New leader takes charge as council faces tight finances and rising homelessness costs
Glasgow City Council has elected Ricky Bell as its new leader, replacing Susan Aitken. Bell, councillor for Govan and former depute leader, secured the post after councillors voted 39 to 29 in his favour over Labour’s Rashid Hussain.
Bell has led the city’s SNP group since Ms Aitken stood down from that role in May and has served as the council’s treasurer since 2020. He previously worked as a finance and commercial executive for several news organisations, including Johnston Press.
Vote and rival candidates
The leadership contest saw nominations from multiple parties: the SNP, Labour, the Greens and Your Party all proposed candidates. Following the vote, Bell set out his priorities as focused on the city rather than party politics and said he would be prepared to challenge both the Scottish and UK governments where necessary.
- Vote result: Bell 39, Rashid Hussain 29.
- Previous roles: Depute leader; council treasurer since 2020.
- Background: Commercial finance experience with media companies including Johnston Press.
Housing, refugees and rising costs
The leadership change comes as Glasgow confronts growing demand for homelessness support. The council said almost half of homelessness applications were from people with refugee status or leave to remain. The cost of addressing these applications to the local authority was given as £38 million in 2025-26, paid from council resources and expected to rise.
"Glasgow is carrying the burden for the whole of Scotland and that can't be right," Bell said, adding that it was unfair for Glasgow council taxpayers to carry the costs of housing refugees "for the whole of Scotland".
Bell described a significant increase in homeless applications and called on the Scottish Government to act to change some policies that he said were placing disproportionate pressure on Glasgow.
Context: finances and elections
The Accounts Commission, Scotland’s public spending watchdog, warned last week that the council is at a "critical" point in efforts to stabilise its finances. The council will face voters at local elections next year, a timetable that sharpens political stakes for whoever leads the administration through the immediate budget and service pressures.
| Item | Figure/Detail |
|---|---|
| Leadership vote | 39 for Bell; 29 for Labour's Rashid Hussain |
| Cost of refugee-related homelessness support (2025-26) | £38 million from council funds |
| Council treasurer since | 2020 |
Susan Aitken led the SNP group on the council to successive election victories before stepping back from the leadership earlier this year. Bell has said he believes he is the best candidate to lead the city and that he will prioritise Glasgow’s needs over party positioning.
Implications and immediate challenges
Bell inherits a council under scrutiny over its finances and with a growing demand for housing support driven in part by recent migration trends. His appeal to the Scottish Government for policy change frames the issue as one requiring action beyond local budgets, setting up potential tensions with ministers responsible for asylum and resettlement policy.
How the council proposes to meet the rising costs within constrained local budgets, how much support it can secure from national government, and the approach the new leader takes ahead of next year’s elections will be watched closely in Holyrood and Westminster alike.
For now, the city’s administration has a new leader and a clear set of immediate pressures: stabilise finances, address homelessness demand, and prepare for the electoral test that follows.
