Douglas Alexander has warned that major fires, drug deaths and economic decline are leaving Glasgow “miles behind” rather than “miles better”. Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Mail as he prepared to address Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool today, the Scottish Secretary challenged John Swinney and local government officials to work with him to reverse the slump.
He has called for policies credited with reviving Manchester under the mayoralty of PM Andy Burnham to be deployed north of the border to kick-start regeneration.
Glasgow's decline in numbers
The East Lothian MP said: “I’m very passionate about Glasgow, it is the city of my birth, I spent years living in a flat on Clyde Street and so I am deeply concerned and deeply troubled by its condition today.
“Any of us who watched the BBC Scotland Disclosure Welcome to Glasgow documentary saw images of a city that is really struggling at a time when other cities are powering ahead.
“Glasgow is the fourth largest city by population in the United Kingdom but we are the 32nd for economic productivity.
“We are behind Manchester but also behind Leeds and Liverpool. My real worry is that it’s no longer Glasgow’s Miles Better, but sadly Glasgow’s miles behind.
“And that means there is a responsibility on city fathers and mothers, on the Scottish Government and on the UK Government to work together to try and bring Glasgow back to the status that it once enjoyed.”
He added: “My request to John Swinney would be - let’s work together to let Glasgow flourish once more.
“We are losing a lot of ground to the northern cities, not just Manchester, but also Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield.
“They are powering ahead and we need to make sure Glasgow reclaims its place at the top or near the top of the league.
“On drug deaths Glasgow tragically leads the way and the city’s unemployment rate is more than double that of Edinburgh, so we’re behind on productivity, we’re ahead on unemployment, we’re ahead on drug deaths, we’re ahead on homelessness.
“That’s not good enough for a town that used to be the second city of the empire.”
Rebuilding Glasgow's landmarks
Alexander vowed to work with FM John Swinney and council leaders to rebuild the iconic Mackintosh Building and large sections of Union Street in Glasgow City Centre.
He added: “The Union Street fire, the fire at Glasgow School of Art, the condition of Sauchiehall Street - for too many people these are symbols of a city in decline, and we need to make sure Glasgow is on its way back.
“If you look at what Andy did in Manchester, it’s a pretty good guide in terms of a way forward.
“He brought together the invisible hand of the market and the helping hand of social justice to unleash a really powerful recipe for economic dynamism.
“Take the example of planning powers - why is it that an average planning application takes 58 weeks in Glasgow and takes 18 weeks in Manchester - that’s one statistic that I think tells its own story.
“Andy effectively tackled homelessness in Manchester while we’ve got a real challenge in that area here in Glasgow.
“He has also been able to take steps in relation to the bus network and bus regulation in Manchester which I think many people waiting for a bus tonight in Glasgow would like to see replicated.
“Andy gets how to drive prosperity in cities and believes in devolving power away from an overly centralised government.”
He said: “My door is open to hear representations from the Glasgow School of Art if they’ve got a case that they think can be made as to what can be done.
“I have a sister who used to live in Garnet Hill, so I know the area well. The challenge is how do you combine this with a broader regeneration package in Glasgow.
“I’ve met John Swinney five or six times, we meet regularly, and if this comes onto the agenda, then obviously we’ll talk about.”
Support for North Sea oil and gas
In a wide-ranging interview, Alexander also gave his strongest support yet for the North Sea oil and gas sector, insisting it must be allowed to play a central role for decades to come.
It comes after industry body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) said over 100 projects and £50billion of new investment could be unlocked with government support. Ministers are expected to give the green light to drilling in the controversial Rosebank and Jackdaw fields within weeks.
Alexander said: “I support a pragmatic approach to the North Sea - if oil and gas is going to be a central part of the mix for decades to come, I want to see Scottish businesses, Scottish workers, and Scottish public services, benefiting from that demand.
“It seems clear to me that investments made by North Sea operators means jobs and tax revenues, and security of supply for Scotland and the whole of the UK in very troubled times.
“As a child I remember seeing the late Queen opening the Forties oil field off Aberdeen 50 years ago with Harold Wilson, a Labour Prime Minister.
“I want to see jobs, I want to see investment, I want to see energy security, and all of those aspects of policy will inform the approach that we’re going to take.
“Being pragmatic is a bridge not a barrier to the clean energy future that we are moving towards.”
East-west divide and education focus
Alexander also warned of a growing divide between the east and west of Scotland.
He added: “Across Scotland our economy’s not growing fast enough and is broadly tilting from west to east.
“The economic challenges that are faced in terms of depopulation in places like Inverclyde or North Ayrshire can be compared to a rise in population in Midlothian, East Lothian and Edinburgh.
“Low growth, regional imbalance, and a too centralised government - these are the big challenges we need government to address.”
The Scottish Secretary also backed new Scottish Labour leader Michael Marra to turn around his party’s fortunes at Holyrood by focusing on education. The 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) saw pupils in Scotland and Wales fall behind England in reading, maths and science tests.
He said: “Our state education system used to be the envy not just of our neighbours south of the border, but the envy of the world.
“I’m a proud product of a state comprehensive just along the road in Erskine.
“I am absolutely delighted that Michael Marra has said he wants to put education at the centre of the political conversation because a generation of kids are being failed by a system that says average is good enough.”
