Councillor Devlin succeeds Councillor Joe Fagan, who resigned as council leader following his election to the Scottish Parliament earlier this month.

As leader, Councillor Devlin will chair the council’s Executive Committee and the Community Planning Partnership, among a range of other key responsibilities. She will also represent South Lanarkshire at the Glasgow City Region Cabinet.

The election of a new council leader was one of a number of changes agreed at a meeting of the full council this week.

In addition, depute provost Bert Thomson was appointed interim provost during a period of absence for Provost Margaret Cooper. Councillor Celine Handibode was elected as interim depute provost.

Interim Provost Thomson said: “I am grateful and extremely happy to receive this honour, though I would like to acknowledge the work of those that have gone before me, especially Margaret Cooper. I look forward to continuing to represent all councillors across South Lanarkshire.”

In a further change, Councillor Mo Razzaq was elected as the new chair of the Finance and Corporate Resource Committee, following the sad death of Councillor Lesley McDonald.