Crossrail Pledge At UK City Summit In Glasgow

Jim Murphy has said he will commit to delivering a Glasgow crossrail scheme in Labour's manifesto for the 2016 Holyrood elections. Scottish party leader Mr Murphy says he wants to use the Scottish Parliament's new borrowing powers to bring forward the "missing link'' in Glasgow's rail infrastructure. The crossrail would enable services from the north and east of Scotland to continue through Glasgow to the West and South. Mr Murphy will tell delegates at the Core Cities Devolution Summit in Glasgow today that "long-delayed'' infrastructure projects have been a subject of frustration in Scotland. He will say: "Crossrail would bring Scotland together, linking north, south, east and west. It would see Scotland finally have a unified rail network service. "It would offer better transport for Glaswegians, more capacity on a rail network creaking at the seams and more jobs for the East of the city. "For too long our cities have been held back by a lack of ambition, a lack of funding and a lack of freedom.'' The Scottish Labour leader will also use his speech to announce the development of a Scottish Cities Strategy. Mr Murphy has asked the Labour leaders of Glasgow and Edinburgh City Councils to work on the project and report back later in the year. He is expected to say: "The city we meet in shows what is possible with a strategic focus on the particular challenges a city faces. "The decision of the then UK Labour Government to write off the debilitating housing debt of Glasgow freed up the council to plan for the long term. "Even under the current Conservative government, Labour Glasgow has been able to win a £1 billion City Deal that opens up investment in infrastructure and economic growth. City Deals for Scotland's other cities should follow. "I want to turn our twin cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow into the economic powerhouse it should be, an economic hub to rival London, Greater Manchester and the other city regions across the UK "It is time, to borrow from the motto of this great city, to let our cities flourish.''

• Local News