Labour must present a better alternative to independence than it did in 2014, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham has said.

Speaking during a visit to Glasgow he called for a full-scale reform of Westminster and greater powers given to local government.

He said that the current voting system leads to Tory Governments and that local government is being squeezed by the centre, and its power and influence diminished.

Glasgow Times:

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon says there is no ‘bottomless pit of money’ to end council pay dispute

Burnham said: “We need to reform Westminster for the sake of everybody. How have we allowed this to last this long?”

He said the House of Lords should be abolished and the voting system reformed similar to Holyrood.

 He added the UK should: “Look at the Scottish Parliament voting system for Westminster. A proportional system, either wholly or partially.”

He said if there is another referendum reform of the political system must be on the table.

Glasgow Times:

READ MORE: Glasgow Royal Concert Hall to close to undergo major £2 million revamp

Burnham said: “Labour didn’t give people a good enough alternative to independence. The system doesn’t work as well as it should for Scotland.

“We need to come up with an alternative where power is redistributed, and we are not trapped with endless Tory governments with First Past The Post.

“If there’s to be another referendum there has to be a much better alternative that works better for everybody.”

Burnham was in Glasgow's Townhead speaking to Labour members with Anas Sarwar, Scottish Labour leader about their ‘Empowering Communities’ proposals.

Both said there needs to be a stronger local government voice and more powers in the hands of councils rather than being controlled from central government both in Westminster and Holyrood.

Burnham said the Greater Manchester Authority has been able to cap bus fares at £2 from next week ahead of a publicly owned bus system next year.

He said: “You should have the power to do that as well.

“We’ve had buses run in the interests of operators, not the public for too long.

He called for the five northern Mayors of England to join with leaders from the main cities in Scotland in a UK Cities partnership.

Sarwar said the SNP has reduced the power of local government.

He said: We’ve got to give local government the same respect as national government.

“With the SNP we’ve seen the diminishing of localism.”

He called for councils to be allowed to work together more effectively on public transport and regeneration.

And he added: “Also if they want to, elect a local champion like regional mayors.”