Scotland's seven cities should have elected mayors, says Tory MSP

Scotland's seven cities should have directly elected mayors or provosts, a Tory MSP has said.

Murdo Fraser argued such high-profile local politicians could provide a "counterweight to an over-centralised Holyrood''.

The Scottish Conservative finance spokesman said introducing the positions would help devolve more power to local communities.

He made the plea in a speech to the Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation's conference in Crieff.

In England, a number of major cities already have their own directly elected mayors, with PM Boris Johnson having previously served as London mayor, while Labour's Andy Burnham - a former health secretary - is the current mayor of Greater Manchester.

Mr Fraser said: "We would like to see, at the very least, our seven cities in Scotland having elected mayors or provosts with a similar executive power to those south of the border.

"This would give the opportunity to devolve more power from the centre.

"The SNP is very keen on devolution from Westminster to Edinburgh but not at all keen on devolution from Edinburgh any further afield.''

He added: "This situation needs to be reversed, with much greater autonomy for local areas.

"It would be a fundamental shift from our current structure of local government and would allow council finance to be put in its proper context.

"We can see a Scotland made up of a patchwork of vibrant city regions, larger rural areas, all with well-known local leaders - all being a counterweight to an over-centralised Holyrood administration."