Perhaps unsurprisingly, the answer to this question varies significantly depending on where you are in the country.
Belief that Birmingham is Britain’s second city is concentrated in and around the West Midlands, with at least two thirds of people in all six counties in the region (67-86%) feeling it deserves the title. A tendency to favour the Midlands metropolis also extends into the surrounding counties, being the most common view in mid-Wales, Buckinghamshire, Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and Somerset.
Manchester’s claim likewise finds its strongest support on its home patch (77% in Greater Manchester), though this does not extend to every part of the North West, with the people of Merseyside being more likely to consider Liverpool (34%) the second city than Manchester (27%).
Nonetheless, considering Manchester to be second city is the most common view across a reasonably wide spread of England, including places as far afield as Cornwall, Cumbria, Kent and Yorkshire, as well as in Clwyd and the Glamorgans in Wales. London itself also tends to favour the “world’s first industrial city” to be its deputy over its Brummie rival, by a margin of 42% to 27%.
Scotland, however, has its own views. Edinburgh is the top choice in most of the country, including being backed as the UK’s second city by 57-58% in both Fife and the city itself. Glasgow is the most common answer in Dunbartonshire, Glasgow and Renfrewshire, with Lanarkshire divided 35% to 30% between the two.