandate in 2021. Personally I would hope to see a new referendum held next year, perhaps early summer. I feel by March next year we will be beginning to see the full horror of Brexit unfold. My own view is that we should be hitting the ground right now. We should be campaigning now.

Rory Steel, 23, Glasgow, a parliamentary assistant and a member of SNP Youth

I would like someone who is going to be looking at the internal democracy of the party, how decisions and policies are made. I would like to see more ordinary members on the Standing Orders and Agenda Committee (SOAC), which sets the agenda for conference – this would make the policy agenda closer to the party grassroots.

The next depute will naturally play a key role in a second referendum but I don’t want the contest to turn into a debate about when one should be held. In the current political situation we need to be playing things by ear and I think having an internal election in effect on the timing wouldn’t lead to good political decision making.

To me, refreshing the strategy for a new independence campaign is more important, setting out when the campaign will start. There’s been a lack of discussion about what the next campaign should be, so even having the discussion would be useful. But it has to be followed up by action.

"I supported Tommy Sheppard last time, and I would like to see him or someone like him stand, but I'm very much open to hearing what the candidates have to offer. Having someone from the left would be beneficial."

Greg Drysdale, 49, Stirling

The main thing for me is to promote independence. That’s what I would like to see happening in the contest.

The independence issue hasn’t been at the forefront of political debate since before last year’s general election. I was disappointed to be honest that the SNP’s election campaign didn’t focus on independence. All we heard from the Tories and Labour was no to indyref2, and the SNP didn’t, to my mind, drive home the argument why we needed it.

I think Nicola is brilliant, but she stepped back when I think she should have said ‘you’re damn right this election is about independence because you in the Tory party are taking us out of the EU against our will’. I would like the contest to allow the party to refresh the independence case, to start winning over no voters.

We are at between 44 per cent to 49 per cent for Yes, and that percentage can only grow in a campaign. At the start of the campaign for the 2014 vote support for independence was at 32 per cent and we managed to get it to 45 per cent, so there is every reason it would rise further in a new campaign.

In terms of the timing of the next referendum, I’m not with Pete Wishart. We have a mandate for this parliamentary term and we should use it. If we hold on until after Brexit we lose a powerful tool in attracting support. At the moment we can say if you vote for independence there is a strong chance we can remain in the EU, but once we are out at the end of March 2019 that is a harder argument to make.

My own preference for a referendum is September this year, that would mean we have a whole summer of light nights to be out campaigning for a Yes vote.

Jenn McClafferty, 35, Greenock & Inverclyde SNP branch organiser

In the last deputy leadership race I backed Tommy Sheppard but was really impressed by all the candidates, especially Inverclyde’s Chris McEleny for highlighting the importance of local government.

I’d love to see Joanna Cherry take the depute role on. We would like to see Westminster become an irrelevance to Scotland but we risk independence itself if we don’t highlight the importance of a strong SNP presence in Westminster. The argument for our relevance was hard to win when we can’t be the party of government for the UK. I believe Joanna would face the hard truths and be a strong force to raise our profile.

I also think she would be the best person to argue the terms and legalities for a second referendum. She has the foresight to take us on to the next referendum and I think she and Nicola Sturgeon would be a force to be reckoned with against the No campaign next time around.

Julian Smith, retired chemistry teacher, Limekilns, Fife

I would like to see the organisation of the SNP as a mass membership party improved. I don’t think the current structures are suitable for the large number of members we now have.

The last depute leadership campaign saw candidates, including Angus Robertson, promise to review the governance of the SNP, but it didn’t happen and I found that disappointing. So this time around I would really want to see this addressed.

I would be looking to see which candidate is up for that and whether they could deliver it. There are too few staff at headquarters to manage the size of the organisation.

We need more people to administer and deal with the membership and help organise campaigns. I would like to see Joanna Cherry and Tommy Sheppard stand.

Gordon Smith, who lives near Banchory, Aberdeenshire

I feel we need to be more co-ordinated as a party. It’s good that local branches have a lot of control but we need to work together closer too. Tommy Sheppard would be good, he’s very good at getting his points over, he is very articulate and has strong views. He’s left of centre so he could maybe hit the Labour vote.