I'll BE proud to vote No to independence, because it's the right thing to do for Glasgow's future.

I respect that some will take a different view, but the more I look at the detailed implications of breaking-up Britain the more worried I become about jobs and the funding for vital public services in this city.

As city leader my first priority is jobs. I'm proud of what Glasgow has done in recent years to grow employment in both new and traditional industries, such as in tourism and bio-sciences. It's been hard to diversify our economy and ensure we're not overly dependent on any one employer or sector.

But we've made great progress.

Why would we gamble all this away?

For example, we have a growing international reputation as a centre of excellence for financial services.

Around 28,000 people work in this sector in Glasgow.

These companies have been attracted to our city because we have a skilled workforce, competitive costs and good office space.

But fundamental to the success of our financial services sector is that we are part of the UK, our currency is the pound, and companies thinking of moving here know that they will be able to operate according to the same globally-familiar rules and regulations as the rest of Britain.

This provides vital business certainty.

All of that will be at risk if we vote to break up Britain.

We have 130,000 students in our city, attracted by our world-class universities and colleges.

They are very successful at attracting more than our share of funding from UK bodies, to pay for important research. If we're not part of the UK this funding source disappears.

And unless we retain research funding, the best academics won't want to work here.

According to the SNP, funding for our universities will be secured after independence by charging fees from the tens of thousands of students who come here from England.

The problem with this SNP plan is that it would be illegal under EU law.

Yet another oversight from the party who still don't have a plan B for what our currency will be.

And who honestly believes that the Ministry of Defence will give contracts to Clyde yards if we pull out of Britain?

The UK has never given an order for a complex ship to a foreign yard. We would become a foreign country if we vote to pull-out of the UK.

There are 2400 highly-skilled jobs on the Clyde directly dependent on these orders, and thousands of other people who make a living from supplying the yards or from the spending power of the workers.

I don't believe that any of these jobs are a price worth paying to indulge Alex Salmond's lifelong obsession with tearing Glasgow and Scotland out of the UK.

That is why I will be voting No this month.