Northern England supercity

Map of Northern England

There are proposals for a Northern England supercity, spanning from Liverpool on the west coast, through Manchester, Leeds and to Hull on the east coast. A "supercity" was raised in 2004 by then Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott.

Smaller proposals exist covering only Liverpool and Manchester dubbed "Manpool" or "Liverchester". However the government has not announced any formal proposal into the idea.

Proposals

In 2004 architect and urban planner Will Alsop proposed a 15-mile (24 km) wide conurbation combining cities from Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Hull at Urbis, the museum of urban life in Manchester. The proposal coincided with then Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's Sustainable Communities summit, which was also held in Manchester. Media reports at the time noted the similarities between Alsop's proposals, and the proposals in Prescott's Northern Way. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott had previously mooted the idea of a "super city" that would extend across the North along the M62 motorway in February 2004.

The proposals have been coined with a portmanteu called "ManSheffLeedsPool", using the names of four cities within the proposal. The idea was raised as part of a selection of suggestions on rebranding the north.

Smaller proposals

Liverpool and Manchester

Map of built up areas around Liverpool and Manchester

Proposals for a northwestern "super city" to balance the growth of London in the South East stretch back to the middle of the 20th Century. In 1968 under the headline 'Manpool', newspapers reported on a proposed 30-mile city encompassing Liverpool and Manchester, suggested to a government committee by the North Western Region of the Confederation of British Industry. The idea was to make use of semi-derelict land to expand the cities urban area, rather than "raid" the agricultural assets of central Lancashire. The Liverpool Daily Post also reported the story but under the headline 'Liverchester'.

The idea was further explored following the City Growth Commission in 2014, which made suggestions as to how many larger UK cities could be given greater powers and transformed economically. The chair of the commission, Lord O'Neill a former Goldman Sachs economist and Commercial Secretary to the Treasury first coined the term 'Manpool' as a result of the commission. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Lord O'Neill suggested that combining the two cities into one would allow the new city to 'bottle' some of the economic successes of London by amalgamating their resources, and that "the more done to improve infrastructure and commercial links between the two cities, the more likely that aggregate benefits would accrue". Lord O'Neill suggested this should be done in a framework of greater devolved fiscal powers. Regionalism expert and journalist Brian Groom writing in the Financial Times, suggested that although the proposals were positive, "joint government between the two cities seems unrealistic". One argument put forward against the merger is the historic rivalry between the two cities, though many point out that today this is mostly good natured.

Some commentators have proposed that Warrington – situated between the two cities – could serve as the administrative hub.

The idea for Manpool/Liverchester was raised again in February 2024 by local newspaper Manchester Evening News.

Background

Liverpool

Manchester

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Locations of the cities, in England

The cities of Liverpool and Manchester are some 35 miles (56 km) apart in North West England.

The Greater London metropolis meanwhile covers an area of over 606 sq miles, and is 45 miles (72 km) in length. London is often regarded as a power city and its size and economic scale makes the UK one of the most centralised countries in the world.

Progress

Though no formal government policy to combine the two cities.

In 2018, mayors of both cities pledged to build a new working partnership and were working on signing a joint-concordat. The mayors also called for high speed rail between the two cities as part of Northern Powerhouse Rail. In 2022, the two mayors had a joint mission to Dublin to develop relations with Ireland. In 2017, Liverpool had a bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, partnering with Manchester. The two cities lauched a joint Green Energy Task Force in 2022.

See also

• North–South divide in the United Kingdom
• Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
• High Speed 3
• North West England#Metropolitan areas
• UK City of Culture