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6 times new Angus Council leader Bill Duff made headlines – including Bridiegate

Montrose SNP figure Bill Duff has never been shy to speak his mind in 12 years as an Angus councillor.

Bill Duff has plenty to get his teeth into as the new Angus Council leader. Image: Angus Council/DC Thomson
Bill Duff has plenty to get his teeth into as the new Angus Council leader. Image: Angus Council/DC Thomson

Bill Duff has a lot on his plate as the new leader of Angus Council.

But who is the figure that’s emerged from the fractured ranks of the Angus SNP group to steer the authority through its next set of challenges?

He was elected to the four-member Montrose and District ward in 2012.

Alongside Forfar SNP colleague Lynne Devine and Conservatives Craig Fotheringham and Ronnie Proctor he is the longest-serving member in the Forfar chamber.

In the leader’s role he faces a host of challenges.

Not least a £35m budget black hole, the legacy of Storm Babet and a coastal erosion crisis on his Montrose doorstep.

Erosion is speeding up at Montrose Golf Links. Image: Kim Cessford/DC Thomson.

But taxpayers can be assured Mr Duff will meet them head on – and not back down from telling it as he sees it.

He’s frequently hit the headlines with straight-talking during his tenure.

And we’ve taken a bite into some of those.

1. Bridiegate

Mr Duff’s perfunctory 2018 dismissal of the Forfar Bridie as a “low quality processed meat product” riled Loons.

He dissed the legendary savoury on Facebook over plans to give it a place in a £15m Angus food culture hub.

Forfar bridies
The quality of the famous Forfar Bridie came under fire from Mr Duff. Image: McLarens of Forfar

The bridie, he said, had no place alongside “high end smoked salmon and the Arbroath smokie”.

And while the food hub has never materialised, the Forfar favourite is still going strong.

2. Hitler and Stalin tweet trouble

He endured more social media strife in 2020 with a post on Twitter, now X, around the draft of Scotland’s hate crime bill.

Mr Duff denied comparing then justice secretary Humza Yousaf to Hitler and Stalin in a response on the controversial plan.

Formr Scottish justice secretary and First Minister Humza Yousaf.
Former Scottish Justice Secretary and First Minister Humza Yousaf. Image: Darrell Benns/DC Thomson.

The tweet was deleted and he later admitted it was a “mistake” to use the language he had.

3. Standards Commission ban

In 2022, the Standards Commission banned Mr Duff from council planning meetings for a month.

He clashed with Forfar housebuilder Mark Guild during a debate on the future of Edzell’s Inglis Court.

Forfar housebuilder Mark Guild
Housebuilder Mark Guild offered to buy Inglis Court in Edzell. Image: Paul Reid

A standards hearing in Forfar ruled Mr Duff had breached the councillors’ code of conduct.

Its panel said he had been “disrespectful and dismissive” towards the businessman in the public meeting.

4. Alba event

Last April, Mr Duff laughed off suggestions he was planning to defect from the SNP after attending an Alba event in Arbroath.

He and other Montrose SNP members went to the Wee Alba Book meeting to hear speeches from Alex Salmond and former SNP deputy Jim Sillars.

Mr Duff said he’d gone because he was “interested in politics”.

“I’m an Angus councillor, I’m in favour of independence, and I think the independence movement needs to stick together,” he said.

5. Montrose white elephant

The new leader has never been afraid to shine a light on the council’s failings.

And the saga of Montrose’s Queen’s Close homeless unit has been a constant throughout his council career. He labelled it a “disaster”.

Queens Close homeless hostel in Montrose.
Queen’s Close homeless hostel sits off Montrose high street. Image: Kim Cessford / DC Thomson

After lying empty for 17 years after a fatal fire and six-figure refurbishment it eventually sold last year and is to become an aparthotel.

“When the annals of Angus Council are written, the saga of Montrose homeless unit will not be one of the highlights,” he previously said.

6. Financial reality

As administration finance spokesman, Mr Duff is acutely aware of how difficult balancing the books is.

He’s already warned Angus residents they can expect a hefty council tax hike next spring.

Angus Council financial challenges
Angus faces a huge funding gap in the next three years. Image: Kim Cessford/DC Thomson

Those same taxpayers will hold him to his own words that the authority can’t operate as if it has a “bottomless pit” of cash.

Last June, he said the council needed to take a “reality check” over a £60m active travel wish-list which included £9.5m for a Montrose to Brechin route.

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