The leader of Moray Council has admitted his position could be in jeopardy after a roads project he championed was sensationally scrapped.
And Stewart Cree claimed the money saved by not building the £11.8million Western Link route in Elgin will be “wasted” on less important projects.
Councillors voted to abandon the scheme after being told the authority’s spending plans were “unsustainable”.
Local campaigners were left jubilant – but the council’s administration group will hold crisis talks next week to thrash out the future of its leadership.
Yesterday, Mr Cree predicted traffic chaos lay in store for Moray’s biggest town without an extra crossing over its railway line.
And he claimed that opposition SNP councillors who voted against the Western Link Road did so only for “political gain”.
But the Nationalists hit back, accusing Mr Cree of “trying to deflect attention from his own failure”, and said alternative spending plans they proposed were “insignificant” compared to the link road project.
Mr Cree said: “I’m very disappointed with how the meeting went, and we will speak about that on Monday.
“If administration members feel that we are not able to run the council in the future, then we would have to look at our position.
“But at this point, we have to gather whatever we can from the ashes of Wednesday’s decision.”
Mr Cree’s administration group was dealt a hammer blow when two of its 11 members – Heldon and Laich Independent representative Chris Tuke and Elgin City South Conservative James Allan – sided with 10 SNP councillors and Conservative Douglas Ross in voting to scrap the road.
A motion to remove the scheme from the council’s capital plan – saving £8.2million over the next 10 years – was backed by 13 to 11 votes.
SNP members also successfully moved to pledge £42,000 towards start-up work on safety improvements along the B9016 Buckie-Keith route.
Redesigning the notorious road will cost more than £5million if work is ultimately approved.
Mr Cree said: “The money they claim to have saved will be invested in a road between Keith and Buckie, and I don’t see similar strategic value in that.
“Elgin can’t go on being a one-bridge town, Edgar Road is badly gridlocked at times as it is.
“We are an independent administration, we don’t demand that members become hogtied to any party banner, but this turned into a political issue.”
He added: “The need for a bridge has been accepted, and recommendations to develop the south of Elgin will place significant strain on its roads infrastructure.”
A spokesman for Moray’s SNP group said: “The council leader is trying to deflect attention from his own failure, which has cost his administration a key vote.
“The £42,000 for the Keith-Buckie road is start-up funding for a potential project on a road that many people have safety concerns about.
“This pales into insignificance against the millions that will be saved from the removal of the Western Link Road.
“Instead of finding someone to blame, perhaps Mr Cree should figure out why he is unable to persuade his own group of councillors to vote with him on critical strategic matters.”
Nationalist proposals to use funds saved by axeing the road on flood protection schemes at Dallas, Hopeman and Portessie and keeping open public toilets were also passed.
Residents in Wittet Drive mounted a high-profile campaign against the Western Link Road scheme, claiming it would endanger schoolchildren and create unacceptable noise and pollution in a residential area.
