GLASGOW has been named the UK Council of the Year at an awards ceremony in London.

Scotland's largest local authority scooped the Local Government Chronicle's top accolade for delivering exceptional leadership to deliver the Commonwealth Games and sustaining economic growth.

The city council beat off stiff competition from hundreds of councils across Britain to take the Zurich Municipal sponsored award.

Council leader Gordon Matheson said: "2014 was the Year of Glasgow. It was the greatest and busiest year in the city's history when we delivered the biggest sporting and cultural event ever seen in Scotland.

"Our bid outlined Glasgow is an ambitious, inventive and entrepreneurial city with a track record of delivery and making things happen.

"The council's drive and leadership delivered the Best Ever Commonwealth Games and has positioned Glasgow as a major metropolitan city.

"This has allowed us to sustain economic growth during the downturn and deliver the council's strategic vision of Glasgow as a world class city.

"I am enormously proud of the staff of Glasgow City Council who have had an especially busy and challenging time over the last few years.

"They work hard every day to make a difference to the lives of the people of Glasgow and it is great they have been recognised in this way.

"In tough times, we are transforming our city's reputation, services and partnerships to let Glasgow and her people flourish."

Nick Golding, editor of the Local Government Chronicle, said: "To win LGC's Council of the Year Award is a tremendous achievement and is a testament to the fantastic work Glasgow City Council is doing on a daily basis to serve and support local residents.

"With funding cuts continuing to place new pressures on our local councils, it is important these awards recognise the work councils are doing to not only retain the standard of service to local communities, but to improve it. We are once again proud to celebrate the work of councils in a time of ongoing change."

Andrew Jepp, director of public sector at Zurich Municipal, said: "Despite the ongoing challenges our councils are facing, Glasgow City Council has demonstrated outstanding levels of resourcefulness, drive and innovation to deliver the best possible service for local communities - an impressive success story that must be recognised."

The city council was also one of the runners-up in the Partnership of the Year category of the awards for its Commonwealth Employment Initiatives programme, part of the Glasgow Guarantee which has helped around 5750 people find jobs, apprenticeships and training places.