New Edinburgh chief's tough reputation

Published on Friday 3 September 2010 18:22

EDINBURGH'S new council chief will not shirk from overseeing swingeing budget cuts in the city, it was claimed yesterday.

Sue Bruce has been described as "fearless", "hard-nosed" and "politically astute" by councillors in Aberdeen, where she is leaving after less than two years as chief executive to take up the same post in Edinburgh.

Insiders say Mrs Bruce has coped well with the limelight after taking on the "poisoned chalice" of shaking up Aberdeen City Council following a damning Audit Scotland report before her appointment.

And her handling of the cash-strapped authority and reported willingness to take flak away from councillors grappling with budget cuts is thought to have been a big factor in her appointment to head up the second biggest local authority in Scotland, which has well publicised financial problems looming.

One source said: "Sue has had an immense public profile from day one. She has been highly articulate at putting forward arguments for change, and has a very strong personality.

"She has had to oversee some very difficult decisions for Aberdeen and it's a measure of how well she's done that there is so much dismay that she is going."

Mrs Bruce, who will take over the 160,000 post from Tom Aitchison, will find a familiar political administration awaiting her arrival in Edinburgh in the autumn, with the Liberal Democrats and SNP in control, as they are in Aberdeen.

Councillors in Edinburgh are thought to be impressed by her track record in Aberdeen, where she helped partly restore the reputation of the city.

She ordered a shake-up of departments, oversaw the assembling of a new senior management team, and recommended deeply unpopular cuts to charities, schools and leisure facilities.

But she drew most fire after throwing the council's weight behind Sir Ian Wood's controversial plans to overhaul Aberdeen's Union Terrace Gardens.

Opposition councillors in Edinburgh believe the city has suffered from a lack of leadership, with council leader Jenny Dawe reluctant to take responsibility for difficult decisions.

Familiar problems are on the horizon for Mrs Bruce in Edinburgh, with the authority already facing cuts of 90 million over the next three years amid fears this could rise to 140 million as a result of spending cuts at Westminster and Holyrood.

Leading local authority figures in Aberdeen, where Sue Bruce has been at the helm since December 2008, say she was a "huge breath of fresh air" when she arrived in her post.

Another insider said: "The problem Sue has had has been a lack of political leadership at the top and she's found herself regularly thrust into the limelight. She's been taking the flak for a lot of difficult decisions, but is also very politically astute and hard-nosed.It's no surprise this has come to the attention of councillors in Edinburgh."

Willie Young, secretary of the Labour group on Aberdeen council, said: "Sue Bruce has definitely fronted up the cuts and has borne the brunt of the criticism. She's pretty fearless and if you're looking for a chief executive to cut, cut, cut she's the right candidate."

Headaches to come include the beleaguered tram project, which faces a funding black hole of 85 million, and tackling a bitter dispute with refuse workers.