"In the past, each city was treated the same, and in fact Birmingham is very different to Bristol.

"So we will come up with a bespoke set of arrangements for each city where we work in partnership to get jobs going, to get the economy going, to get the things going that matter to people who quite rightly are worried about the economic situation at the moment.

"I chair it, and my job will be to make sure we bang our heads together in Whitehall.

"One of the things I heard from the city leaders over and over was a feeling that big things were happening, like changes to the welfare system for example, and their voices were not being heard.

"I very much want the voice of Birmingham, the voice of our great cities, to be heard at the very heart of government. it's something I've told all my cabinet colleagues in Government, that from now on they've got to make themselves available to our city leaders in a way that has never happened in the past."

He added: "For too long, we've relied on only one city - the city of London. Those days have now come to an end. We can't constantly go, like Labour did, with a begging bowl, hoping that the fat cats of the city of London will help out the rest of the country.

"We've got to rely for our prosperity on Birmingham, Sheffield, Newcastle, Liverpool.

"And in fact, that's what we used to do. In the early 20th century, in the 19th century, it was what happened in Birmingham that set the trend for what happened in the rest of the country. And I don't see why that shouldn't happen again."

New "university technical colleges" will be created across the country to ensure manufacturers had the highly-skilled workforce the need - and end the "snobbery" against manufacturing, Mr Clegg said.

The aim was to treat technical skills such as engineering and design with the same respect as traditional academic subjects.

Mr Clegg said: "For too long, particularly under Labour when they were constantly falling to their knees to help the city of London but not really helping manufacturing.

"We are taking a number of measures to support manufacturing - through tax breaks on capital equipment, the provision of a quarter of a million more apprenticeships, the creation of technology innovation centres, a much bolder approach to promoting British exports.

"And there's the creation of university technical colleges which we are going to announce shortly, to make sure we give proper esteem to people who want to go into manufacturing rather than constantly assuming that the only good thing to do after school is university.

"I think that kind of inverted snobbery has held manufacturing back and held our country back for a very long time."

Birmingham is to hold a referendum on creating a directly elected mayor next year - and David Cameron, the Prime Minister, is known to be a strong supporter of the idea.

But Mr Clegg admitted he was not convinced.

"Lib Dems have traditionally been a little bit more wary of one person having all the reins of power in their hand.

"So obviously the checks and balances you put in place, if we have mayors, is really important."

However, he said the Government was united in believing Birmingham residents should decide for themselves whether they want a mayor.

"That decision isn't in David Cameron's hands of mine, it's in the Birmingham Mail's readers' hands, and they'll have a say in a referendum in May."

People directly affected by the riots which hit Birmingham, London and other cities last month would have a chance to speak for themselves as part of an official investigation, Mr Clegg promised.

The Deputy Prime Minister is overseeing a panel which will look into the causes of the disorder, although the Government has rejected Labour calls for a full public inquiry.

He said: "The main thing it will achieve is give the people of Birmingham a voice.

"It's no good politicians in Whitehall and people in think-tanks and television studios rushing to conclusions about what needs to change without actually listening to the people who are affected - the victims, the shopkeepers, the mums, the dads, the neighbours, the youth workers, the religious leaders.

"I think it would be really wrong to not allow the people who were most affected to have the loudest voice and that's what they are going to get through the panel."