While all eyes are focused on Scotland's calls for national independence, Glasgow has been working hard to secure greater autonomy of its own.

Over the past few years it has been seeking to cement a city deal agreement with Whitehall, which would give the city greater decision making powers.

It has also hosted a meeting of the Core Cities – the group that co-ordinates the eight largest English cities outside London – to call for greater independence and authority for cities throughout the UK.

The fact is that Glasgow has more in common with larger English cities, particularly those in the north, than with other parts of Scotland. With a population of over a million, Glasgow is the fourth-largest city in the UK, and more than double the size of the capital, Edinburgh.

Its workforce, at more than 368,000 people, is also significant larger than any other Scottish city, and more akin to that of Leeds. Larger cities have shared, specific challenges in building efficient transport, getting people into jobs, and providing enough housing for their populations. It is also true that their voices can ring much louder when combined.

Glasgow's commonalities with English cities run more than skin deep. Only 9% of surveyed adults in Glasgow agreed that Parliament and Whitehall are responsive to their local needs, and 78% agreed that political decisions are too focused on London at the expense of the rest of the UK. These views were shared with respondents in many other northern cities, including Leeds and Liverpool.

Much of the conversation around the Scottish referendum asks whether independence will create a better Scotland. But the debate about a better Scotland, or England, is not one that can only focus on national decisions. Many of the daily issues that affect people's lives play out at a local level, and are different in different places. That means, regardless of the outcome of the referendum, debating what a better Scotland looks like should also mean debating how that might look different across Scotland's cities and rural areas.

Certainly, the kind of devolution sought by many UK cities would represent a bolder path than is being discussed in the referendum. For its part, Glasgow can point to Manchester, the English city outside of London with the greatest level of devolution to date, as an example of what could be achieved within a national system. Manchester has a long history of strong leadership, and productive relationships with Whitehall, which has given it slightly more powers, funding and flexibilities than Glasgow and other English cities to grow and shape its future.

Interestingly, the YouGov polling revealed that the number of survey respondents believing that Westminster is responsive to issues in their city is substantially higher in Manchester than anywhere outside of the south-east. In an age of political disenfranchisement, surely Westminster and Holyrood would regard an increase in positive perceptions of politicians and government, both national and local, as an argument to champion rather than fear greater devolution.

In the meantime, for Glasgow, the concern has to be that the Scottish independence movement, with its inevitable emphasis on centralising policies to the Scottish government as a result of the referendum, will in practice pose a genuine threat to its authority over important issues with local consequences.

It means that, interestingly, the Scottish referendum creates a real imperative to work more closely with, and draw strength from, its common interests with English cities.

In any case, the noise around September's referendum is an opportunity not just to consider the merits or otherwise of Scotland's independence, but to talk about which powers might help Scotland's cities make the most of their economic potential.

Alexandra Jones is chief executive of the Centre for Cities.

• This article was amended on 11 June to add in that Manchester was the English city 'outside of London' with the greatest level of devolution to date.

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