North Lanarkshire's SNP group has a new leader as Councillor Tracey Carragher was "unanimously" elected to the role at a meeting last night.
Councillor Carragher steps into the post vacated by colleague Jordan Linden after he resigned following sexual harassment allegations.
Councillor Alan Masterton takes over from Coatbridge West representative Councillor Carragher as depute leader of the SNP group, while Councillor Carragher will continue to serve as depute leader of the council, temporarily assuming the responsibilities of leadership of the local authority.
At an upcoming special full council meeting, Councillor Carragher will be nominated as leader of the council and Councillor Masterton as depute leader.
As Lanarkshire Live reported earlier this week, North Lanarkshire Council’s new leader will be elected within the next week - with the main opposition group this time planning to challenge the administration for the role.
The top position on Scotland’s fourth-largest local authority is currently vacant after Linden stood down following allegations of sexual harassment at an event in 2019.
Labour councillors now plan to put forward their own members to head an administration, saying the SNP “have presided over three months of a complete absence of political leadership” since taking control in North Lanarkshire for the first time.
Opposition leader Jim Logue, whose group have 32 councillors compared to the SNP’s 36, says the choice of a new head of the council for the second time since May’s local government elections “won’t be a coronation”.
The full assembly of the authority - which also has five Conservative members, two independents, one Green and one British Unionist - must take place by August 11.
Commenting on her new role as leader of North Lanarkshire's SNP group, Councillor Carragher told Lanarkshire Live : "“I am grateful to my colleagues for placing their trust in me to lead the group and the council.
"My focus will continue to be ensuring our administration delivers for the people of North Lanarkshire, delivering our ambitious manifesto commitments on which we were elected in May.
“With recess over and committees beginning this month, residents will begin to see the changes necessary to improve our local communities following 26 years of Labour and Labour/Tory administrations’ failures.
"We will build on the early decisions already made by this administration at the last full council meeting, such as rewarding our council staff for their efforts during Covid and ending Labour’s disastrous MELM experiment in Chryston.
“I look forward to working with all elected members to guide our communities through the Tory cost of living crisis, protecting and improving council services, expanding the council’s ambitious housebuilding program, and driving down the poverty related attainment gap.”
The group's new depute leader, Councillor Masterton, said: “It is an incredible privilege to be chosen by my colleagues to be their depute leader and nominee for depute leader of the council.
"Like all SNP councillors, I was elected on a pledge to deliver for, and improve, our communities across the local authority and that is what I am committed to doing as the council’s depute leader.
“Plans are already in place to deliver on our manifesto commitments, such as reintroducing free swimming lessons for all children in P5, a wholesale review of the council house allocations policy and property repairs performance, and tackling the scourge of fly-tipping by reintroducing a free special uplift for all households.
“Our SNP administration remains absolutely focused on improving the lives of the people of North Lanarkshire.”
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