GLASGOW at the start of the 1980s; the city’s fame evaporated. For centuries the city on the west coast of Scotland was well-known as an important port and the main gate to tobacco and sugar imports from America. Also, for nearly two centuries, the second-largest city after London was famed for its manufacturing industries, from cotton factories to major shipyards.

The collapse of Glasgow’s economy started in the 1960s. Its competitive power