A city MP has urged Birmingham City Council to convene a "constitutional convention" to decide how power and funding can be transferred to the city.

Liam Byrne, a former Cabinet Minister and ex-Minister for the West Midlands, is one of a number of Labour MPs demanding immediate action to strip power from Westminster and transfer it to English regions.

It follows the decision of the three major party leaders to promise further devolution to Scotland.

Mr Byrne (Lab Hodge Hill) welcomed Labour leader Ed Miliband's proposal for a constitutional convention in the autumn of 2015.

But he also said Birmingham should take the initiative rather than waiting until then.

In a letter to Birmingham council leader Sir Albert Bore, the MP said: "Once upon time Birmingham was known as 'the best governed city in the world'; above all we were known for thinking radically. One the most famous MPs to represent the city, the great John Bright once said 'Birmingham is radical as the sea is salt'.

"I believe we should be heirs to this tradition. I write therefore to ask that the city and its partners now put in hand arrangements to organise a Birmingham Constitutional Convention to develop ideas that we can submit to a national debate.

"All over Britain, people are demanding new ways forward. We want the power to shape our city's destiny; to build a better future for our kids and a more secure city for our parents. They want it in Scotland. We want it here."

Holding a convention would be in keeping with Birmingham's historical reputation as an innovator in local government, Mr Byrne said.

"Today I say, let's be the heirs to that tradition. Let's move quickly to organise a constitutional convention of our own."

He has also set out five powers he believes should be transferred to the city.

They include:

* Powers, like those in London, to raise revenue from local businesses to reinvest in the city or to finance tax breaks for innovative or small businesses.

* Power to help lead a regional transport commission, similar to London's transport authority, and to unlock Birmingham Airport's potential to become Britain's fourth hub airport.

* Power to lead school improvement, to boost the local skills base and improve 'coasting schools'.

* Power over Skills Funding Agency budgets, to help boost apprenticeships and gear skills spending to the needs of local employers.

* Power over housing budgets, including powers to keep savings from Housing Benefit delivered by getting people back to work, to allow the city to help shift money into building homes.

Fellow Birmingham Labour MP Gisela Stuart has also been pushing for the party to embrace devolution and warned that its record so far has been poor.

Writing in a magazine distributed to delegates attending the Labour conference, she said the last Labour government "started well" but continued: "Devolution in England ran into the ground when we couldn't quite decide whether the answer was city regions or regional government.

"We should have stuck with city regions but it's not too late for Labour to return to the concept and embrace directly-elected strategic mayors at the same time."

Mrs Stuart (Lab Edgbaston) added: "If one considers Birmingham City Council's total budget - which is approximately £3.3 billion - and its workforce of around 35,000, the council is of a similar size to mid-to-lower ranking FTSE 100 firms like AMEC, Serco Group and Admiral Insurance.

"Political leadership of something as complex as this should not be left to a small group of local councillors.

"Strategic leaders of large city regions need to be tested and toughened by the wider electoral process.

"It works for London and will work for other city regions such as Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds and Birmingham."