Glasgow sidelined by Labour Spending Review, says Aitken

The Herald Scotland

14 hours ago

In a letter seen by The Herald, the SNP councillor warned that Ms Reeves's review is a 'retrograde step' for regional devolution in Scotland, and risks 'disempowering' Glasgow.
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Although the Treasury confirmed a £160 million Investment Zone in the Glasgow City Region and £20 million for Trailblazer Communities, Councillor Aitken said this fell far short of the funding deals being rolled out to five English Mayoral Strategic Authorities.
The Spending Review included detailed commitments to expand integrated settlements for English city regions.
Rahcel Reeves delivering the spending review (Image: House of Commons/PA Wire) Instead of applying for individual grants through competitive bidding processes, these areas receive a single, flexible pot of long-term funding, allowing Mayors greater autonomy in making their own investment decisions.
This integrated funding grants local control over budgets for areas such as housing, skills, and transport.
Following the Spending Review, these settlements are being expanded to include London, the North East, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, and Liverpool City Region.
These will join existing arrangements in Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, meaning nearly 40% of England's population will now have local control over this unified funding for growth and public services.
Glasgow will instead be forced to enter what one council source described as a 'beauty contest' and need to bid for cash — similar to the process under the last Tory government, which Labour criticised in opposition.
Councillor Aitken told Mr Murray: 'It is clear from the Spending Review that the UK Government recognises the best way to support economic growth of English City Regions is through an integrated settlement, allowing places the ability to make their own investment decisions.
'And yet Glasgow City Region, which is larger in population, size of economy, opportunity and need than most of the Mayoral Combined Authorities, is reduced to simply administering programmes on behalf of UK Government as if it were a small local authority.'
She added: 'The empowerment of our comparator city regions in England and the disempowerment of Glasgow City Region threatens all of the progress we have made. We have a shared priority of growing Scotland's economy and ensuring our people reap the benefits of that.
'We cannot grow Scotland's economy without growing Glasgow's economy — and yet yesterday's budget will not contribute to that growth and will cause us to fall behind our English counterparts.'
Council insiders told The Herald the lack of progress had come as a surprise, particularly given the constructive tone of recent discussions with the UK Government.
Cllr Aitken and Kevin Rush talking to Newsquest's Stewart Paterson in February (Image: Gordon Terris) In February, Councillor Aitken and Glasgow's head of regional economic growth, Kevin Rush, told The Herald the city was 'ready to go' on a bespoke devolution deal. The model would mirror Greater Manchester or the West Midlands — with a 'single pot' of funding and the ability to make investment decisions locally.
They said the structures were already in place and that Glasgow was managing numerous major UK Government-backed programmes, including the City Deal, Innovation Accelerator, Investment Zone, Shared Prosperity Fund, 5G Region, and Clyde Mission.
The Treasury did reaffirm its commitment to the Glasgow Investment Zone — which it says could unlock £1.7 billion in private investment and create up to 18,000 jobs — and praised the region's potential in advanced manufacturing.
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But Councillor Aitken said that without control over wider investment decisions, Glasgow's economic future would remain constrained by short-term funding rounds and top-down allocations.
She told The Herald: 'If anyone thought locking Glasgow and other Scottish cities out of investment talks last year was a simple oversight, this Spending Review risks creating the impression that the UK Government has now decided it is prepared to let our city regions be left behind.
'That is incredibly frustrating, at a time when we have been working closely with the Secretary of State, Deputy First Minister and officials from governments in Edinburgh and London to develop a positive, deliverable proposition for a devolution deal that would allow us to build on our strong record for innovation, unlock investment opportunities and grow the Scottish economy.
'Despite all of that, it appears the voice of Scotland's cities has not been heard around the Cabinet table."
'We are not asking for anything difficult," she added, "just a level playing field."
In her Spending Review, Ms Reeves confirmed that the Scottish Government is set to receive an average of £50.9 billion per year between 2026–27 and 2028–29, representing its largest settlement in real terms since devolution.
A UK Government spokesperson said: "Glasgow City Region is at the heart of our Plan for Growth in Scotland.
"We are delivering more than £663m funding for the region including an Investment Zone focussed on developing advanced manufacturing and a strategic partnership with the National Wealth Fund.
"Further plans will be set out, including the city's important role in the Industrial Strategy.
"Devolution within Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Government but, building on the success of city and growth deals, we will work with them to help to ensure places like Glasgow City Region have the tools they need to deliver change and unlock the same levels of growth as their English counterparts like Greater Manchester."