SNP activists are to be given the chance to oust the party boss who trashed a grassroots plan to secure independence without a referendum.

National Secretary Angus MacLeod rubbished the idea of a “Plan B” when it was proposed by SNP MP Angus MacNeil and Inverclyde Councillor Chris McEleny in July.

Mr MacLeod said it was “hastily written, almost whimsically so”, and said it had been “utterly inappropriate” for the two proposers to discuss it in the media.

READ MORE: SNP mavericks suggest a new route to independence

Now, in a key test of the party’s mood, Mr McEleny is challenging Mr MacLeod, seen as the choice of the SNP establishment, for the national secretary’s position.

Delegates to the party’s autumn conference in Aberdeen will vote on the issue in October.

Held by Mr MacLeod since 2016, the top office bearer's position involves overseeing the party’s constitution, nominations to party bodies and discipline issues.

Nicola Sturgeon has insisted a second referendum on independence must follow the “gold standard” of 2014, and involve a legally watertight transfer of power from Westminster.

However, with the UK Government refusing to grant a so-called Section 30 order, Mr MacNeil and Mr McEleny proposed a Plan B that doesn’t rely on a referendum.

Instead, a simple election win would be used as a mandate for ending the Union.

If pro-independence SNP and Green candidates won a majority of seats at the next Westminster or Holyrood election, it would trigger independence negotiations.

With parts of the Yes movement impatient for action, and worried about another refusal, Mr MacNeil and Mr McEleny tried to get their idea debated at the autumn conference.

However the SNP's conferences committee threw it out, and Mr MacLeod was directly critical of it.

The pair then attempted a different route, trying to get the same issue debated at conference through an amendment to a motion which had been accepted for debate.

READ MORE: SNP MP 'utterly stumped' by party's refusal to debate independence plan

But this too was rejected last week.

Cllr McEleny, who sits on the SNP’s ruling national executive, is understood to be “bitterly disappointed at the way his Plan B proposal was “arrogantly dealt with”.

His candidacy will be seen as a test of the mood among SNP members for a more aggressive push on Indyref2 and greater autonomy for the party’s grassroots.

Cllr McEleny said he wanted SNP HQ to work better with party members and improve candidate vetting for elections.

He said: “Branches across Scotland have been debating the merits of ‘Indy plan B’.

“An overwhelming majority who have had the chance to debate the policy have endorsed the proposal - in most cases unanimously, and even then the feedback has been that every single branch has had a vibrant debate.

“If we don’t stand for vibrant policy debates, what type of policy debates do we stand for?”

READ MORE: Neil Mackay: Why the Plan B path to independence reveals a world of pain for the SNP

He added: “My branch have nominated me for the position but this is an internal role.

“I do note that people have started social media campaigns already but for me my current priority is getting on with the day job of protecting local services from the impact of a Tory no deal Brexit.

“I will naturally set out to members what I intend to deliver in the role in terms of a better involving ordinary members in the party, nearer the time of the party conference in October.”

Mr MacLeod is standing for re-election for the unpaid role with the endorsement of several SNP MSPs and MPs, and will be seen as the choice of party leadership.

Also standing is activist Morgwn Davies.