'Glasgow is the only true metropolis north of Manchester'

Glasgow Times

04-06-2025

We've always been familiar with the notion of the City Region, but in the past decade, the Glasgow City Deal has given it substance and a more formal status.
In short, making Metropolitan Glasgow more real.
The transformational impact of the City Deal is there for all to see - from the new bridges spanning the Clyde and M8, the Barclays Campus, the reborn Sighthill, or the ongoing Avenues project.
And the mature partnerships across the eight councils, businesses, academia, and civil society that have helped deliver that change are also forging an entirely new economy, one with science and technology at its core and which has restored Glasgow's international reputation for ingenuity and innovation.
What's been achieved across the city region in a short space of time, and throughout some difficult years, has been remarkable.
Our track record for delivery has now been recognised by successive UK governments.
Our inclusion alongside Greater Manchester and the West Midlands in new approaches to boost growth, such as the £100 million Innovation Accelerator programme and strategic partnerships with the UK Wealth Fund, is testament to our position as one of the most productive city regions in these islands.
But right now, we've reached a fork in the road.
The route we go on can either take us to the next level, with massive benefits for communities and residents.
Or it could see us start to fall behind our peers south of the border.
City Regions like Greater Manchester and the West Midlands are our counterparts in many respects.
But what we don't yet share with them is the empowerment and resource that comes with the new Devolution Deals being planned for English city regions.
The Glasgow City Region should have parity with what's on offer elsewhere.
The eight Glasgow City Region leaders have now made a joint approach to both governments, setting out exactly how we can build on our successes.
We're united in believing that we can go much faster and further in delivering transformational benefits for our communities and our economy.
That's why we've asked the government to put pace and purpose behind empowering our City Region.
That means access to similar powers and the same single funding pots which our comparators south of the border enjoy.
Right now, on many key economic indicators, we're outperforming the likes of Greater Manchester, West Midlands, West Yorkshire, or Merseyside.
But the reality is that if we don't secure the equal status that we're asking for, then Metropolitan Glasgow risks falling behind.
And if that happens, then Scotland falls behind.
I know that the Scottish Government is exploring how it can enter into the kind of partnership with the City Region and the UK Government that can work for us all.
The UK Government's Spending Review is on the immediate horizon, providing a critical opportunity to turn our readiness into action.
I hope that in the coming days they can give us a clear indication that we're all heading in the same direction.
I was delighted to see the recent reports that the numbers of shoppers and revellers in Glasgow city centre has been on the rise, by as much as 10 per cent on some streets.
The latest data is also showing that people are spending a little more, with sales outstripping comparator cities.
With businesses, and indeed households, having been feeling the strain over recent years, that's to be welcomed.
These are just some of the hugely encouraging signs that our plans to put our city centre on a road to recovery are bearing fruit.
With the George Square redevelopment underway, more Avenues taking shape, and development activity on the up, the evidence is mounting that we're turning a corner.
Over the coming weeks and months, the council and our partners will be doing much more to get the good news out there about what's happening with the city centre.
This hasn't always been easy.
But with transformation taking shape and confidence on the up, it's in everyone's interests that we pull together and build on the growing positivity about our city centre.