But now, we’ve got ourselves a new crown… and this is definitely one to wear with pride.
Our city has gifted the world so much throughout history, from the splitting of the atom, the right for women to vote, and the first ever computer, right through to the NHS, the iconic ‘Madchester’ music scene, and even the beloved delicacy that is Vimto, so perhaps it goes without saying that we’d be considered one of the UK’s creative capitals, right?
Manchester has been named one of the UK’s ‘most creative’ cities for 2024 / Credit: Marketing Manchester | Kimpton Clocktower Hotel
The fact us Mancs consider our city to be creative has now been backed-up by a new study carried out by Adobe Express – which has placed us not just within the top 15 or top 10, but in the top five.
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To create the ranking, Adobe Express compared 25 UK cities against each other and looked into factors such as the number of art galleries and museums, creative festivals and events, the amount of art schools, the volume of theatres, and the number of jobs listed in the ‘creative’ field.
Top 10 most ‘creative’ UK cities in 2024
Brighton and Hove
London
Edinburgh
Manchester
Leicester
Coventry
Derby
Bournemouth
Belfast
Bradford
Jobs in ‘creative’ industries currently represent around 7% of the UK workforce, according to recent statistics, and Adobe Express says that living in a city which supports creativity can “significantly enhance” the ability to “thrive and produce innovative work” for creative individuals.
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Our city’s new title is all according to a new study carried out by Adobe Express / Credit: Marketing Manchester
Brighton and Hove has been named the UK’s most creative city thanks to having an unrivalled number of more than 26 art galleries per 100,000 people, while England’s capital unsurprisingly claims the second spot on the list and boasting the highest number of creative jobs in the ranking, and Scotlands stunning capital, Edinburgh, snatching third place.
Manchester follows really closely behind Edinburgh and sits pretty within the top five, scoring an impressive overall 1.910.
The city has 65 art schools, 882 creative jobs listed, and 815 events and festivals to its name.
Some of the other Northern cities making the top 10 list include Bradford and Derby, and elsewhere within the top 15 is where you’ll find Liverpool and Sheffield.
Featured Image – KCH / The Refuge (via Supplied)
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Greater Manchester set for one of its warmest days of 2026 so far as spring settles in
Emily Sergeant
Today is set to be one of the warmest days of the year so far for Greater Manchester.
With the days getting longer, the skies bluer, and the sun warmer, there’s no denying that spring is finally starting to settle in across the UK now… or ‘false spring’ at least, let’s not get too carried away with ourselves of course, this is the North West after all and we’ve still got those April showers to contend with first.
But after what was a pretty unsettled start to the week here in Greater Manchester, with both rain and wind pelting us on Monday (16 March), it seems like things are taking a turn today.
The Met Office has forecasted that the region is set for a ‘warm and pleasant spell of spring weather’ for this week, particularly today (Wednesday 18 March) with highs of 16-17°C on average, and in some parts of the country, temperatures could even reach 20°C.
“Wednesday looks likely to be the warmest day of the week for many, with high pressure dominant,” explained Dan Harris, who is the Chief Forecaster at the Met Office.
Wednesday is set to be the warmest day of the year so far, with temperatures expected to reach around 21°C
In some areas, this is as much as 9°C above the average March temperature, making it feel more like late spring than mid‑March pic.twitter.com/byA1ggcF8N
“The warmest spots are likely to be in parts of west Wales and western England, where under sunny skies, 18-19ºC, possibly even 20ºC is on the cards. This is due to the additional boost expected from the passage of east to south-easterly winds over areas of higher ground, known as the Foehn effect.”
Dan did add, however, that there’ll be a big difference between the maximum daytime temperature and minimum overnight temperature this week.
“Thanks to the clear skies during the day, we’ll see some chilly nights after the warmer days with a few places experiencing air frost,” he concluded.
Looking ahead to the rest of the week and onto the weekend, it appears this nice weather is sticking around for a little bit longer here in Greater Manchester, as while there are some cloudy spells expected, daytime temperatures are staying warm for the time of year.
Thursday looks to be dry and settled with plenty of sunshine, but temperatures will start to cool towards the seasonal average on Friday.
Featured Image – Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash)
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Government sets up taskforce to deliver ‘urgent action’ on maternity care in England
Emily Sergeant
A taskforce aiming to deliver ‘urgent action’ on maternity care in England has been set up by the Government.
The new Maternity and Neonatal taskforce – which is chaired by the Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting – will tackle ‘deep-rooted inequalities’ and deliver urgent action on the recommendations of the independent national investigation into maternity and neonatal services in England.
This means that women, babies, and families will receive safer and higher-quality care from the NHS in the long run.
According to the Government, the expert panel includes families, senior NHS leaders, royal colleges, campaigners, academics, and third sector representatives.
The Government has set up a taskforce to deliver ‘urgent action’ on maternity care / Credit: Jimmy Conover (via Unsplash)
As part of the selection process, the Government has been working closely with harmed and bereaved families to ensure their personal experiences were reflected, and those who have been chosen collectively have the clinical expertise, lived experience, and sector know-how to deliver the changes so desperately needed for families.
Starting next week, the Secretary of State will chair regular roundtables with the new taskforce – with the first priority to agree its Terms of Reference.
The taskforce will also address recent developments in maternity and neonatal care, including recommendations from the Thirlwall Inquiry, and the independent review into maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.
📢 National maternity and neonatal investigation to be launched
Too many families have suffered preventable harm.
The investigation will urgently look at services with specific issues and the entire maternity system, making sure each family receives safe and compassionate care. pic.twitter.com/J8XkwGM9dN
— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) June 23, 2025
The taskforce will also be supported by a wider range of experts – as part of ‘expert reference groups’ – that the Government says will bring ‘a broader range’ of perspectives.
“Every woman and baby deserve safe, compassionate care during pregnancy and birth, and the very best start in life,” commented Duncan Burton, who is the Chief Nursing Officer for England.
“Although NHS maternity and neonatal teams work incredibly hard to support women and families every day, we know there is more we must urgently do to improve care and experience.
“I look forward to working with members of the taskforce to improve safety and deliver the best possible outcomes and experience for women, babies, families, and colleagues working in these services.”
Featured Image – Credit: Aditya Romansa (via Unsplash)
Emily Sergeant -
11th June 2024 
