THE new co-leader of the Scottish Greens has said campaign efforts to gain support for independence should focus more on outlining the future vision for Scotland.

Lorna Slater, who was elected last week alongside Patrick Harvie, said she believed people were tired of talking about another referendum, which is a “means to an end”.

She argued more efforts should be made to talk about what an independent Scotland could look like, compared to post-Brexit Britain.

She said: “I am as tired as anyone campaigning for referendums. Let’s talk about the Scotland we want to see.

“Brexit has gone from rainbows and unicorns and money for the NHS to £2 billion to stop people dying from not having medicines.

“That is not a sales pitch they can win.”

She said one lesson which should be taken from Brexit was asking for a referendum before knowing what the outcome should look like is a “complete disaster”.

“In this respect I do applaud the Scottish Government’s work on getting a Citizen’s Assembly together to talk about what we want an independent Scotland to look like,” she added.

“If only the Brexiteers had done that, we wouldn’t be three years down the line and still have no idea what Brexit looks like.”

Slater echoed comments from her co-leader Harvie last week, saying a referendum was the only path to independence.

She said she believed Boris Johnson’s premiership would not last long, and a fresh opportunity for a section 30 order to be granted would come with a new Prime Minister – even a Conservative one.

She said: “We need that section 30, I don’t think unilaterally doing an unofficial referendum would get us where we want to go – I think that would make things worse.

“I want independence as much as anyone does, but you have to go through the legitimate process for this. I don’t think Boris’ Government can last that long, he has not got the parliamentary majority for it.

“The moment will come, it is coming soon – let’s make sure that when we get indyref that we win it – which is the important thing – and the result sticks.”

Slater, a marine renewable engineer, is originally from Canada and moved to Scotland in 2004 for a job.

She said one of her main priorities would be getting more women from the Greens into Holyrood, adding the party “can do better to prepare women candidates”.

She said there were barriers for women entering politics at “every single stage”.

“It is as simple as branch meetings being held on a weeknight, about 7pm in the evening, which is not time for anyone with small children,” she said.

“At every stage we exclude women and it is a complete structural thing, our whole society is kind of set up that way.

“So in order to get women involved, we have to be proactive with it.”

She added: “There were 11 candidates in Leith Walk by-election a few weeks ago and I was the only woman.

“It is just not good enough, it is disgraceful.”

Slater also revealed her husband voted no in the independence referendum of 2014 – but said she understood why the reasons why.

She said: “He is from Middlesbrough and he voted in solidarity with the north of England as he didn’t want to abandon his friends and relations to endless Tory Governments.”

Asked whether he has changed his mind now, Slater joked: “I wouldn’t like to speak for him – but I expect he has a lot of time to think about it.”