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The Courier
05-05-2025
- Business
- The Courier
New Angus Council power structure to be revealed this week
Angus Council's new power line-up will be confirmed within days. A 13-strong coalition is finalising its nominations for leading roles ahead of a special full council meeting on Thursday. It follows the successful motion of no confidence in the minority SNP administration, which cut short their control of the authority. We already know former SNP group deputy leader George Meechan is to be the new £50,000-a-year chief of the Conservative/Independent/Labour coalition. And Arbroath East and Lunan Conservative Derek Wann is to assume the role of second-in-command. The appointment of Provost and Depute Provost will be the first items of business for this week's special full council meeting. The new administration is remaining tight-lipped on its nomination for the role of civic figurehead. Monifieth councillor and former Depute Provost Craig Fotheringham is considered a strong contender. But the new group also includes Kirrie councillor Ronnie Proctor, who filled the post in a previous administration. The 13 administration members will take convener and vice-convener roles on six of the main committees. Those are: An opposition councillor must chair the Scrutiny and Audit committee, which comprises a majority of non-administration members. The meeting will also decide the remuneration of all elected members. The change of power comes just weeks after councillors across the country received pay hikes of as much as 20%. Angus Council can have a maximum complement of 13 higher-paid senior councillors. Their total wage bill is capped at £412,940. All other councillors will receive £25,982 a year. The remuneration report to full council reveals a total of £1.03 million has been set aside for councillor pay, including pension and national insurance costs. Meanwhile, the council has detailed the circumstances behind the timing of the special meeting. And it has emerged the absence of new deputy leader Derek Wann had no bearing on the issue. There had been speculation the meeting was delayed due to him being on holiday. Instead, it was largely due to former administration councillor Brenda Durno's position on a Tayside Contracts joint committee. A council spokesperson said: 'The challenges in setting a time and date for the special council were primarily due to the need to align with the ongoing process of recruitment in relation to Tayside Contracts involving Councillor Durno as a council-appointed member of the committee.' 'If Cllr Durno's position had become vacant, this would have had a significant delay and financial impact on the Tayside Contracts recruitment process. 'This process was concluded on April 29.'
The Courier
27-04-2025
- Politics
- The Courier
Steve Finan on Angus Council chaos and Dundee whispers
How entertaining it has been to watch the Angus version of Fawlty Towers playing out another episode of high farce. Who is in what job on Angus Council? Who is in which party? Who has any credibility left? The councillors decided they had no confidence in each other. That, at least, reflects the way their constituents feel. And, believe me, the chaos isn't finished. Angus has a rookie councillor, who is ex-SNP, leading a coalition with eight Tories in it. What could possibly go wrong? The only sensible thing any of them has said came on Tuesday. Derek Wann (who at time of writing was deputy council leader – though this might have changed two or three times by now) stated: 'Council priorities based solely on party political affiliation can no longer be the norm.' Absolutely right (although I don't think he realised he'd effectively said: 'I should resign'). Party affiliation has no bearing on where flood defences are built, or how to combat coastal erosion, or which potholes to fill in. A clash of personalities between two independents remains a two-person thing. A clash within a party creates allies, enemies, factions, backstabbing, manoeuvring, and an utter inability to do the job properly. Dundee suffers similarly. I am continually passed whispers about tensions within Dundee's SNP group – who hates who, and who pretends not to. It is tedious. The petty ploys of badly-behaved children. But we are left with important decisions being taken by people who think snide comments about the dress sense of colleagues is 'doing politics'. Get them out. Vote for an independent. A real person. Judge candidates on their strength of character, debating skills, and original ideas. Don't vote for a robot who can only do what their party allows and only think what their party tells them to think. I cannot understand how these councillors can bear to be so downtrodden, so subservient, so lacking in personality that they can't speak for themselves. How do they justify it to friends and families? How can they have self-respect? Most of the no-marks who become party candidates were selected due to the number of times they turned up to stuff leaflets through letterboxes on rainy days. To me, that's not a good enough qualification for a job that requires the ability to negotiate, co-operate, innovate, and find solutions. There are some real duds on Dundee and Angus councils. In some cases, they've been given promoted roles, which leave them achingly out of their depth. I'll tell you how to spot them. Count the number of times a councillor has voted against party orders. Count the times they decided, for themselves what they think, or put forward a proposal contrary to what their group leader dictated. If the answer is zero, then you can see they believe they work for the good of their party not their constituents. Do you disagree? Instead of just throwing empty insults at me (amusing though that is), point out one councillor who is a free thinker with the intelligence and chutzpah to vote on their conscience and beliefs rather than follow party orders. Local government should be done by people whose first care is for their locality.
The National
23-04-2025
- Politics
- The National
SNP lose control of Angus Council to Tory-Labour coalition
A special meeting of Angus Council held on Tuesday saw councillors vote 14-13 to remove the SNP from power. A new Scottish Conservative, Scottish Labour and Independent coalition – totalling 13 councillors – will now take control of the 28-member local authority. Former SNP deputy leader George Meechan, who stepped down from the post and became an independent councillor earlier this month, is set to become the leader of the new administration. READ MORE: SNP MP tears into Labour Cabinet in fiery Scottish independence exchange at PMQs Conservative councillor Derek Wann will serve as deputy leader. Another special council meeting will be set to decide other senior posts. Until then, all scheduled committee meetings are to be delayed. During Tuesday's meeting, councillor Wann accused the administration of "faltering" and focusing on the wrong priorities. He also criticised councillor Bill Duff of "accelerating" its decline. READ MORE: Decline of Scotland's last venomous snake sparks conservation fears However, Duff defended the SNP administration and cited the new £66.5 million Monifieth High School campus and Arbroath's Places for Everyone project as major achievements. Following the decision, Meechan said: "Today went as well as to be expected. "It's not something we were looking forward to, but something we think was needed. "We hope moving forward we will be more aligned to what the people of Angus want."
The National
23-04-2025
- Politics
- The National
SNP lose control of Angus Council after no-confidence vote
A special meeting of Angus Council held on Tuesday saw councillors vote 14-13 to remove the SNP from power. A new Scottish Conservative, Scottish Labour and Independent coalition – totalling 13 councillors – will now take control of the 28-member local authority. Former SNP deputy leader George Meechan, who stepped down from the post and became an independent councillor earlier this month, is set to become the leader of the new administration. READ MORE: SNP MP tears into Labour Cabinet in fiery Scottish independence exchange at PMQs Conservative councillor Derek Wann will serve as deputy leader. Another special council meeting will be set to decide other senior posts. Until then, all scheduled committee meetings are to be delayed. During Tuesday's meeting, councillor Wann accused the administration of "faltering" and focusing on the wrong priorities. He also criticised councillor Bill Duff of "accelerating" its decline. READ MORE: Decline of Scotland's last venomous snake sparks conservation fears However, Duff defended the SNP administration and cited the new £66.5 million Monifieth High School campus and Arbroath's Places for Everyone project as major achievements. Following the decision, Meechan said: "Today went as well as to be expected. "It's not something we were looking forward to, but something we think was needed. "We hope moving forward we will be more aligned to what the people of Angus want."
STV News
23-04-2025
- Politics
- STV News
SNP administration at Angus Council toppled in no-confidence vote
Angus Council's SNP administration has been toppled in a no-confidence motion defeat. A special meeting of the full council held on Tuesday saw councillors vote 14-13 to remove the SNP administration from power. A new Conservative, Labour and Independent coalition administration – totalling 13 councillors – will now take control of the 28-member local authority. Former SNP deputy leader George Meechan, who stepped down from the post and the administration earlier this month, is set to become the leader of the new administration. Conservative councillor Derek Wann will serve as deputy leader. Another special council meeting will be set to decide other senior posts. Until then, all scheduled committee meetings are set to be delayed. During Tuesday's meeting, councillor Wann accused the administration of 'faltering' and focusing on the wrong priorities. He also criticised councillor Bill Duff of 'accelerating' its decline. However, Mr Duff defended the SNP administration and cited the new £66.5m Monifieth High School campus and Arbroath's Places for Everyone project as major achievements. But this was not enough to secure the votes that would have saved the SNP administration. The new administration members include: George Meechan (Independent) Tommy Stewart (Independent) Ian McLaren (Independent) Heather Doran (Scottish Labour) Jill Scott (Independent) Derek Wann (Conservative) Gavin Nicol (Conservative) Louise Nicol (Conservative) Iain Gall (Conservative) Ross Greig (Conservative) Jack Cruickshanks (Conservative) Craig Fotheringham (Conservative) Ronnie Proctor (Conservative) Following the decision, councillor Meechan said: 'Today went as well as to be expected. 'It's not something we were looking forward to but something we think was needed. 'We hope moving forward we will be more aligned to what the people of Angus want. 'I think what they want is to see more conjoined working. They want to be heard and all of those things we are prepared to do. 'We will listen and do whatever is best for the people of Angus.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
