NEW SNP depute leader Keith Brown has called on independence supporters to “get ready’’ for a second vote on Scotland’s future.

Brown, the Economy Secretary in Nicola Sturgeon’s cabinet, said members and those outside of the party had to be prepared for the contest.

He spoke to The National after being announced as the SNP’s new depute leader at the start of the party’s Aberdeen conference.

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Brown, who was the frontrunner throughout the campaign, defeated grassroots activist Julie Hepburn and councillor Christopher McEleny.

The contest had been sparked when Angus Robertson resigned the post after losing his Moray seat in last year’s snap general election.

SNP leader and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has promised to consider the timing of a possible second referendum this autumn, when more details about the UK’s Brexit deal are known – with Brown saying the decision was in the “safest of hands’’.

He told SNP members: “I am absolutely confident the person you have just elected to deputise for Nicola Sturgeon will steer us towards that decision.

“So while we wait for clarity on Brexit – and I don’t think anybody could argue we have anything like clarity on Brexit even though we’re only a few short months away from the deal – the challenge is for all of us in the party and the wider Yes movement across Scotland to get ready.”

As part of efforts to build a “credible plan for independence” Brown vowed to speak to trade unions, business leaders and others from across Scotland.

After his speech Brown gave an interview to The National. We asked him about a new independence campaign, the vote and whether he still believed “there could be a referendum in one year or two years”, as he said during the depute leadership contest.

He restated his belief that it was.

“I said it could be in a year or it could be in two years, so all we can do in the meantime is make sure we are as ready as possible for it,” Brown said.

“We have to do things like the Growth Commission. Other parts of the policy framework we have to establish as our proposition for independence also require work. I see part of my role as making sure as much work is done as possible between now and when a referendum happens, whether in a year or two years’ time, whenever it happens.”

Brown added: “I would like to see independence tomorrow… but there are people outwith the SNP, including those who voted No last time, to take into account and I think it’s very important that everyone in the SNP and the wider Yes movement agree that we have to win the next referendum.”

The National also asked how the SNP could ensure the support of people who voted Yes last time, but who backed leaving the EU in 2016.

Brown said: “We have to listen to what people are saying. I think it’s no surprise to anybody in the SNP that there are people who have concerns about the EU,” he said citing the situation in Catalonia, where the bloc failed to condemn Spain’s repressive actions after Catalans voted to become independent.

“I have concerns about the EU yet I am very much I favour of Scotland’s membership of the EU.”

One of Brown’s first duties in his new role will be to chair three national assembly meetings of the SNP to discuss the findings of the Growth Commission this summer.

Andrew Wilson’s report has sparked considerable debate within Scotland. Some in the business world gave it a sympathetic hearing, while it received substantial criticism from some left wing Yes supporters.

Asked about the assemblies, Brown said: “I want members of the SNP to have their say, and at the same time [the report] is of interest to businesses, to trade unions and the wider Yes movement.”

He also used his speech to announce grants for companies in Scotland to help them build export opportunities and prepare for Brexit.