LAST week groups of young people in a Glasgow community put on a show at their local cinema, treating an audience which had come from across Scotland to a great evening out.

All of us who were at Cineworld Silverburn were taken aback at the incredible range of talent across performing arts, media and sports on display.

But what was really remarkable is that these guys were blazing a trail, setting in motion an exciting shift in power which has the potential to change how we do a lot of our politics in Scotland.

These kids from the Greater Pollok area were taking control of the decisions affecting them and making sure they had their say.

Such is the potential of what is called ‘Participatory Budgeting’ that representatives from the Scottish Government, the organisation representing all our 32 local authorities and, of course, Glasgow City Council, came to see how they would do it.

We gave these young people our trust and they delivered. And they showed the rest of Scotland how Glasgow is pioneering real community empowerment, handing our communities not just a voice in the decision making which affects them but control over where money should be spent.

READ MORE: SWAMP event at Cineworld will see Pollok young people vote on community projects

In the run up to the 2017 local elections the SNP made a major commitment to work with Glasgow neighbourhoods to deliver a revolution in empowering our communities.

The evidence for the shift was strong. The influential Glasgow Centre for Population Health had pointed to the negative impact of disempowerment on personal and community wellbeing. Think tanks were churning out reports showing many voters believed councils were too remote.

And knocking on doors, citizens told us that too often the council felt distant and disengaged from their day to day concerns.

One of our most significant pledges was to devolve £1 million to every council ward through Participatory Budgeting.

Our opponents said it was fanciful thinking, that we were naïve about the realities of what communities wanted and needed.

The young people of Pollok have taken the first step in proving the doubters wrong and sparking the minds and imaginations of our citizens. They have shown to how ordinary people can engage with the future of their areas and create the communities they want.

The young folk at Silverburn were anything but daunted. They presented the individual projects they thought merited funding and assistance, with the audience then voting for those they thought would have the most positive impact.

Of course, we need solid anchor organisations to help facilitate a lot of this work and in SWAMP, Pollok has a community trust which knows its kids by their first names.

READ MORE: New budget is designed for the people of Glasgow, says Susan Aitken

In the Calton, Pollokshields and Canal wards similar work is underway, albeit with different sections of the community representing specific local contexts and challenges.

We have diligently worked to ensure that we know what approach works best in what areas, how Participatory Budgeting can properly embed, and that the capacity exists to ensure this power sift succeeds.

It is right that we take our time to make sure our communities have the confidence to make those choices which are best for them. In the next 12 months it will be rolled out to at least another four wards.

We have a legal obligation to empower our communities, every council in Scotland wants to give their communities more say but we in Glasgow are leading the way.

The days when all decisions were foisted, top down, on local areas from the City Chambers are numbered.

People need to feel their voice matters, that they have control over what the council does to the places they live in, the facilities and services they use, and even their own lives.

This is the type of cultural change the City Government is delivering.

Finally, again Scotland is looking to Glasgow to see the impact of the unprecedented decision to put a cap on the number of cab licences in circulation.

We need a service that is convenient, yes, but we also need a sector that is sustainable. I welcome the move and look forward to seeing the impact on the livelihoods of those who provide this valued service.

Read more of today's top Glasgow stories.