Local Authorities Guide: Scottish Borders Council

The following is a Q&A with Conservative Euan Jardine, leader of Scottish Borders Council.

The Public Sector Reform strategy is a key mission of the Scottish Government what does that mean for you and your council?

It means we’ve got to strip it back to outcomes for residents not processes and slogans. For the Scottish Borders, reform must work in the real world: rural distance, ageing demographics, and access challenges. If reform gives councils the freedom to redesign services around people and cut duplication, I’m for it. If it’s just central direction with no flexibility, it won’t land.

Are there particular innovative or collaborative ways of working you can point to as examples of how you can do more with less?

Yes, and it starts with joined-up working that feels joined-up to the resident. We bring partners together; NHS, police, third sector, and communities, solving problems once instead of running parallel systems. We focus more on prevention, and we’re honest about priorities: what genuinely changes outcomes, and what’s just activity. That’s how you do more with less you stop doing the wrong things.

AI is held up as a potential game changer on the ground, what contribution is digital technology making to your approach?

Digital helps when it makes life easier for residents and takes pressure off staff. It can improve access, speed up answers, and cut the back-and-forth. AI has potential to triage, draft, and repeat admin, but I’m clear: it should support the workforce and improve services, not replace judgement, or become a shiny distraction. The test is simple: does it help people in the Scottish Borders, yes or no?

What counts as a good day in the office?

A good day is when someone in the Scottish Borders is better off because we’ve done our job properly. A problem gets solved, a decision gets made, and people leave with clarity, not more process.

What keeps you awake at night?

Pressure on core services, rising demand, and the people delivering it carrying the load. I worry about protecting the essentials, keeping good staff, and making sure we don’t drift into managed decline. And I always think about trust, because if people don’t trust the decisions, everything becomes harder.

How do you describe what you do as council leader to a stranger?

I lead the council but a big part of that is bringing the right people round the table. I work with councillors, officers, communities, partners, and business to get alignment on what matters, then I make sure we deliver it. Some days that’s persuasion and problem-solving; other days it’s tough decisions but it’s always about turning priorities into action for the Scottish Borders.

This article appears in Holyrood's 2026 Local Authorities Guide.