SNP councillor Maxine Smith last night moved into pole position to become the new leader of Highland Council.
The Cromarty Firth member was chosen to take the helm of the Nationalist group on the local authority after Drew Hendry’s stunning general election defeat of former UK Government minister Danny Alexander.
And she could be confirmed as council leader next month.
Last night, she said she was “honoured” to have been given the job of leading the SNP group.
She added: “I will continue to operate in a fair and open fashion whilst shaping policy and getting the results that help the people of the Highlands.
“Drew Hendry has been an excellent leader whom I have worked closely with over the past number of years very successfully.
“I am sure he will do an equally superb job at Westminster. I also want to thank my colleagues for the opportunity to lead and I can assure everyone that I will be working extremely hard as we face the challenges ahead.”
Councillor Smith was appointed local authority budget leader in May 2014, a role she will soon relinquish.
Mr Hendry, who is expected to officially stand down as council leader next week, ousted former Liberal Democrat chief secretary to the Treasury Mr Alexander from the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey seat at Westminster at last week’s general election.
Inverness councillor Richard Laird will remain the SNP group’s deputy leader on the local authority.
The 41-strong SNP-Liberal Democrat-Labour ruling administration and 19-member opposition will jointly decide who succeeds Mr Hendry as leader, most likely at next month’s full council meeting.
Mr Hendry said last night: “I’ve very much enjoyed leading the SNP group since 2011 and they have made an excellent choice in electing Maxine.
“She is a valuable colleague to us all and I’ve seen up close the hard work and thought that she delivers.
“I have no doubt at all that she will prove to be a highly successful leader.”
Councillor Laird said: “This is an important time for the SNP and for the Highlands, and I intend to support Councillor Smith in full and to ensure as a party we keep delivering for the constituents.”
Despite long-held frustration among some coalition members over policy differences, the partners have been largely united since agreeing a pact following the 2012 council elections.
Shaken by his party’s dire general election results, the council’s deputy leader – Lib Dem David Alston – said: “It is time for taking stock and we are in a different position because of the change in the national picture.
“We have to consider how best we can be a voice for the 50% of the people who didn’t vote for the SNP within a national set-up which is now dominated by SNP politicians.”
Before the election, underlying policy differences prompted two Lib Dem councillors to quit the administration and help form a “Highland Alliance” breakaway group.
Privately, other Lib Dems are also unhappy about the pact with the SNP.
Asked if he felt a fourth coalition in eight years was imminent, Mr Alston said: “I’m not going beyond saying that we need to take stock of where we are.”
Reflecting on the Lib Dems’ election disaster, he said: “Obviously it was a big defeat, but we got a third of the vote in the Highlands. We’ve got a substantial group of councillors. That’s no bad base to be building from.”
Jaci Douglas, who leads the council’s Independent group, said: “Whoever is chosen as council leader has to be right for the job no matter what their political allegiance.”
The current council coalition comprises 21 SNP, 12 Lib Dem and eight Labour members. The opposition is made up of 34 Independents and five Highland Alliance members.