GLASGOW has become a member of the group that represents some of Britain's biggest cities, in a move aimed at increasing its powers and budget.

Scotland's largest city will today become the first non-English authority in the Core Cities Group.

The group - until today made up of Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield - exists to promote the cities' role driving local economies.

It has been credited with winning commitments from both Conservatives and Labour to give cities more powers over economic development and budgets previously controlled by central government.

The Labour-controlled Glasgow City Council sees the move as a chance to make its voice heard in Whitehall. It comes after Glasgow became the first non-English city to secure a City Deal with the UK Government for a programme of infrastructure investment valued at £1.13 billion.

Glasgow and seven neighbouring council areas will benefit from the deal. Similar bespoke packages of powers and resources were previously given to members of the Core Cities Group.

Councillor Gordon Matheson, leader of Glasgow City Council, said: "This is a highly significant moment as Glasgow takes her rightful place alongside our sister cities in England at the forefront of efforts to expand and re-balance the British economy.

"Glasgow has more in common with cities like Liverpool and Manchester than we do with many parts of Scotland.

"Arguing over which powers should be held by Holyrood or Westminster is a sterile distraction. Power and resources should be transferred from both parliaments to city-regions if we're serious about creating jobs. Both nation-building centralisers and austerity obsessives undermine economic growth."

He added: "The future is urban, and metropolitan cities the world over are the powerhouses of the economy. For the first time in human history the majority of the world's population live in cities, a figure set to rise to 75% by 2050."

Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, who chairs the Core Cities cabinet, said: "This is an historic moment for our group, expanding for the first time in more than a decade and for the first time ever outside England."

He said the question of independence was for the people of Scotland.

"But the question of devolution to drive urban economies and jobs is one for cities, whether they are located in England or Scotland," he added. "Together we will be more able to challenge the centralising tendencies of all our governments. This does mean radical constitutional change, but it cannot just mean a contest between parliaments."

Glasgow's urban area delivers 33 per cent of the Scottish economy and is home to 1.8 million people.

The English Core Cities are all Labour-run apart from Bristol, which is a run by a coalition. Their urban areas deliver 27 per cent of the English economy.

l Four former leaders of the National Farmers' Union Scotland have backed independence.

John Ross, Jim Walker, John Kinnaird and John Cameron say staying in the UK could put farming at risk given Prime Minister David Cameron's proposed in/out referendum on Europe.

They are urging 65,000 farmers, crofters and other growers across Scotland to follow their lead in September's referendum.