The case for Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in North West England with an estimated population of 552,858 (2019 estimate). Manchester lies within the United Kingdom’s second largest urban area which has a population of around 2.7 million. People from Manchester are known as Mancunians and the local council is Manchester City Council, although Salford City Council areas lie within the scope of the city centre. There are number of other councils with close expanse and parts of both Metropolitan Borough of Bury and Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council home to Manchester United Football Club lie within 2 miles of the city centre. Manchester is situated in the south-central part of North West England, fringed by the Cheshire Plain to the south and the Pennines to the north and east.
The recorded history of Manchester began with the civilian settlement associated with the Roman fort of Mamucium, which was established in c. 79 AD on a sandstone bluff near the confluence of the rivers Medlock and Irwell. Historically, most of the city was a part of Lancashire, although areas south of the River Mersey were in Cheshire. Throughout the Middle Ages Manchester remained a manorial township, but it began to expand “at an astonishing rate” around the turn of the 19th century. Manchester’s unplanned urbanisation was brought on by a boom in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution, and resulted in it becoming the world’s first industrialised city.An early-19th-century factory building boom transformed Manchester from a township into a major mill town, nicknamed ‘Cottonopolis’, and borough that was granted city status in 1853. In 1877, the Manchester Town Hall was built and in 1894 the Manchester Ship Canal was opened, creating the Port of Manchester. Today Manchester is ranked as a beta world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Manchester is also part of the Northern Powerhouse and High Speed 2 Railway link.
The city is notable for its architecture, culture, music scene, media links, scientific and engineering output, social impact and sporting connections. Manchester’s sports clubs include Premier League football teams, Manchester City and Manchester United. Manchester was the site of one of the world’s first railway stations, and the place where scientists first split the atom and developed the first stored-program computer. Manchester is served by three universities, including the largest single-site university in the UK, and has the country’s third largest urban economy. Manchester is also the third-most visited city in the UK by foreign visitors, after London and Edinburgh, and the most visited in England outside London. Manchester Airport is also the largest after London Heathrow and Gatwick airports, offering a number of long-haul worldwide destinations.
According to the 2019 census Manchester’s urban area had a population of 2.7m compared to 2.8m for Birmingham. The 2019 census also confirmed Manchester as the fastest growing city outside London population rise with a population rise of 19% (Birmingham 9%), although there was a larger increase in population numbers in Birmingham over Manchester. Manchester is home to the largest group of consuls in the UK outside London. The expansion of international trade links during the Industrial Revolution led to the introduction of the first consuls in the 1820s and since then over 800, from all parts of the world, have been based in Manchester. Manchester hosts consular services for most of the north of England.
