IT’S often said that Glasgow has a heart of gold – a city buzzing with creativity, culture and an indomitable spirit that can’t be found anywhere else in the UK.

Yes, we might be known for our fierce love of football, our renowned art scene and our unfaltering ability to make anyone feel welcome.

But let’s set aside the Glasgow patter for a moment and talk about something that’s grating on that big golden heart of ours – the UK’s Levelling Up Fund and the fact the Tory government in Westminster have yet again bypassed Glasgow.

Now, don’t get me wrong, the notion of “levelling up” disadvantaged parts of the country is a noble aim – but the south has had its lion’s share of the pie for far too long and when I heard that Glasgow missed out on the funding while mayors in other parts of the UK are out there cutting ribbons on new projects, it struck a nerve.

Take Andy Street, the mayor of the West Midlands, for example.

He’s done a fine job securing funding for Birmingham and its surrounding areas.

Or how about Steve Rotheram in Liverpool City Region?

They’ve been making headlines for the millions pouring into their coffers, set to transform local communities. Good on them, sincerely ... but it begs the question – where’s Glasgow’s piece of the pie?

The Levelling Up Fund was supposed to help disadvantaged and left-behind areas and while Glasgow has its gems, let’s not kid ourselves.

We’ve got areas suffering from poverty, health inequalities and a lack of educational opportunities.

In fact, as readers of this column well know, the fact that one third of our children are sitting in poverty horrifies me, and this is the sort of thing that these funds could have been used to address.

The administration DID apply for a share of this elusive fund, aiming for projects that could have a real, lasting impact.

But alas, it seems our appeals were rejected and Glasgow got hee-haw of a massive fund.

Between the deaf ears in Whitehall and the kamikaze way the administration go about things, to be fair, Glasgow never stood a chance.

We Glaswegians are not the type to sit and moan without doing something about it.

Our sense of community is unparalleled, and grassroots projects are indeed making strides. But there’s only so much that can be done without proper funding.

So, what gives? Is it a case of “it’s not what you know, but who you know”?

Are our city officials not hobnobbing enough with the Westminster crowd? Or is it simply that we’re seen as the rowdy lot up north who can fend for themselves?

Whatever the case, Glasgow’s omission from the Levelling Up Fund is not just a snub to our city, but a missed opportunity for the whole of the UK.

Glasgow has a proven track record of hosting international events like the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the COP26 summit; we have the potential to be a shining beacon for the rest of the country.

It’s time for those in ALL corridors of power to realise that levelling up should mean exactly that. No city should be left behind, least of all one with the heart, history and potential of Glasgow.

The UK Government has failed Glasgow by not giving us access to some of these funds as Rishi Sunak grasps desperately to try to secure some of votes in these English cities, well aware that the next General election will be the fight of his life.

Under a Keir Starmer-led government, eradicating this type of inequality will be a priority and I, for one, cannot wait for the change to happen.