PM 'on the fence' in Birmingham-Manchester debate

Andy Burnham has refused to be drawn on whether Birmingham or Manchester deserves to be called England's second city, but concedes the former "might be nudging ahead".

The prime minister and former mayor of Greater Manchester joked he would "sit on the fence" when challenged over the long-running rivalry between the two cities.

Speaking to BBC Midlands political editor Elizabeth Glinka at Number 10 North in Manchester, Burnham was asked whether he could "finally admit that Birmingham is the second city".

"I think I love all the cities of England now in my new job," he said, adding "I'll sit on the fence on that particular one", before pointing out where Birmingham was making strides.

Burnham said the West Midlands had "a great place in my heart" and praised the region's mayor Richard Parker.

He also pointed to the arrival of HS2 at Curzon Street as evidence of Birmingham's changing fortunes.

"There's a risk here that Birmingham might be nudging ahead," he said.

"But isn't that a great thing, that we see Birmingham and Manchester, you know, the big cities outside of London now."

After being accused of being diplomatic, the prime minister added: "I love them both, and I will support them both equally."

When it comes to attracting overseas investment, Manchester currently has the edge.

Figures from EY show Manchester attracted 31 foreign direct investment projects in 2025, compared with 26 in Birmingham.

However, the gap between the cities narrowed considerably from the previous year, when Manchester secured 44 projects to Birmingham's 24.

Across the wider regions, the picture is different, with the West Midlands attracting 68 projects in 2025, compared with 51 in the North West.

To find out if the prime minister was right, BBC Politics Midlands asked residents and visitors to the city if they agreed.

Birmingham local Neeraj Kaler said the city deserved its second-city status because of its history, culture and the range of things to do.

"As someone who's been to different cities around the UK there's nothing quite like Birmingham," he said.

"London's obviously up there, you can't really get better than that, but Birmingham for me is the closest I can get."

Fellow Birmingham resident Julienne Buna admitted she was "biased" towards her home city, but said she had heard people describe Manchester as "the city that Birmingham could be".

She said Birmingham had potential but needed "more activities catered towards younger people".

Kal Sehmar, a software expert from Warwick, said that after growing up near Birmingham he had always regarded it as the country's second city.

But he said his view had changed after travelling around the UK for work.

"I now see Liverpool and the likes of Manchester have massively overtaken Birmingham purely because of the pull they have in terms of the economic pull, but also the diversity of businesses and restaurants and different flavours of opportunities for younger people," he said.

"I think Birmingham has been let down in terms of that investment and and it needs to probably catch up with the likes of the the northern powers."

Liverpool resident Jonathan Walters said he still regarded Birmingham as the second city "historically", and believed the Commonwealth Games had helped improve its infrastructure.

However, he said, he felt Birmingham lacked "a bit of identity".

"I think the thing that jumps out to me is being from Liverpool right next to Manchester, there's a lot of independent businesses," he explained.

"I come here and I kind of don't see that."

Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.