ASH Regan has said her experience of running to be the leader of the SNP has been “intense” and “tiring” during her final media appearance before the winner of the contest is announced on Monday.
Speaking outside of Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh against the backdrop of the Scottish Parliament, Regan told The National that despite intensity she had enjoyed her first leadership campaign.
“It’s definitely something that was a bit out of my comfort zone – I wasn’t used to this level of media attention before. But I have enjoyed it.
“It has been quite short, though, so it has been very intense. We’ve been crisscrossing the country doing all the hustings and TV debates and so on, so it’s been very tiring as well.”
When asked whether she was still committed to the contest due to her lack of campaign events over the past few days, she said that it was because most people have already voted.
"Of course, yeah. We think most people have already voted so I think you'll find that everyone elses campaigns are sort of in the winding down process."
Regan has consistently pitched herself as candidate who could unite the Yes movement.
However, on Friday morning co-leader of the pro-independence Scottish Greens, Patrick Harvie, told the BBC that his party would not accept a continued partnership with the SNP if the winner of the leadership contest sought to “rip out” parts of the Bute House Agreement.
Regan has made it her intention to scrap the Gender Recognition Reform Bill and not take the UK Government to court over its blocking of the legislation – a move which Harvie implied would result in the end of the deal between the SNP and Greens.
He told Good Morning Scotland: “[I] genuinely struggle to understand how any candidate who believes in devolution could say that one of their first acts would be to roll over and let the UK Government veto fully devolved legislation.”
When asked by The National if she had spoken to the Scottish Greens following Harvie’s comments, Regan said: “I haven’t. I did call them, they didn’t return my call unlike all the other pro-independence party leaders.
“But they might want to take it up with Humza because I believe Humza said at the Times Radio debate that he would also look at the legal advice and consider whether or not to challenge Section 35.
“I’ve been very clear right from the beginning that I won’t challenge the Section 35 because the public don’t support it and we will lose that court case.”
Towards the end of the appearance a group of school children gathered at the entrance of Dynamic Earth.
In testament to how quickly Regan’s name has risen to compete for the top job in Scottish politics, one pupil asked a teacher: “Do you think she’ll be the next Prime Minister?”
While that may be unlikely, the result of which candidate will become the next first minister of Scotland is expected to be announced on Monday.
