Glasgow City Council has long argued that if Edinburgh can qualify for top-ups in the form of the £3.5m Capital City Supplement, Glasgow deserves extra help too. Claims made now by Steven Purcell, leader of GCC, that cash is headed for the north-east instead of Scotland’s second city will only fuel Glasgow councillors’ claims that their constituents are getting a raw deal.

A number of grievances were explored earlier this year in a week-long investigation by our sister paper, the Evening Times. Among the issues raised were claims that Glasgow is losing out by paying for marches and parades in the city’s streets and parks while Edinburgh gets extra government help, even though Glasgow hosts almost three times as many – 357 to Edinburgh’s 129.

Parades are cited as the main reason by the Scottish Government for Edinburgh being given £3.5m in a Capital City Supplement last year.

Edinburgh City Council said it incurred extra costs of around £10m hosting events in the city, with about £1m spent on ceremonial, royal and national events and marches and parades and £4m on festivals.

However, detractors have pointed out that, in turn, these occasions help drive the city’s multimillion-pound tourist industry.

Meanwhile, Orange parades in Glasgow accounted for 233 of its total, which Strathclyde Police and the city council have said puts a serious financial and operational burden on resources.

The same argument over extra cash is also echoed in museums’ funding, where the National Museums and Galleries in Edinburgh receive £41m in government cash while Glasgow’s collections get nothing, despite being home to such internationally renowned institutions as Kelvingrove and the Burrell Collection.

Eyebrows were raised further in some quarters of Glasgow City Council earlier this year when the Scottish Government donated £12.5m towards the purchase of the Titian masterpiece, Diana and Actaeon, which will enable it to remain at its current home in Edinburgh.

At the time, Mr Purcell said: “There is clearly a level of support for the National Galleries which doesn’t travel along the M8.”

Calls have also been growing in recent months for Glasgow to be given more cash to tackle a backlog of road maintenance. The city’s streets need up to an estimated £110m worth of repairs and are riddled with more than 18,000 potholes.

The council is responsible for maintaining all local roads including heavily congested routes such as Glasgow’s A-classified Great Western Road and Alexandra Parade, which carry around 20 times more traffic than equivalent routes in the Highlands and are frequently used by motorists from outside the city, who don’t pay into its coffers.

Neil Greig, of the IAM Motoring Trust, said the current funding policy was “illogical”. He added: “It’s clear those roads used by a high number of lorries and buses every day wear down quicker.”