A new political group has been formed on Aberdeenshire Council.
Independent/Green councillors Martin Ford and Paul Johnston have joined with recently resigned SNP representatives Leigh Wilson and Alastair Bews.
They will work together as the Democratic Alliance.
Mr Ford and Mr Johnston were previously called the Democratic Independent and Green Group (DIGG) and have existed since 2009.
They opposed the Trump planning application and have continued to campaign for greener policies.
Mr Wilson and Mr Bews recently left the SNP group to form the Social Democratic Group (SDG)
The New Democratic Alliance grouping is similar to other arrangements on Aberdeenshire Council where several councillor groups work together as a larger grouping.
The new group will initially co-operate over the allocation of committee places which will change next week as a consequence of various councillors leaving their parties.
Four councillors have resigned from the Conservative group in the last week, with council leader Jim Gifford stepping down later this year to be replaced by Andy Kille.
DIGG leader Paul Johnston said: “The DIGG has provided an effective, progressive voice on Aberdeenshire Council for more than a decade.
“We now have the opportunity for increased influence by working closely with two like-minded councillors, so we are delighted to become part of the Democratic Alliance.
“We can have more opportunities to participate in working groups and sub-committes and say over our committee places by forming the Democratic Alliance.
“However, the four of us have much in common politically so I expect co-operation between us to extend beyond just practical matters.
“I anticipate, for example, a single council revenue budget proposal will be put forward by the Democratic Alliance. That said, when there are matters where we have different views, that’s fine too. There won’t be a whip.”
Leigh Wilson said: “Social democracy captures the essence of where our group stand – the moderate, centre-left – and indeed working with Martin and Paul will strengthen these values.
“I have been inspired by social democrats over many decades, politicians who campaign in poetry and govern in prose, but increasingly politics has moved towards the extremes. Instead, we want to be the voice of reason, liberalism and fairness.
“Smaller groups have an important part to play in the function of local democracy and therefore the wider Democratic Alliance will give us a greater input into the decision making process. This is an important step in ensuring that a plurality of views are represented in Aberdeenshire, and we certainly seek to represent them.”
