How to transform Scotland's Central Belt into economic powerhouse

As former leaders of Scotland’s two principal cities and most important economies, we think the time has come for them to have directly elected mayors that work together formally to promote ‘Scotland’s Growth Corridor’ as a means of maximising jobs and wealth creation in Scotland. Here, we set out why.

We consider ourselves some of the world’s luckiest people. We led two of the finest cities on Earth at crucial times in their development. We believe we left them in better shape to face their future. We’re fiercely proud of how both cities have continued to make progress in the face of the huge challenges they’ve faced in the years since we stepped down. Those challenges have included one of the biggest economic downturns in history, a period of austerity that undermined prosperity and success for more than a decade, a poorly thought out and even more poorly implemented Brexit, and, of course, most recently the Covid pandemic.

We worked together to share ideas and promote cooperation between these two great cities by creating a formal joint-city partnership. Together we sought a common understanding and approach to both competing and collaborating in a constructive way. Sadly, those joint-working arrangements fell away when we left office, lost amidst the succession of challenges following the 2008 economic collapse.

We think the time has come to revisit that partnership. Scotland’s two biggest cities are the engines of this country’s economy, and we strongly believe a new approach is required to fire those engines to meet the undoubted challenges that lie ahead.

Scotland’s ‘Growth Corridor’

We want to make clear this is no Central Belt ‘power grab’ that would ignore issues elsewhere. The northern triangle of Aberdeen, Dundee and Inverness is an equivalent and important economic area which should have its own strategy and resources. What we’re suggesting simply formalises the fact that the area around and between our two great cities is, in reality, Scotland’s ‘Growth Corridor’, and public policy needs to reflect that to maximise growth and jobs for Scotland. 

Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, is one of a number of directly elected city politicians who have made a difference south of the Border (Picture: Leon Neal/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Combined, these city regions contain 3.2 million people and a far higher proportion of Scotland’s economic activity and potential. Repeatedly both cities are highlighted as amongst the best in Europe and indeed the world.

Glasgow was recently found to be the best in Europe for its foreign direct investment strategy in a survey of European Cities and Regions of the Future. It was also in the news recently for the huge success achieved in regenerating its city centre population. This represents a huge opportunity to sell Glasgow as what it is, one of the best places to live in Europe.

Europe’s second best-qualified populations

Edinburgh’s achievements are no less significant with the city region ranked as having the sixth highest GDP per capita in Europe. Its city centre has also bounced back from the depths of the Covid lockdowns with a recovery widely regarded as the best in the UK outside London. Edinburgh also has a huge opportunity to attract talent and investment. 

But it’s the combined strengths of the cities that makes the case for collaboration. Glasgow and Edinburgh have the equal second highest-qualified populations in Europe, according to the latest Resonance City Survey, with both cities having over half of their populations educated to degree equivalent or higher. In a world that is increasingly being driven by the knowledge economy, Glasgow and Edinburgh are forces to be reckoned with internationally, but also to be nurtured. 

The Forth Green Freeport area and the Clyde Mission areas have over 1,500 hectares of land ripe for investment. The combined City Deals, which have seen joint working delivered smoothly, are pulling in nearly £3 billion in investment to Scotland. These are templates for effective cooperation to be built on and improved.

The Manchester model

We have followed the debate about city region mayors based on the (now) successful model adopted for Manchester and other cities. We both helped manage the chaotic aftermath of local government reorganisation in the mid-1990s. That reorganisation broke up and broke down services that were provided strategically and at scale by Strathclyde and Lothian regional councils. The Manchester model of layering a mayor over the existing structures was an elegant way of avoiding major upheaval and enabling joint working to continue apace. Two city region mayors working together is the right model for Scotland’s Growth Corridor and these two city regions. 

Our great cities need to increase the pace of cooperation and innovation. As the recent Audit Scotland report showed, too much joint working and service integration has ossified in recent years. Where are the public sector hubs bringing together staff and services in areas such as social and health care? How is joint working between councils and the police to be fostered since the close historic links were torn asunder with the creation of Police Scotland? 

Achieving Scotland’s full potential

The proposals reflect the need for change and innovation in a world where the pace of change is only going to increase. Cities are the building blocks of national economies, but the structures in Scotland ignore, rather than reflect, that new reality.

We’re a small country on the northern fringes of Europe. It’s not the easiest place in which to build successful cities, but it’s been done. The task and the challenges continue, and to rise to that challenge and fire the engines of the Scottish economy, there needs to be a strong focus on Scotland’s Growth Corridor to create wealth and work for this and future generations and make all our services better and more efficient. 

The area covered by 14 local authorities from Fife to the Borders and from Renfrewshire to North Lanarkshire contains the twin engines of Scotland’s economy and the majority of its population. Scotland’s Growth Corridor and our two great cities need mayors, structures and powers to realise their and Scotland’s full potential.

Steven Purcell and Donald Anderson are former leaders of Glasgow and Edinburgh councils, respectively