Glasgow ‘needs city-region powers and a mayor’ – Daily Business

Glasgow is at risk of falling behind England’s major cities unless it assumes more powers under a directly-elected “city region mayor”, according to a think tank.

Centre for Cities says Glasgow will fail to fulfil its economic potential unless it unites with the seven neighbouring local authorities in the City region area to focus on transport, housing, skills and economic development.

The research group estimates that if Glasgow performed in line with cities of comparable size in other countries, Scotland’s economy could be up to 4.6% larger – the equivalent of doubling the size of Scotland’s oil and gas sector. 

Over half of the people who work in the city live in neighbouring local authority areas but decisions over transport, planning and housing are made separately and without coordinated leadership, says its report, The Missing Piece in the Big Cities Jigsaw.

It says a combined authority, led by a “metro mayor,” would address this shortcoming and allow the city-region to plan and deliver infrastructure and services at the scale of the entire local economy. 

Glasgow is the only large UK city in this position, leaving it lagging behind most similar-size cities in England and elsewhere in the G7, says the report.

The call for metro mayors, more likely to be called Provosts in Scotland, is not new, but this report adds to pressure on the Scottish Government to legislate combined authorities in Scotland with Glasgow at the front of the queue for a new “mayor”. 

The report notes that the mayoral authorities covering all large English cities have been handed greater powers and funding and are set to receive more over this parliament.  In last week’s spending review alone, these areas were given an average of £1.7 billion to fund transport investment. 

Andrew Carter, chief executive of Centre for Cities, said:  “The UK is taking a city-region led approach to economic growth because cities are at the frontier of innovation and economic growth.

“Glasgow has an important role in this, with the potential to make an added economic contribution the size of Scotland’s oil and gas sector if it harnesses its size to generate more cutting-edge activity. 

“English cities with metro mayors have in the last week been allocated billions to invest in local public transport networks and R&D.

“Scotland too needs its big cities to make a greater contribution to the economy. A directly-elected mayor for the Glasgow city region would bring much-needed leadership, accountability and the ability to shape growth around the city’s needs. 

“City-region devolution for Scottish cities is not about copying England. It is about matching the ambition of English devolution.

“Scotland was a devolution leader and by going that extra step to push devolution out to city-region level, it would give people in Glasgow and other cities the chance to have a greater voice and set their own rules.”