As interim chair of Core Cities UK, I would first like to thank Baroness Blake of Leeds for her leadership of our group over the last few years. She led the group steadfastly through a period of national political instability, making sure we continued to put forward the case for urban areas.

This year will see the UK host two huge political events. In November the great Core City of Glasgow will welcome COP26 – the global climate change summit that will set out how we can reach the goals set out in the Paris Agreement. The importance of this event to the world cannot be understated and it is a privilege to have it in a Core City.