Politics of Glasgow

[3][4] In 1893, by now one of the most important cities in the British Empire[5] after decades of continuous growth, wealth creation through trade and industrialisation fuelled by the extraction of natural resources in the surrounding area,[5] it was then made a 'county of a city' (alongside Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh) and effectively controlled its own affairs under Glasgow Corporation, a body that oversaw further immigration and growth as incomers sought work in its strong industrial sectors including locomotives, textiles and particularly shipbuilding on the River Clyde.

[7] This situation continued through much of the 20th century, during which time Glasgow's boundaries were extended several times, involving the incorporation of nearby burghs such as Govan, Maryhill, Partick, Pollokshaws, Pollokshields, Shettleston and Springburn,[8] and its population exceeded 1 million,[9] only to fall back below that due to the subsequent construction of 'new towns' outwith its boundaries to replace sub-standard housing (much of it dating from the previous century)[8] and an economic downturn which prompted thousands to emigrate overseas to countries such as Canada, the United States, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.

In this era, the corporation oversaw the building of many peripheral housing estates and tower blocks as another solution to the city's accommodation crisis,[8] as well as the installation of the M8 motorway through the heart of its urban area, part of an even more elaborate network which was never fully completed.

(Scotland) Act 1994, taking on the powers and responsibilities previously divided between councils of the Glasgow City district and the Strathclyde region.

The Parliament of the United Kingdom (located at the Palace of Westminster in London) legislates on matters such as taxation, foreign policy, defence, employment and trade.

The rise in the labour movement in the early-twentieth century[6] and the social composition of industrial Glasgow at the time led to its politics being dubbed the Red Clydeside.

[9] In the 1930s, hundreds of left-wing Glaswegians volunteered to join the International Brigades to assist the Republican faction in the Spanish Civil War, with 65 being killed in the conflict.