THE most powerful political job in local government that Dorset has ever seen is set to be filled next week.

Conservative sources say Borough of Poole leader Janet Walton is the frontrunner for the top job within the committee responsible for managing the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole super-council merger.

The shadow authority’s executive committee - the equivalent of a cabinet - will appoint its chairman and deputy next Friday with the former becoming the organisation’s leader.

The 120-member shadow authority meets for the first time this evening and will oversee the work to form Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council next year.

However, the much smaller Shadow Executive Committee will hold most of the power.

Made up of 16 Conservative councillors, eight from Bournemouth, six from Poole and two from Christchurch, the committee will make the majority of decisions for the shadow authority until the new council takes over in April - before elections in May.

With only 18 members of the 120-strong shadow authority not representing the party, the Conservatives will have a big say in the shadow authority.

The widely-respected leader of Poole, Cllr Walton, is understood to be the party’s preferred candidate to be its chairman – a position which would make her the leader of the shadow authority.

Cllr John Beesley, the leader of Bournemouth Council who has a year-long police investigation into his business interests hanging over him, is nevertheless expected to be selected for the deputy role. The pair were both key in the reorganisation of local government in Dorset along with the former leader of Christchurch Council, Ray Nottage, who is likely to chair the Shadow Authority which meets tonight. His will be a civic, non-executive role, equivalent to a chairman or mayor of a district.

Both positions in the executive committee will be filled at its first meeting, which is scheduled to take place on June 15.

Despite opposing the local government reorganisation process and having overseen the launch of a legal challenge against it last month, Christchurch Council’s leader and deputy, Cllrs David Flagg and Trish Jamieson, say they will take an active role.

Cllr Flagg said that they had a “duty” to co-operate with the shadow authority process and that Christchurch councillors would be attending meetings.

“We await a response to our judicial review application,” he said.

“Under the legislation that is now in place the council has a legal duty to co-operate.”

Cllr Flagg added: “It is important that we continue to represent the interests of our residents on the shadow authority and the Shadow Executive Committee as that is what we were elected to do.”