The mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham has called for his role to replicated in Scottish cities.

Plans for directly elected provosts were one of the central recommendations in a report released by Gordon Brown on the future of the UK at the end of last year.

They have not yet been formally adopted by Labour. Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, has said they are currently under consideration by the party.

Speaking to the Press Association as he visited Alexander Dennis’s Larbert site on Friday to see the first 50 new “Bee Network” buses for Greater Manchester, Mr Burnham said he could sympathise with the SNP’s anxiety over the reach of the government in Westminster.

Read More: Elected provosts in Scottish cities 'just makes sense' says Manchester's Mayor

“I’ve had my frustrations and to be honest with you, I feel like I understand the sentiments in Scotland better because we all have our frustrations about the way Westminster treats the rest of the UK, the regions in England but also Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

“I think people may not realise in Scotland how much we feel the same in the north of England.

“We saw it in the pandemic, the way Greater Manchester was treated by the Westminster Government. They feel they can do things to us that they wouldn’t dare do in London and the South East.

“That’s what’s got to change. Personally, I think we’ve got to rewire Britain to make it better, and that includes more devolution to us and to Scotland.”