THE SNP are set to take over the running of North Lanarkshire Council for the first time since the authority was formed, the Herald can reveal.
Jordan Linden, the SNP group leader, is expected to become the youngest person to lead the council at the age of 26 and also the first LGBT leader of the authority.
The SNP won 36 seats on the council, with Labour taking 32, Tories 5, independents 2, British Unionist Party one and Green one.
It is understood the Green councillor and one of the independents have given their tacit support to the SNP which will run the council as a minority administration.
Following the election on May 5, the SNP had gone to Labour with an offer to work together on the council but the approach was rejected with the party reported to have approached the hardline British Unionist Party and the Tories to get their backing instead.
Jordan Linden
With the possibility of both the SNP and Labour each having the support of 38 councillors, the possibility arose that the decision on who ran the council could be determined by a split of the cards.
However, it is understood that the Labour group met last night and decided not to stand any nominations for the administration at the full council meeting tomorrow.
Councillor Linden told The Herald: "The SNP is set to lead North Lanarkshire for the first time. We will have the first ever SNP Provost, the first SNP leader. I will be the youngest leader of North Lanarkshire Council and the first LGBT leader of the council. Big changes."
He added: "We will take things day by day, and genuinely seek to collaborate right across the board with the exception of the Tories and the BUP. The offer we made to Labour to work together was not just for the administration but to recognise the political balance of the council."
Meanwhile, Labour and the Liberal Democrats will form South Lanarkshire Council’s administration for the next five years, taking over from the SNP which ran it from 2017 to 2022.
At the full council meeting this morning, the Labour group were voted to form the administration in a partnership agreement with the Lib Dems.
Labour’s Joe Fagan is the new council leader, with party colleague Gerry Convery becoming his deputy.
A total of 35 councillors voted for the Labour group, with 28 voting for the SNP and one abstaining.
Councillor Margaret Cooper (Independent) was voted in as Provost, with Councillor Bert Thomson (Labour) being chosen as Deputy Provost.
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