Starmer’s made it clear just how little he thinks of Scotland’s cities

Edinburgh is one the UK’s most ancient cities – a place steeped in history. It is a powerhouse of the Scottish and UK economies as the centre of a thriving and prosperous financial services sector, the second largest outside London and with a GDP of £31.8 billion in 2022. It’s also a key driver of UK tourism as the second most visited city in the UK.

Aberdeen is the home of Scotland’s vital energy industries – it was even the city chosen to host Labour’s GB Energy project, after much pressure here in Scotland. From North Sea oil and gas to the emerging technologies of the renewable sector, Aberdeen is at the heart of the national economy.

And my home city of Glasgow – Scotland’s largest city, the fifth largest economy among the UK’s major cities and a global centre of investment and innovation – has had a remarkable regeneration and rebirth comparable with English metropolitan areas like Manchester and Liverpool.

Dundee, Dunfermline, Inverness, Perth and Stirling all have serious and substantial roles to play in the success of our country’s future – as do the people, communities and industries across every region in Scotland.

Why then, have each of Scotland’s largest cities and regions been denied an invite to Sir Keir’s council of Regions and Nations?

The first meeting is due to take place in Edinburgh 11th October, with our First Minister invited as the only Scottish representative.

Not just Glasgow, but all of Scotland’s cities & city regions have been ignored and excluded. While our English peers are invited to a meeting taking place right here in Scotland. Scotland’s city regions – the Glasgow City Region alone has a population of nearly two million – are among the leading drivers of investment into these islands.

Residents of Scotland’s cities are right to expect equal treatment to their relatives living in York, Birmingham or Newcastle – sadly, however, this Labour government do not agree.

Sir Keir and his Labour government simply don’t see our city regions as equals to their English counterparts. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – each of them proud, thriving and innovative nations – are only deserving of a cursory invite to a conference overcrowded by delegates from England’s many regions. Labour’s excuse is we don’t have the same governance structures for our cities just doesn’t hold. We have mature, democratic governance in place for city regions and a representative body for our eight cities.

It’s clearer than ever that Scotland and its many cities are just an afterthought to this Labour government. And not just us – the cities in each of the devolved nations, be that the Belfast City Region or Cardiff Capital Region, are just as excluded from the progress we’re constantly told is happening but yet to see.