But could the Manchester model really apply across the country? There are certainly lessons about having a plan and a strategy, buying in cross-party support for long-term decisions, and involving public and private sectors.
The role of universities and transport investment is also critical, but not every town and city in the UK has the same raw materials, for example in terms of sheer number of young graduates. There are limits here.
Andy Spinoza, who wrote Manchester Unspun, a detailed account of the city’s recent transformation told through the lens of popular culture, says the city has “a unique hand”.
“Devolution, airport, universities, diverse economy and culture. Whatever Manchester-ism is, it is a special sauce hard to replicate elsewhere.”
He points to the near half a billion pounds paid in dividends over two decades from the partly council-owned international airport, and the role of former council leader Richard Leese and chief executive, the late Howard Bernstein.
“As city region mayor, Andy Burnham has added public control over transport and skills to bootstrap some benefits from the boom for Mancs, but it’s a familiar refrain that priced-out residents need to feel it trickle down to them and the outer towns,” he adds.
Manchester’s growth should give pause for thought to much of the rest of the country. Something important is happening here, outside of the obsessions and daily ups and downs of Westminster. And it shows the returns to ambition, boundless optimism, and sense of long-term strategy. The Mancs are on to something.
Additional reporting by Jeevan Nerwan