Angus Council SNP administration toppled in no confidence motion
Angus Council is to be led by a new coalition after rebels won a vote of no confidence in the SNP administration.
A special meeting of the full council on Tuesday voted 14-13 to remove the nationalist group from power.
Kirriemuir and Dean councillor George Meechan will be the new £50,000-a-year council leader.
It was his resignation as deputy SNP group leader which triggered the successful coup.
Mr Meechan said the 'complexities of various working relationships' in the ruling group had become 'too significant to overcome.'
It led to the requisition request for the special meeting.
A 13-strong Independent/Conservative/Labour coalition will now form the new administration.
Arbroath Conservative Derek Wann will be the council's deputy leader.
He said the people of Angus were 'crying out for change'.
Mr Wann accused the administration of failing to tackle priority issues including Brechin's recovery from Storm Babet and coastal erosion threatening Montrose.
He said: 'Today is not a day we are celebrating.
'From the outset we felt this administration was faltering, focussing on the wrong priorities,' he said.
He said a change of SNP group leadership which saw Montrose councillor Bill Duff installed as figurehead following last summer's sudden resignation of predecessor Beth Whiteside had 'accelerated the decline.'
Mr Wann added: 'Council priorities based solely on party political affiliation can no longer be the norm, especially when so much is going wrong.
'There will be no more hectoring from the administration,' he said.
'Together I believe we can build a better future for Angus.'
But in his final act as council leader, Bill Duff warned his opponents over their 'high risk strategy'.
He defended the administration's record, citing the new £66.5 million Monifieth High School campus and Arbroath's Places for Everyone project as major initiatives which are on time and on budget.
And he pointed towards an SNP budget infrastructure fund which aims to deliver £20m of Angus investment.
'This administration took responsible, financially competent action,' he said.
'The 13 on the requisition didn't address this at all in their budget.
'Members must be really clear that the decision to vote is only part one of the journey.
'We'll have another special council to negotiate that will give us a mixed administration that may not deliver sound government for Angus.'
The crunch meeting took less than half an hour to decide on the change of administration.
Another special council meeting will now be set to decide on convenerships and other senior councillor posts.
The new administration will comprise:
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