Rhiannon Hughes lost a vote of confidence by fellow councillors

Leaders from all five political groups have backed the independent Mr Evans, claiming his nomination was in the "best interests of Denbighshire".

Mr Evans still faces a council vote on 6 November.

Former leader Rhiannon Hughes was ousted after a no confidence vote, following critical reports into the county's education service.

The criticisms came from inspectors Estyn and a consultative body.

She and her cabinet were removed from office following a council vote on 22 October.

"Unity"

Mr Evans, 46, declined to comment following his nomination on Tuesday.

But a statement by councillors said it represented an "unprecedented show of unity by leaders from all five political groups".

The group leaders said: "We need to show that we can and will work together to the benefit of Denbighshire and that we will put aside any political differences to achieve this."

Mr Evans, from Llanelidan, was elected to represent the Llanfair DC/Gwyddelwern ward in 2004.

The leader of the Independent group, he has also been vice chair of the lifelong learning committee and chair of the joint advisory committee for the Clwydian Range Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

He will have to give a presentation to the council to persuade them why he should be elected.

Implement

If successful, one of his first duties would be to form a new cabinet, which could include re-instating former members.

At a crisis meeting earlier this month, the council accepted "radical change" was needed to improve education in the county, and said it would "rigorously implement" the Estyn action plan.

On Tuesday, the council announced it was concluding its draft action plan outlining how it would address criticisms highlighted in the Estyn inspection.

Ian Miller, Denbighshire's chief executive, approved the draft for submission to the Welsh Assembly Government and Estyn by the 5 November deadline.

The final version will be submitted to Estyn by December 2008.