The Scottish Greens have become the latest political party to support the Press and Journal’s campaign to keep Highlands and Islands Enterprise local.
The move means a Holyrood majority could now block the controversial plans if they come before the parliament.
The Scottish Government provoked widespread fury last week by confirming that the dedicated board for the agency would be scrapped and replaced by a national panel overseeing several organisations.
It was claimed the move would undermine 50 years of progress in the Highlands and sound the “death knell” for HIE, as opposition politicians rounded on the SNP administration.
The Scottish Government has insisted there is “no threat” to HIE. But the Scottish Greens’ Highlands and Islands MSP, John Finnie, said: “The Highlands and Islands faces unique challenges and opportunities and needs its own development agency.
“More than that, it needs one with the big-picture outlook that is built in to HIE: supporting development of and for the whole community, not commerce alone.
“I’ve been campaigning to keep HIE local for as long as I’ve been an MSP and it’s great that the cause now has the weight of the Press and Journal behind it.”
The Scottish Conservatives, Scottish Labour and the Scottish Liberal Democrats have also backed the campaign.
HIE celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, with its forerunner, the Highlands and Islands Development Board, having been established in 1965 in a bid to tackle the region’s high unemployment and dwindling population.
The agency, which has moved into £13million headquarters at Inverness Campus, claims to have played a part in increasing the population by more than 20% since coming into existence, while rebalancing the local economy.
A review last month recommended that a new single board should be established to co-ordinate the work of HIE, Scottish Enterprise, Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney provoked a furious response last week when he confirmed the Holyrood government’s intention to back the plan.
A consultation is due to be held as part of a second phase of the review.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “There is no threat to HIE, which is fully protected, as we announced at the outcome to the Phase 1 review, and as the HIE chairman confirmed last week.”