Manchester is the UK’s most liveable city

Manchester has yet again been named the best city to live in across the whole UK.

Manchester was ranked 35th in The Economist's 'Global Liveability Index' for 2018, coming in 13 places ahead of London and securing the highest spot of any UK city.

Having climbed 16 places in this year's rankings, the city has achieved the biggest improvement of any across Europe.

The Liveability Index assesses 140 cities around the world, with each assigned a rating of relative comfort across over 30 factors. These are split amongst five categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.

Assessed on factors such as the prevalence of crime and quality of public transport, Manchester has beaten out other UK cities, even with Fallowfield's muggings and all those train cancellations.

Sporting and cultural availability were among the other factors taken into account. As is food & drink, alongside the quality of education and healthcare.

The resilience of the city in the wake of last year's Manchester Arena attack was commended. The survey was criticised last year when the act of terrorism caused Manchester to lose points for stability, for which the threat of terror is a factor.

It was also noted that Brexit could impact the future rankings of UK cities.

Roxana Slavcheva, editor of The Liveability Index, said: “Of the top-ranked cities, Paris and Manchester recorded the biggest improvements over the past 12 months, both in overall scores and stability ratings.

“An improved security score has meant that Manchester has pulled further ahead in the liveability index, leading London by a record 13 places.

“What is more, Manchester also represents a regional trend over the past year, where there have been notable improvements in security in several western European cities which have shown resilience in their recovery from terrorist attacks.

“It remains to be seen whether the impact of Brexit will have consequences for the two UK cities in the ranking.”

Elsewhere, Vienna in Austria topped the rankings, marking the first time a European city took the number one spot.

Amongst the top ten globally, Australia claimed three places with Melbourne ranking second. Canada took three and Japan took two spots, with the remaining top ten slot going to Danish capital Copenhagen.