Glasgow will show its resilience again
After the truly horrible year we've all endured it is perhaps
unsurprising that a new virus variant should appear, once more
throwing government and business into turmoil.
Now that consumer-facing businesses are to endure more weeks of
lockdown we must continue to call for government to increase
financial support, anticipating that the rolling out of vaccines
will finally bring both medical and economic relief.
The damage being done to livelihoods is currently masked by the
Job Retention Scheme and a growing mountain of small business debt
but at some point there will be company collapses, jobs lost and
communities impoverished. The short term does not look bright but
larger cash grants, a further year of rates relief and options to
extend loan repayment terms or convert debt to equity can all
help.
Glasgow nevertheless is a resilient city. We have overcome
economic disasters before and there is every reason to be
optimistic that in the medium to long term we will do so again. The
city has cultivated strengths that will emerge from this crisis
largely intact.
This is a destination city recognised at the 2019 World Travel
Awards as the planet's leading festival and events location. We
will no doubt debate at length how quickly and to what extent
international business and leisure travel will recover and we will
certainly need to work hard to help our airports recover lost
routes - but the years of investment in facilities, marketing and
event management capability will not have been wasted.
Without these we would not be hosting the COP26 climate change
summit. Every city on the planet will be fighting to recover from
the pandemic, but only Glasgow will be the very centre of the most
important global event to happen this year.
COP26 will be judged by its impact on tackling climate change
but it is also as good an opportunity as we will ever get to show
Glasgow to the world, not simply as a place to visit but as a city
brimming with technological and social innovation.
The momentum behind Glasgow's rebirth as a city of science and
innovation has been maintained throughout the crisis. Health and
life sciences, energy and enabling technologies like quantum
engineering and advanced manufacturing will all be prominent.
The city's three innovation districts - in the city centre,
along the River Clyde and alongside Glasgow Airport - all have
investments underway or in the pipeline. The story of their role in
tackling Covid-19 will be told in due course but their contribution
to minimising climate change will undoubtedly feature in Glasgow's
story.
Expect also to hear more about the resilience of some more
established industries like financial services where the
investments in the International Financial Services District have
continued.
The Barclays campus at Tradeston, the new hub for J.P. Morgan on
Argyle Street and Virgin Money's headquarters on Bothwell Street
remain clear signals that 20 years of investment in the IFSD will
continue to bring jobs and investment to Glasgow.
We have an argument over the balance between city centre office
space and working from home but either way, the jobs will be based
in the Glasgow City Region. That's mainly because Glasgow is still
one of Europe's most highly educated cities. There has been no sign
of a talent flight, with international students continuing to sign
up to study here.
The next few months will be dark and gloomy and there will be
serious damage to repair but the regenerative work Glasgow has done
in the past two decades will make it much easier to respond.
First appeared in The Herald on 30 December 2020.
Keep up to date with all the business and community
news from Glasgow's IFSD by subscribing to our monthly
e-newsletter or connecting on LinkedIn
and twitter.
#IFSD