INTRODUCTION
Glasgow is the heartbeat of the Scottish economy and the centre of Scotland’s only metropolitan region. We are a dynamic, talented city, with a robust business base, an educated workforce and well-established infrastructure. We are home to world renowned seats of learning, thriving key sectors. We are a retail events and cultural destination, and an international hub for business, tourism and higher education. More than ever, we also recognise that our economy depends on the environment and must work within planetary boundaries. We have set targets of being net zero carbon and climate-resilient by 2030. These targets are deliberately ambitious, and their attainment relies on harnessing the full potential of all sectors of our economy towards this transformation. Success will ensure existing businesses and supply chains maximise the productivity and competitiveness benefits of becoming net zero and climate-resilient, whilst the city seizes the opportunity to create new jobs, businesses, goods and services in the green economy.
We have a strong base to build upon to meet this challenge. Glasgow is a global leader in innovative industries such as precision medicine, quantum technologies, and advanced manufacturing. We have a thriving college sector, five world class higher education institutions, and were recently ranked as one of the top green cities in the UK in which to work and live. Despite the impact of the pandemic, Glasgow has been recognised as one of the UK’s top 3 fastest growing tech investment hubs, with tech companies attracting £105m in venture capital during 2021 (up 59% from £43m in 2020).
Glasgow is moving up the ranks as a UK digital infrastructure leader, with work underway on one of Europe’s largest city-wide full fibre rollouts. In mid-2019, Glasgow’s full fibre deployment was circa 300km. Today, Glasgow is well on its way to being the best-connected city in the UK with over 5,000km of planned and deployed full fibre digital infrastructure, underpinning Glasgow’s status as a Smart Connected City.
The most recently-available indicators show increasing productivity, rising employment and reduced economic inactivity. Our ambitions for the city’s future are substantial and include:
- a Glasgow Metro to connect communities across the city and city region via modern and sustainable transport,
- building on our successful hosting of COP26, the biggest event of its kind in history, to develop international partnerships, catalyse our position as a sustainability leader and global events destination, and attract inward investment to the city,
- investing billions of pounds into the Clyde, the greatest untapped development opportunity in Western Europe, to reinvent our river as an engine of sustainable and inclusive growth for Glasgow and beyond.
However, Glasgow remains a tale of two cities. Where there is academic achievement, there are still too many Glasgow citizens who do not achieve their potential. Where there are high quality jobs, there are still too many who are underemployed. Where there are thriving communities, there are significant levels of deprivation: 40% of Glasgow citizens live in the 20% most deprived communities in Scotland, with the associated challenges that follow.
As with all cities, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact, delivering fundamental changes to how we work, live and play. The negative impact on some key sectors within our business base, and most especially in our city centre, have been among the most significant not just in Scotland but across the UK.
Brexit continues to be a source of uncertainty, as we get to grips with its impact on supply chains, the labour market and how we interact on an international platform. The cost of living challenges threaten to be a barrier to progress. The far-reaching transformations required to address the climate emergency, while rich in potential reward, are fraught with difficulty. The UK’s high dependency on gas and our energy inefficiency are compounding the wider cost of living increases. Businesses, particularly SMEs, need support to access and build the skills, knowledge and capacity to reach net zero, as well as to minimise the costs involved. Many workers will need direct support to help them retool and reskill into newer, greener jobs as businesses change, or close. We will work closely with investors to ensure our transition to a green economy makes the city an increasingly desirable place in which to live and do business. None of these challenges, however, are unique to Glasgow. Cities across the globe suffer from low productivity, health inequalities and varying living standards. Early research shows that the bigger the city, the bigger the impact from Covid has been. It would be incorrect to believe that our progress from the pre-Covid era is lost. Despite challenging times, Glasgow has a solid foundation to build on and a record of success which should inspire optimism for our future.
This new economic strategy for Glasgow follows on from the approval of the Glasgow Regional Economic Strategy in October 2021. Such are their magnitude, we will not solve the Grand Challenges facing our economy alone. Where we can, we will work collaboratively with our regional partners and neighbouring local authorities. Our success is predicated on all partners, international, national, regional, city and local, pulling together. As outlined in the Glasgow Regional Economic Strategy, the private sector will play a key role in achieving our objectives at a city level too. Local, national, and international businesses will create the jobs and invest their resources to transform the economy. We will continue to engage with businesses, through partners including Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, on the delivery of the strategy and to ensure we provide the conditions that enable economic recovery and business growth. This strategy outlines the challenges we will face and opportunities we will seize, to deliver a fair work, inclusive, more productive, highly skilled, high wage economy, one which addresses the realities and challenges of creating a sustainable, post pandemic economy. Glasgow’s history is one of reinvention to overcome adversity and invention to create the future. Glasgow was at the cutting edge of industrial and technical revolutions that fundamentally altered how we live and work. These changes were profound and far-reaching, traveling far beyond the city’s boundaries to the four corners of the globe. We believe that, in partnership, we can meet the pressing challenges of economic recovery and the Climate Emergency, to secure a more productive, fairer, sustainable, inclusive modern economy for Glasgow and its citizens.
“Glasgow has a record of success which should inspire optimism for our future”
