A “POOR PERFORMANCE” on living standards has seen disposable income fall in Scotland’s major cities, according to a new study.

Research carried out by the Centre for Cities found disposable incomes had fallen by 2.3 per cent in Glasgow, 2.6 per cent in Edinburgh and Dundee and an eye-watering 18.8 per cent in Aberdeen between 2013 and 2023, compared with a 2.4 per cent average increase across all UK cities over the same period.

The Cities Outlook 2026 report argued that if cities in Scotland had mirrored top-performing British cities such as Brighton, Worthing, and London, as well as Barnsley, Bristol and Doncaster, residents could have seen an extra £12,300 per person in income between 2013 and 2023, a figure that soars to £34,700 if Aberdeen had kept pace.

The report found “living standards growth in urban Britain has not recovered” from the 2008 financial crash, as disposable income growth “hovered around zero,” but warned Scottish cities “trailed the rest of the country, experiencing real-terms declines in living standards since 2013” with Aberdeen experiencing “a steeper decline than any other large UK city or town.”

Centre for Cities chief executive Andrew Carter claimed “cost-of-living fixes” from government “can only ever be temporary,” arguing “ultimately it is stronger economic growth that raises household incomes.”

Noting Scotland had the “most generous small business rates relief in the UK,” Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes responded: “The report highlights disposable incomes increased by just 2.4 per cent in the UK over the 10-year period to 2023.

“This reflects UK economic policy and the economic damage caused by EU exit.”