In what is a real turn up for the books, no Greater Manchester towns have been named in this year’s worst places to live in England list.
And it’s the first time in quite a while that the region gets to boast this.
If you’re unfamiliar with the controversial rankings, every year, more than 100,000 people head on over to iLiveHere UK to dish the dirt on what it’s like to be a resident in their towns and communities, which the online platform then uses to create an annual list of the top 50 worst places to live in England – and it’s fair to say it’s usually pretty grim reading for the North West.
Greater Manchester is sadly known for fairing quite badly on the rankings every year, with three of the region’s towns – Bolton, Rochdale, and Oldham – finding themselves in the top 20 last year.
Wigan has also found itself on the rankings a couple of times in recent years too.
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But the region is clearly in its glow-up era if the 2023 list is anything to go by, as not only is this year’s top 10 absent of Greater Manchester towns, but none appear in the top 20 either, and you’ll have to go as far up the list as 34th place to find our first mention.
Top 10 Worst Places to Live in England 2023
Luton
Peterborough
Portsmouth
Slough
Aylesbury
Aldershot
Andover
Swindon
Bournemouth
Bradford
No Greater Manchester towns named in top 20 ‘worst places to live’ in England 2023 / Credit: John S Turner (via Geograph)
Bolton is the first Greater Manchester town to grab a place on the 2023 rankings, coming in at what can only be described as a respectable 34th place, given the fact it was number six on last year’s list.
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The region’s next inclusion on this year’s list is Manchester at 43.
Wigan is the only other Greater Manchester town in the top 50, ranking one place above Manchester at number 44.
Looking elsewhere across the 2023 rankings, a new town has been crowned the worst as Luton takes top spot on the list, followed by Peterborough, Portsmouth, Slough, and Ayelsbury rounding out the rest of the top five, and Aldershot, Swindon, and Bournemouth being just a few of the other places securing a place in the top 10.
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Bradford is the only northern representative in the top 10, and Liverpool is the first North West town on the rankings at 16, with Blackpool the next at 23.
You can read the 2023 list of Top 50 Worst Places to Live in England here.
Featured Image – TEP
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Drinks prices revealed as Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub opens inside T2
Emily Sergeant
It’s official… Manchester Airport’s first-ever JD Wetherspoon pub has officially opened its doors inside Terminal 2.
The 300-seater pub – which welcomed its first customers earlier this week – is named The Belle Vue after Manchester’s historic showground.
Throughout the pub, you’ll spot design features that nod to the city’s sporting heritage – including vintage event posters and memorabilia, a ‘locker wall’ hosting trophies and other sporting exhibits, and a cricket-themed design in the carpets and bar panels.
Creating around 150 jobs in the process, The Belle Vue is the final planned new eatery to open in the airport’s redeveloped Terminal 2, marking one of the final steps in the super-terminal’s decade-long, £1.5bn transformation.
Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub has opened inside Terminal 2 / Credit: Supplied
According to the MEN, pints are priced from £6.20 for Carling and Coors lager, £6.45 for Budweiser, £6.60 for Guinness, and £6.70 for Poretti and 1664 Biere.
Prosecco is £9.20 for 175ml glass and £37.10 for the full bottle, while spirts and mixers are £6.80 for singles and £10.20 for doubles.
There’s also the classic Wetherspoons tea and coffee machines, where you can refill as many times as you like for just £3.60.
“It’s a proud moment to see the final new retail unit opening in our new-look Terminal 2,” commented Richard Jackson, who is the Retail Director at Manchester Airport.
“To be rounding off this 10-year programme by adding such an iconic name as Wetherspoon to the terminal is particularly special and we know that it will prove extremely popular with passengers. We think they’ll love the nods to Manchester’s heritage in the décor and design – and of course the name.”
The Belle Vue will be open from the first flight to the final flight each day, and food will be served from opening until 10pm.
Featured Image – Supplied
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Iconic Manc movie 24 Hour Party People is set to return to cinemas for its anniversary
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s most iconic movies is set to return to the big screen next month.
Remastered in 4K and returning to UK cinemas to mark 24 years since its original release, Michael Winterbottom’s 2002 biographical comedy drama film, 24 Hour Party People, tells the story of Manchester‘s popular music community from 1976 to 1992 – specifically about Factory Records‘ founder Tony Wilson.
The film begins with the punk rock era of the late 1970s, before moving through the 1980s into the rave and DJ culture, and of course, the ‘Madchester‘ scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The narrative largely follows the career of Tony Wilson, played by Middleton-born actor Steve Coogan, while also covering the careers of the major Factory Records artists – especially Joy Division and New Order, as well as A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, and Happy Mondays.
If you haven’t seen 24 Hour Party People before, it’s a dramatisation based on a combination of real events, rumours, and urban legends, as the film is sure to make clear.
Coogan is joined by a cast by a mixture of big names and, at the time, rising stars like Paddy Considine, Shirley Henderson, Lennie James, John Simm, Ralf Little, Andy Serkis, Sean Harris, John Thomson, and even Peter Kay, alongside cameos from other figures connected to the Manchester music scene.
Before it returns to cinemas, the film will first open music and media festival/conference, Beyond The Music, at MediaCity in Salford on 6 October.
The screening at the festival will also be followed by a Q&A with Coogan, Winterbottom, and producer Andrew Eaton.
24 Hour Party People will then be re-released in UK cinemas from 9 October, and you can check your local cinema for screening times and book tickets online now.
Emily Sergeant -
10th February 2023 
