A DECADE ago, the idea of being a politician was as alien to Siobhian Brown as becoming an astronaut.

Now the SNP candidate for Ayr is taking on one of the toughest challenges for her party in the Holyrood election – to win in an area that has been dominated by the Tories for years.

Conservative John Scott will defend the seat which he has held since 2000, but the SNP has been gaining ground over the past 10 years.

Brown said: “Ayr seat is the longest standing Tory seat in Scotland when you combine the MP and the MSP years – there is around 124 years of Conservative elected members representing the area.

“We are one of the very blue areas in Scotland, but for the last election there was only 750 votes between the SNP and John Scott.

“I am going to give it my best shot.”

Brown said a recent surge of more than 250 members at the local SNP branches in the area – increasing the overall total by around a third – was a sign of support for the party that will become evident at the election.

When it comes to her own political journey, she readily admits she had “not one iota” of interest in politics until the independence referendum of 2014.

“I didn’t even know if I would be Yes or No – after looking into it and deciding to be a Yes I then felt very passionate about it,” she said.

“After the No vote I was disappointed at the way Scotland was treated.

“It was at that stage I joined the SNP and I felt this dark cloud lifted because it gave me a chance to pursue independence for Scotland, as I believe we should be an independent country with all the financial levers that most countries take for granted.”

Brown, who was elected as a councillor in South Ayrshire in 2017, grew up in Australia after her parents emigrated from Scotland when she was three years old.

She came back while travelling in her 20s, before deciding in 1999 to try living permanently in Scotland.

“Just before I turned 30 I thought I don’t want to be an old woman and look back at my life with regrets,” she said.

“I thought I am just going to Scotland and if I last three months, at least I know I have given it a go and won’t look back with any regrets.

“Here I am 21 years later.”

Having settled in Scotland in the same year the Scottish Parliament was set up, she is now concerned that its powers are under attack from the UK Government.

“We are in a Covid situation and I wouldn’t be pushing anything until we are through the pandemic, but I think more than ever we have an urgency now that we have to become independent for the sake of Scotland’s future,” she said.

In her campaigning over the coming weeks, she will also focus on local issues including economic recovery and growth, promoting tourism and environmental issues such as water quality at Ayr beach.

“If someone had told me 10 years ago I would be a politician, it would be as alien as someone saying you are going to be an astronaut,” she said.

“Turning the seat from Conservative to SNP would show the change in the political landscape in Scotland which has been happening since 2014.

“I think we have got a really good chance of winning here.”