SIOBHIAN Brown says she can bring “energy and enthusiasm” to Ayr and the surrounding area as she takes on Scotland’s longest-serving Tory MSP.

John Scott has held the seat since he won the first Holyrood by-election in 2000, and his reputation in the coastal constituency is a looming factor in the tight race – with only 750 votes in it. But, Brown thinks she’s in with a chance and that the area is desperately in need of change.

The National spoke to Brown at Ayr beach, one of the more popular tourist spots in the town, and to voters to get their views on whether or not Scott will hold the seat.

Brown said: “I bring energy and enthusiasm and I’m down at the ground level. I’ve got three young children in education, the three I’m standing against are in their late 70s and have pensions and a comfortable lifestyle. I deal with the realities of everyday and the struggles of childcare and I think you really need someone who can relate to the constituency and that’s what I can do.

“The first thing we have to do is get through the Covid pandemic, that has to be a priority. The second issue is our town centres and how we look at reinvigorating them and bring people back into our town centres, a lot of retail shops have shut so we’re looking at different ways through the council to regenerate our town centres.

“Also jobs and how we support our young people with education as they’re the ones who have missed out on exams, and a lot of school so there’s a huge amount of priorities we need to get through moving forward.”

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Asked what she would say to voters who were worried about an independence referendum and how this could affect them voting for her, Brown said: “I think we have to be crystal clear, an independence referendum is not going to happen while we’re going through the pandemic, and I believe, I truly deeply believe that we need to be independent, we need to have the financial levers to get us out of this pandemic, every other country in the world has gone through this and they will have the levers to get themselves out, invest in the future and we won’t. We’re tied to what the Westminster government wants to do, be it another 10 years of austerity which we had been going through since 2008.

“I see this as an opportunity, I always believed in independence before, but since the pandemic it’s reiterated how important it is we take the reins of our future and have self-determination.”

The referendum is a sticking point for many in Ayr, as Jean MacCallum, 77, said she would be voting for Scott explained.

She said: “I will be voting for him, I trust him. I can’t stand [Nicola Sturgeon], I think she’s trying to break up Scotland and I don’t want that to happen. I think we’re much stronger as an island of four nations.”

Margaret Johnston, 72, who didn’t reveal who she was voting for, agreed that Scott is well respected in the area and that many will vote for him because of that.

She said: “He’s [Scott] been a very good local MSP, I won’t be voting for him but that’s on a personal basis. I think Nicola Sturgeon has done remarkably well, I think she has led remarkably well, she’s been there, we’ve seen her, whether that’s been overkill or not I’m impressed with her. I think the recovery from the pandemic like jobs, there are lots of people come the end of furlough, a lot of people that will be redundant. I can’t see any of them are coming up with anything new.

“I used to work in the Job Centre and I can’t see anything new that hasn’t been out there before in any of their policies.”

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Jacqueline Hall and husband Colin both said they were against an independence referendum. Jacqueline, who voted Tory, said; “John Scott has done good for the town, so I voted for him again. Somebody there to bring us out of this pandemic, the SNP all they seem to want is independence and not getting us through.”

Colin, who votes LibDem, said he thought the SNP deflect criticism on to Westminster. He said: “I think we should get things sorted in the country first before they decide on an independence referendum because it just divides people.”

Even SNP supporters speak highly of Scott, Ian Douglas said: “John Scott is a gentleman, he is not your average Conservative politician, he’s friendly, I’ve always got on with John Scott.

“I disagree with him politically of course. I’m very pleased he’s well enough to be fighting election again because he really was very ill.

“I think the Tories twisted John’s arm because I’m pretty sure they couldn’t win with anyone else, John having a big personal following, being well liked, he’s their best hope, but I think Siobhian will get it. To me, the most important issue is the constitution, without a doubt. If we don’t get it right this time I’m probably not going to see it.”

John Robertson, who voted SNP on the constituency vote and Green on the list, had a different view of the Tory incumbent.

He said: “He’s well liked, he’s very well liked, and people from other parties will say nice things about him, a bit like the Queen in a lot of ways.

“I’m suspicious, I think he just keeps his mouth shut and doesn’t say the things that he thinks, he’s a Tory like any other. I hold him in contempt the same way I do all Tories, just because people like him doesn’t change that.

“What I like about the SNP and its policies over the last few years seems to be a fairly clear drift towards progressive policies with regard to benefits, taxation and so on.

“I think these are hugely important, there’s tremendous credit that the SNP deserve for the progressive taxation that they’ve introduced. My own views are more left, but I think they’ve made progress.”