I’d consider being deputy first minister if asked, says McAllan

Housing Secretary Mairi McAllan has said she would “consider” being deputy first minister if asked.

Current Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes announced last year she would not stand again in May’s election, meaning an opening would need filled if the SNP returns to power.

Speaking to the Press Association, Ms McAllan – tipped by some to be a future leader of the SNP – said: “I’ll leave that to the First Minister of the day.

But she added: “I’ve considered every position that I’ve ever been offered in my party and in Government – I would consider it.

“I always want to do my best for the SNP and for Scotland, so I would consider any offers post-election.

“But I’m focused just now on trying to get re-elected in Clydesdale.”

The 32-year-old has had a somewhat meteoric rise through the Scottish Government ranks.

Trained as a solicitor, she served as a South Lanarkshire councillor before being appointed by Nicola Sturgeon as a special adviser on the environment.

Elected to Holyrood in 2021, Ms McAllan spent just two weeks on the backbenches before being appointed as a junior environment minister by Ms Sturgeon.

By 2023, she has been promoted to net zero secretary by then first minister Humza Yousaf.

In that role, she was tasked with telling MSPs the Government was scrapping its interim environmental targets, while maintaining its pledge to deliver net zero by 2045.

The announcement prompted Scottish Green members to consider scrapping the Bute House Agreement between the two parties, which may have precipitated its later collapse and the resignation of Mr Yousaf.

Ms McAllan retained the brief under current First Minister John Swinney, but become Housing Secretary in June of last year following her return from maternity leave.