UK's second capital should be Manchester, public say

1494 people agreed that the second largest city in the UK should be the second capital

Louis Dore
Friday 22 May 2015 13:53 BST
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Manchester should be the second capital of the UK, according to a survey of the public.

30 per cent of the 1494 people surveyed by YouGov agreed that the city with a population of 502,900 would be best suited to the title.

Birmingham and the Scottish capital of Edinburgh were second and third respectively of those chosen out of the UK’s most populated ten cities.

Chancellor George Osborne earlier this month granted Greater Manchester “radical devolution” of control over local services as part of his plan for a “Northern Powerhouse”, inviting other large cities to follow it’s lead.

Mr Osborne said: "The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is doing a great job and you don’t need an elected mayor sitting above 10 authorities.”

Mr Osborne said he didn’t want to “impose” mayors on cities, but added that he would not “settle for less” than a city region having an elected mayor before he offered them greater control over local spending.

A recent poll of Manchester revealed that 72 per cent of respondents wanted the city to become part of Scotland.

The city hosts two of the largest football clubs in the world, Manchester United and Manchester City, and today Trainspotting director Danny Boyle opened a new arts centre home.

Mr Boyle urged residents of the city to stop thinking of the city as a competitor to the capital, London.

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