This article possibly contains original research .(August 2022) |
The second city of the United Kingdom is an unofficial title that is both subjective and cultural. The United Kingdom has a primate city structure where London significantly surpasses other cities in size and importance and all other cities have much more in common with one another than with the capital. [1] The media typically describe Birmingham as the second city.
Eboracum (York), the northern capital of Britannia Inferior would have been considered the second city by virtue of its prominence in Roman times. [2] In medieval England, the second-largest city was Norwich. It was surpassed by Bristol in the seventeenth century. By the nineteenth century, the label "second city of the British Empire" had emerged and was widely applied to Dublin, the capital of Ireland. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Dublin was eclipsed over the coming decades by several rapidly industrialising cities in Britain. [8] Glasgow was sometimes described as the second city of the Empire during the Victorian era. Currently, Birmingham is commonly referred to as the UK's second city, although Manchester has also emerged as a contender. [9] [10] [11] [12] Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast also have alternative claims due to their status as capital cities of the other home nations. [13] [14] [15]
York was named the second city in earlier centuries, by virtue of its prominence in Roman times as the northern capital, Eboracum, of the Roman province of Britannia Inferior. [16]
The title Second City of the Empire or Second City of the British Empire was claimed by a number of cities in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. Commercial trading city Liverpool was regarded as holding this title with its massive port, merchant fleet and world-wide trading links. [17] [18] [19] Liverpool was constantly referred to as the New York of Europe. [20] Glasgow (which continues to use the title as a marketing slogan), [21] [22] and (outside of Britain or Ireland) Calcutta (modern Kolkata) [23] and Philadelphia. [24]
Prior to the union with Scotland in 1707, from the English Civil War until the 18th century, Norwich was the second-largest city of the Kingdom of England, being a major trading centre, Britain's richest provincial city and county town of Norfolk, at that time the most populous county of England. [25] Bristol was the second-wealthiest city in England in the 16th century; [26] and by the 18th century, Bristol was often described as the second city of England. [27] During the 19th century, claims were made for Manchester, [28] Liverpool [29] and York. [30] By the early 19th century, Glasgow was frequently referred to as the second city; [31] and during much of the 20th century it had a population of over one million, larger than that of Birmingham until the 1951 census. For example, the Official Census population for Glasgow was 0.784 million in April 1911; 1.034 million in April 1921; 1.088 million in April 1931 and 1.090 million in April 1951. [32] However, slum clearance in the 1960s led to displacement of residents from the city centre to new communities located outside the city boundaries. This, together with local government reorganisation, resulted in the official population of Glasgow falling sharply. The Glasgow City Council area currently has a population of 600,000 although the surrounding conurbation of Greater Glasgow has a population of 1,199,629. [33] In contrast, the population of the city of Birmingham has remained steady around the one million mark; its central population fell like Glasgow's, but the city boundaries were extended several times in the early 20th century. Occasional claims were made for Liverpool, [34] Birmingham [35] and Manchester. [36]
Birmingham has generally been considered to be the second city of the United Kingdom since the time of World War I. [37] However, in recent years Manchester has been pitched as a contender for the title. [37]
Birmingham is the more populous city and is recognised as such by His Majesty's Government. [38] [39] However, confusion surrounding the correct way to define the two cities' populations, along with the publication of outdated, inaccurate or estimated population statistics, has sometimes led to erroneous comparisons between them.
According to the 2021 United Kingdom census, the City of Birmingham is the most populous local government district in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million — substantially larger than the City of Manchester, which at 552,000 is only the sixth largest, behind Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow and Sheffield. [40]
However, municipal boundaries are problematic for comparing modern cities: many suburbs of Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester fall outside city limits largely drawn up in Victorian times, and the surrounding conurbations and areas that can be considered part of each city are hard to define. Manchester is regarded as a particularly 'under-bounded' city, whose archaic boundaries no longer accurately reflect its true size. [41] [42] To reflect this, the City of Manchester is sometimes conflated with Greater Manchester, the metropolitan county and combined authority which includes the neighbouring City of Salford and eight other metropolitan boroughs that broadly define the conurbation. According to the 2021 census, Greater Manchester had a total population of 2.868 million. [40] This is nonetheless marginally smaller than the equivalent metropolitan county and combined authority of the West Midlands, which comprises the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, and four other metropolitan boroughs, with a total combined population of 2.92 million. [40]
There are several drawbacks to this approach. The first is the arbitrary nature of the metropolitan county boundaries, which were drawn up in the early-1970s as administrative divisions and do not necessarily reflect the present state of either conurbation. A second drawback is the implication that each county is, in itself, homogeneous, thus ignoring the sensitivities of the distinct settlements which fall within the boundaries of the county but may not identify strongly with its principal city, for example the Black Country in the West Midlands, [43] or Bolton in Greater Manchester. [44] Relatedly, a third drawback is in the names of the counties themselves: Manchester has been able to leverage the name of its metropolitan county to build a cohesive "place brand", [45] whereas Birmingham's comparative sphere of influence tends to be hidden within the West Midlands moniker. [46]
In an attempt to circumvent the first of these drawbacks, the population of each city is sometimes taken to be the contiguous built-up urban area of their respective conurbations. According to a methodology defined by the Office for National Statistics in 2011, the Greater Manchester Built-up Area's population of 2.55 million is marginally bigger than that of the West Midlands conurbation, at 2.44 million. This disparity is explained by the area of green belt known as the Meriden Gap, which separates the City of Coventry from the rest of the West Midlands built-up area. [47]
An alternative methodology, based around the concept of primary urban areas, is used by Centre for Cities to publish urban policy research. [48] Primary urban areas are intended to allow economic and social comparisons between cities, using definitions less arbitrary than the administrative boundaries of local authorities, but avoiding some of the issues associated with agglomerating distinct urban settlements into single cities. [49] According to the Centre for Cities Data Tool, Birmingham's population in 2020 was 2.56 million, marginally ahead of Manchester's 2.52 million. [50]
At other times, the wider metropolitan areas of the two cities are considered. Compared directly, the Birmingham Metropolitan Area is the larger of the two, with an estimated 2021 population of 4.34 million as opposed to Manchester's 3.1 million. [51]
The media typically describe Birmingham as the second city.
Reporting on the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games in July and August 2022, ten of the twelve nationally distributed daily newspapers in the United Kingdom published articles referring to Birmingham as the "second city" of either the United Kingdom, Britain or England: The Times , [52] The Daily Telegraph , [53] The i, [54] The Guardian , [55] The Independent , [56] and The Daily Mirror. [57] The same phrasing appeared in the freesheet press, including The Metro [58] and City A.M. , [59] regional publications including The London Evening Standard, [60] The Scottish Herald, [61] The Northern Echo [62] and The Yorkshire Post , [63] special interest publications including The Voice, [64] and a number of international publications including The New Zealand Herald , [65] The Times Colonist [66] and The National . [67] Publications including The Financial Times [68] and The Scotsman [69] have also referred to Birmingham's second city status.
During the same period, the BBC published a "Brummies' guide to Birmingham and beyond" which contained the subheading "Something for everyone in the second city", [70] while Sky published a legacy piece discussing the concerns of "people who live in Britain's second city". [71] Other national broadcasters whose websites have, at different times, referred to Birmingham as the second city include ITV, [72] and Channel 4. [73]
Since 2010, major international news providers including Reuters, [74] [75] The Associated Press, [76] [77] Agence France-Presse, [78] [79] Bloomberg News, [80] CNN International, [81] Al Jazeera [82] and The New York Times Company [83] have all referred to Birmingham as the second city of either Britain or England, although the descriptor "second-largest city" is also frequently seen. In 2019, an article in the New York Times suggested both Liverpool and Manchester might lay claim to being England's cultural second city. [84]
Travel and events publications including Lonely Planet, [85] Rough Guides [86] and Time Out [87] refer to Birmingham as the second city.
As the second city is an unofficial title and one of subjective opinion, a number of polls have been conducted over the years. Despite Birmingham being viewed as the traditional second city, public polls have shown a slight preference for Manchester since 2000:
Although the government does not publish policy on the matter, ministers have tended to endorse Birmingham's status as the country's second city.
A notable exception was John Prescott, former Deputy Prime Minister and Member of Parliament for the constituency of Kingston upon Hull East, who concluded a conference speech in Manchester in 2007 with the words "...Manchester – our second city", although this was later played down by his department, claiming they were made in a "light-hearted context". [97] Prescott had previously declared Birmingham the second city while on a visit to the newly built Bullring Shopping Centre in 2003.
At different times, MPs representing constituencies in Manchester and Glasgow have spoken out in support of their respective cities' claims:
However, in 2007, Phil Woolas MP for the constituency of Oldham East and Saddleworth, former Minister of State for the Environment, appeared to concede the second city title to Birmingham, remarking: "And, of course, I, and colleagues in Manchester, am pleased to see its very sensible plans to relocate to Manchester – Britain's third city." [98]
Most recently, MP for Solihull, Julian Knight conceded that people see Manchester as England's second city but argued that "Birmingham is bigger, more diverse and frankly a more interesting place to be." He suggested that the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games would cement Birmingham's place as England's second city. [99]
Manchester ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, which had a population of 552,000 at the 2021 census. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The two cities and the surrounding towns form one of the United Kingdom's most populous conurbations, the Greater Manchester Built-up Area, which had a population of 2.87 million in 2021. The city borders the boroughs of Trafford, Stockport, Tameside, Oldham, Rochdale, Bury and Salford.
West Midlands is a ceremonial county in the larger West Midlands region of England. A landlocked county, it is bordered by Staffordshire to the north and west, Worcestershire to the south, and is surrounded by Warwickshire to the east. The largest settlement is the city of Birmingham.
Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester.
Metropolitan counties are a subdivision of England which were originally used for local government. There are six metropolitan counties: Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Midlands and West Yorkshire.
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest mixed-traffic railway routes in Europe, carrying a mixture of intercity rail, regional rail, commuter rail and rail freight traffic. The core route of the WCML runs from London to Glasgow for 399 miles (642 km) and was opened from 1837 to 1869. With additional lines deviating to Northampton, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh, this totals a route mileage of 700 miles (1,127 km). The Glasgow–Edinburgh via Carstairs line connects the WCML to Edinburgh. However, the main London–Edinburgh route is the East Coast Main Line. Several sections of the WCML form part of the suburban railway systems in London, Coventry, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow, with many more smaller commuter stations, as well as providing links to more rural towns.
The Midlands is the central part of England, bordered by Wales, Northern England, Southern England and the North Sea. The Midlands were important in the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries and are split into the West Midlands and East Midlands. The biggest city, Birmingham, is the second-largest in the United Kingdom. Other important cities include Coventry, Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton, and Worcester.
The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of International Territorial Level for statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. The region consists of the counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire. The region has seven cities; Birmingham, Coventry, Hereford, Lichfield, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton and Worcester.
The West Midlands conurbation is the large conurbation in the West Midlands region of England. The area consists of two cities and numerous towns: to the east, the city of Birmingham, along with adjacent towns of Solihull and Sutton Coldfield; and to the west, the city of Wolverhampton and the area called the Black Country, containing the towns of Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Oldbury, Willenhall, Bilston, Darlaston, Tipton, Smethwick, Wednesbury, Rowley Regis, Stourbridge and Halesowen.
Irish people in Great Britain or British Irish are immigrants from the island of Ireland living in Great Britain as well as their British-born descendants.
The new towns in the United Kingdom were planned under the powers of the New Towns Act 1946 and later acts to relocate populations in poor or bombed-out housing following the Second World War. They were developed in three waves. Later developments included the expanded towns: existing towns which were substantially expanded to accommodate what was called the "overspill" population from densely populated areas of deprivation.
Jet2.com Limited is a British low-cost leisure airline offering scheduled and charter flights from the United Kingdom. As of 2022, it is the third-largest scheduled airline in the UK, behind easyJet and British Airways. Jet2 is also officially the largest tour operator in the UK after overtaking TUI in 2023. Its headquarters are located at Leeds Bradford Airport. Further bases are at Belfast–International, Birmingham, Bristol, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London–Stansted, Manchester and Newcastle airports, with a base opening at Liverpool In March 2024. The company holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats. Jet2 also offers a charter service through its Jet2charters brand.
The city of Birmingham, in England, is an important manufacturing and engineering centre, employing over 100,000 people in the industry and contributing billions of pounds to the national economy. During 2013, the West Midlands region as a whole created UK exports in goods worth £19.6 billion, around 8.73% of the national total, however, exports fell by 14.5% compared to 2012 and there is a trade deficit of £5.6 billion. Output was forecast to grow from 2007 to 2012, but the city's economy flat-lined in from 2007 to 2009, following the economic crisis which affected the economies of countries around the world.
The Core Cities Group is a self-selected and self-financed collaborative advocacy group of large regional cities in the United Kingdom outside Greater London and Edinburgh. The group was formed in 1995 and serves as a partnership of eleven city councils: Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield.
The transport infrastructure of Greater Manchester is built up of numerous transport modes and forms an integral part of the structure of Greater Manchester and North West England – the most populated region outside of South East England which had approximately 301 million annual passenger journeys using either buses, planes, trains or trams in 2014. Its position as a national city of commerce, education and cultural importance means the city has one of the largest and most thorough transport infrastructures which is heavily relied upon by its 2.8 million inhabitants in the Greater Manchester conurbation and further afield in the North West region. Public transport comes under the jurisdiction of Transport for Greater Manchester.
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in Britain – commonly referred to as the second city of the United Kingdom – with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper. Birmingham borders the Black Country to its west and together with its city of Wolverhampton and towns including Dudley and Solihull to the south-east, forms the West Midlands conurbation. The wider metropolitan area has a population of 4.3 million, making it the largest outside of London.
Urban andsuburban rail plays a key role in public transport in many of the major cities of the United Kingdom. Urban rail refers to the train service between city centres and suburbs or nearby towns that acts as a main mode of transport for travellers on a daily basis. They consist of several railway lines connecting city centre stations of major cities to suburbs and surrounding towns.
A metropolitan area is generally defined as consisting of an urban area, conurbation or agglomeration, together with the surrounding area to which it is closely economically and socially integrated through commuting.
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The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England between 28 July and 8 August 2022. It was the third and seventh time England and the United Kingdom hosted the Commonwealth Games, respectively.
We have had fantastic co-operation here in Manchester – our second city, I am prepared to concede.
And, of course, I, and colleagues in Manchester, am pleased to see its very sensible plans to relocate to Manchester – Britain's third city.