How has the city improved?

First off, physically: it’s cleaner, greener, more lively and officially Britain’s safest large city. Next up is its economy — it’s more diverse and so less reliant on a few industries or large employers. Then there’s its education system, its civic administration, its infrastructure (airport, port, road and rail) and its housing market — all on strong upward curves.

Improvement is everywhere, most notably in the confidence and outlook of the people and the city’s employers. Better still, the sheer scale of the investments now underway means the city is set fair for at least five years of continuous growth and improvement. The most notable indicator is the unemployment level — now at an historic low of 2.9% and falling fast. The upshot is a growing population as the city sucks in workers and the economy expands.