Population: 289,000
On the east coast of England, Hull rose to prominence as one of the busiest ports in Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries, for both cargo and fisheries. The fisheries industry died off in the 1970s as a result of the ‘Cod Wars’ with Iceland, leading to socio-economic decline in the city, but since the turn of the century it has undergone something of a resurgence. Hull has a strong background in pharmaceuticals and R&D – it is where both Smith & Nephew and Reckitt (of Reckitt Benckiser Group fame) were founded – but it branched out to become a major player in the wind power industry in 2013 when Siemens announced a major investment in the city. It was also the UK City of Culture in 2017, adding to the feel-good factor. Another area of industrial specialism in Hull is manufacturing (caravans and Yorkshire puddings are two of Hull’s niches), although its university is now churning out graduates in STEM courses (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) at a record rate. Hull also has a prestigious history when it comes to innovation, with Venn diagrams, liquid crystal display units and consumer products such Dettol and Lemsip first seeing light within the city’s boundaries. Its metropolitan population numbers almost 600,000.