Editing North West England

{{short description|Region of England}}
{{about|the government office region|the former European constituency|North West England (European Parliament constituency)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                    = North West
| settlement_type         = [[Regions of England|Region]]
| image_skyline           = {{multiple image |border=infobox |perrow=2/2/2/1 |total_width=250 |align=center
 | image1 = Three Graces Liverpool 02.jpg
 | image2 = Tower Blocks over Knott Mill, geograph 6866152 by David Dixon.jpg
 | image3 = Blackpool Tower 05082017.jpg
 | image4 = Chester (34467391316).jpg
 | image5 = The Cottage, Warrington - geograph.org.uk - 3701282.jpg
 | image6 = Northern end of Morecambe Bay, looking South - geograph.org.uk - 1433997.jpg
 | image7 = Glenridding, Cumbria, England - June 2009.jpg
 }}
| imagesize               = 
| image_alt               = 
| image_caption           = From top, left to right: [[Liverpool]]; [[Manchester]]; [[Blackpool]]; [[Chester]]; [[Warrington]]; [[Morecambe Bay]]; [[Lake District]]
| image_flag              = 
| flag_alt                = 
| image_shield            = 
| shield_alt              = 
| shield_link             = 
| image_blank_emblem      = 
| blank_emblem_size       = 
| blank_emblem_type       = 
| blank_emblem_link       = 
| etymology               = 
| nickname                = 
| motto                   = 
| image_map               = North West England in England.svg
| map_alt                 = 
| map_caption             = North West region shown within [[England]]
| coordinates             = {{coord|54|04|30|N|02|45|00|W|region:GB-ENG_type:adm1st|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type        = [[Sovereign state]]
| subdivision_name        = [[United Kingdom]]
| subdivision_type1       = [[Countries of the United Kingdom|Country]]
| subdivision_name1       = [[England]]
| subdivision_type2       = 
| subdivision_name2       = 
| subdivision_type3       = 
| subdivision_name3       = 
| subdivision_type4       = 
| subdivision_name4       = 
| established_title       = [[Government Offices for the English regions|GO]] established
| established_date        = 1994
| established_title1      = [[Regional development agency|RDA]] established
| established_date1       = 1998
| established_title2      = GO abolished
| established_date2       = 2011
| established_title3      = RDA abolished
| established_date3       = 31 March 2012
| named_for               = 
| seat_type               = 
| seat                    = 
|parts_type               = Subdivisions
|parts                    =
 {{Collapsible list |title=5 [[Ceremonial counties of England|counties]]
 | [[Cheshire]]
 | [[Cumbria]]
 | [[Greater Manchester]]
 | [[Lancashire]]
 | [[Merseyside]]
 }}
{{Collapsible list |title=3 [[Combined authority|combined authorities]]
| [[Lancashire Combined County Authority|Lancashire CCA]]
 | [[Greater Manchester Combined Authority|Greater Manchester]]
 | [[Liverpool City Region]]
 }}
{{Collapsible list |title=35 [[Districts of England|districts]]
 | 8 [[Unitary authorities of England|unitary]]
 | 15 [[Metropolitan borough|metropolitan]]
 | 12 [[Non-metropolitan district|non-metropolitan]] in 1 [[non-metropolitan county]]
 }}
<!-- Government -->
| government_footnotes    = <ref name="Leaders' board">{{cite web |url=https://new.sthelens.gov.uk/media/8541/nwrlb-consituiton-july-2018.pdf |title=NORTH WEST REGIONAL LEADERS BOARD CONSTITUTION |website=[[St Helens Borough Council]] |access-date=10 August 2024}}</ref>
| government_type         = [[Local authority leaders' board]]
| governing_body          = [[North West Regional Leaders Board]]
| leader_title            = 
| leader_name             = 
| leader_title1           = 
| leader_name1            = 
| leader_title2           = 
| leader_name2            = 
| leader_title3           = 
| leader_name3            = 
| leader_title4           = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]]s
| leader_name4            = [[Parliamentary constituencies in North West England|75 MPs]] (of 650)
<!-- Area -->
<!-- ALL fields with measurements have automatic unit conversion -->
| area_footnotes          = <ref name="ONS Standard Area Measurement">{{cite web |url=https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/datasets/ons::standard-area-measurements-latest-for-administrative-areas-in-the-united-kingdom/about |title=Standard Area Measurements (Latest) for Administrative Areas in the United Kingdom |date=24 April 2024 |website=[[ONS Open Geography Portal|Open Geography Portal]] |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=6 May 2024 }}</ref>
| area_total_km2          = 14915
| area_land_km2           = {{UK subdivision area|GSS=E12000002}}
| area_water_km2          = 
| area_rank               = [[Regions of England#List of regions|6th]] <!-- of English regions -->
<!-- Population -->
| population_footnotes    = <ref name="popstats">{{UK subdivision statistics citation}}</ref>
| population_as_of        = {{UK subdivision statistics year}}
| population_total        = {{UK subdivision population|GSS=E12000002}}
| population_rank         = [[Regions of England#List of regions|3rd]] <!-- of English regions -->
| population_density_km2  = {{UK subdivision density|GSS=E12000002}}
| population_demonym      = 
<!-- demographics (section 1) -->
| demographics_type1      = Ethnicity <span style="font-weight:normal;">([[2021 United Kingdom census|2021]])</span>
| demographics1_footnotes = <ref name="2021 Nomis">{{NOMIS2021 |id=E12000002 |title=North West Region |access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref>
| demographics1_title1    = [[Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom|Ethnic groups]]
| demographics1_info1     = {{Collapsible list
 | 85.6% [[White people in the United Kingdom|White]]
 | 8.4% [[British Asians|Asian]]
 | 2.3% [[Black British people|Black]]
 | 2.2% [[Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category)|Mixed]]
 | 1.5% [[Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom|other]]
 }}
<!-- demographics (section 2) -->
| demographics_type2      = Religion <span style="font-weight:normal;">(2021)</span>
| demographics2_footnotes = <ref name="2021 Nomis"/>
| demographics2_title1    = [[Religion in England|Religion]]
| demographics2_info1     = {{Collapsible list
 | 52.5% [[Religion in England#Christianity|Christianity]]
 | 32.6% [[Irreligion in the United Kingdom|no religion]]
 | 7.6% [[Islam in England|Islam]]
 | 0.7% [[Hinduism in England|Hinduism]]
 | 0.4% [[History of the Jews in England|Judaism]]
 | 0.3% [[Buddhism in England|Buddhism]]
 | 0.2% [[Sikhism in England|Sikhism]]
 | 0.4% [[Religion in England|other]]
 | 5.3% not stated
 }}
| timezone1               = [[Greenwich Mean Time|GMT]]
| utc_offset1             = +0
| timezone1_DST           = [[British Summer Time|BST]]
| utc_offset1_DST         = +1
<!-- Codes -->
| postal_code_type        = [[Postcodes in the United Kingdom|Postcode areas]]
| postal_code             = 
| area_code_type          = [[Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom|Dialling codes]]
| area_code               = 
| iso_code                = 
| blank1_name             = [[International Territorial Level|ITL code]]
| blank1_info             = TLD
| blank2_name             = [[GSS coding system|GSS code]]
| blank2_info             = E12000002
| website                 = 
}}

{{Politics of England}}

'''North West England''' is one of nine official [[regions of England]] and consists of the [[ceremonial counties of England|ceremonial counties]] of [[Cheshire]], [[Cumbria]], [[Greater Manchester]], [[Lancashire]] and [[Merseyside]]. The North West had a population of 7,417,397 in 2021.<ref name="2021 Nomis"/> It is the [[Countries of the United Kingdom by population|third-most-populated region]] in the United Kingdom, after the [[South East England|South East]] and [[Greater London]]. The largest settlements are [[Manchester]] and [[Liverpool]]. It is one of the three regions, alongside [[North East England]] and [[Yorkshire and the Humber]], that make up [[Northern England]].<ref>{{Cite web |title= |url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/345175/7451602/nuts-map-UK.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014105132/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/345175/7451602/nuts-map-UK.pdf |archive-date=14 October 2023 |access-date=2025-01-29 |website=ec.europa.eu |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Subdivisions==
The official [[Regions of England|region]] consists of the following [[Subdivisions of England|subdivisions]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Local authorities|| County 
!width=25%| [[Combined authority]] or not
|-
|[[Cumberland (district)|Cumberland]]† and [[Westmorland and Furness|Westmorland & Furness]]†
|[[Cumbria]]
|N/a
|-
|[[Cheshire East]]†, [[Cheshire West & Chester]]† and [[Warrington (borough)|Warrington]]†
| rowspan="2" |[[Cheshire]]
| N/a
|-
|[[Halton (borough)|Halton]]†
|rowspan="2"|[[Liverpool City Region]]
|-
|[[Knowsley (borough)|Knowsley]], [[Liverpool|City of Liverpool]], [[St Helens (borough)|St Helens]], [[Sefton (borough)|Sefton]] and [[Wirral (borough)|Wirral]]
|[[Merseyside]]*
|-
| [[Bolton (borough)|Bolton]], [[Bury (borough)|Bury]], [[City of Manchester]], [[Oldham (borough)|Oldham]], [[Rochdale (borough)|Rochdale]], [[City of Salford]], [[Stockport (borough)|Stockport]], [[Tameside]], [[Trafford (borough)|Trafford]] and [[Wigan (borough)|Wigan]]
|colspan="2"|[[Greater Manchester]]*
|-
| [[Borough of Blackpool|Blackpool]]†, [[Blackburn with Darwen]]†, [[Burnley (borough)|Burnley]], [[West Lancashire]], [[Chorley (borough)|Chorley]], [[South Ribble]], [[Fylde (borough)|Fylde]], [[City of Preston, Lancashire|City of Preston]], [[Wyre (borough)|Wyre]], [[City of Lancaster]], [[Ribble Valley]], [[Pendle (borough)|Pendle]], [[Rossendale (borough)|Rossendale]] and [[Hyndburn (borough)|Hyndburn]]
|[[Lancashire]]
|N/a
|}
{{plainlist|
*<nowiki>*</nowiki> [[Metropolitan county]]
*† [[Unitary authorities of England|Unitary authorities]]
}}

After abolition of the Greater Manchester and Merseyside County Councils in 1986, power was transferred to the [[metropolitan boroughs]], making them equivalent to unitary authorities. In April 2011, Greater Manchester gained a top-tier administrative body in the form of the [[Greater Manchester Combined Authority]], which means the 10 Greater Manchester boroughs are once again second-tier authorities.

==Geography==
{{multiple image
| perrow            = 2
| total_width       = 400
| image1            = Ascending Gummer's How - geograph.org.uk - 342478.jpg
| width1            = 640
| height1           = 480
| caption1          = [[Windermere]], Lake District
| image2            = The edge of Greenfield - geograph.org.uk - 26255.jpg
| caption2          = [[Saddleworth]], Peak District
| width2            = 640
| height2           = 480
| image3            = Beeston Walk - 10th April 2005 (16).JPG
| caption3          = [[Cheshire Plain]]
| width3            = 1600
| height3           = 1200
| image4            = Morecambe Bay from Park Point - geograph.org.uk - 1236235.jpg
| caption4          = [[Morecambe Bay]]
| width4            = 640
| height4           = 480
| header            = Geographic features of the North West
}}

North West England is bounded to the east by the [[Pennines]] and to the west by the [[Irish Sea]]. The region extends from the [[Scottish Borders]] in the north to the [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]] region in the south. To its southwest is [[North Wales]]. Amongst the better known of the North West's [[physiography|physiographical features]] are the [[Lake District]] and the [[Cheshire Plain]]. The highest point in North West England (and the highest peak in England) is [[Scafell Pike]], Cumbria, at a height of {{cvt|3209|ft|0}}.

[[Windermere]] is the largest natural lake in England, while Broad Crag Tarn on [[Broad Crag]] is England's highest lake. [[Wast Water]] is England's deepest lake, being 74 metres deep.

A mix of rural and urban landscape, two large [[conurbation]]s, centred on [[Liverpool]] and [[Manchester]], occupy much of the south of the region. The north of the region, comprising Cumbria and northern Lancashire, is largely rural, as is the far south which encompasses parts of the Cheshire Plain and Peak District.

The region includes parts of three [[National parks of England and Wales|National park]]s (all of the [[Lake District]], and small parts of the [[Peak District]] and the [[Yorkshire Dales]]) and three areas of [[Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty]] (all of [[Arnside and Silverdale]] and the [[Solway Coast]], and almost all of the [[Forest of Bowland]]).

===Weather===
Weather in this part of England is typically classified as maritime, moist and temperate, with a moderate annual temperature range. Average annual precipitation in the UK typically ranges from approximately 800&nbsp;mm to 1,400&nbsp;mm. Temperatures are generally close to the national average.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Figure 2: Interannual variation trends of the (A) average annual precipitation(mm) and (B) annual average temperature (°C) from 2001–2015. |url=https://dfzljdn9uc3pi.cloudfront.net/2020/9797/1/fig-2-full.png |doi=10.7717/peerj.9797/fig-2 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Cumbria usually experiences the most severe weather, with high precipitation in the mountainous regions of the Lake District and Pennines. In winter, the most severe weather occurs in the more exposed and elevated areas of the North West, once again mainly the [[Lake District]] and [[Pennines|Pennine]] areas.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}

==Demographics==
[[File:North West population pyramid 2020.svg|thumb|202x202px|Population pyramid in 2020]]

===Population, density, and settlements===
''Source: [[Office for National Statistics]] Mid Year Population Estimates in 2008''<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=15106 |title=Office for National Statistics |website=Statistics.gov.uk |access-date=17 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216083533/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=15106 |archive-date=16 December 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Region/County
! Population
! Population Density
! Largest town/city
! Largest urban area
|-
| [[Greater Manchester]]
| 2,629,400
| 2,016/km<sup>2</sup>
| [[Manchester]] (510,700) (2012 est.)
| [[Greater Manchester Urban Area]] (2,240,230)
|-
| [[Lancashire]]
| 1,449,600
| 468/km<sup>2</sup>
| [[Blackpool]] (147,663)
| [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]]/[[Chorley]]/[[Leyland, Lancashire|Leyland]] Urban Area (335,000)
|-
| [[Merseyside]]
| 1,353,600
| 2,118/km<sup>2</sup>
| [[Liverpool]] (491,500)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/lmp/la/1946157104/report.aspx#tabrespop |title=Labour Market Profile – Liverpool |date=5 October 2018 |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=5 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213020732/http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/lmp/la/1946157104/report.aspx#tabrespop |archive-date=13 February 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| [[Liverpool Urban Area]] (816,000)
|-
| [[Cheshire]]
| 1,003,600
| 424/km<sup>2</sup>
| [[Warrington]] (202,228)
| [[Warrington]] (202,228)
|-
| [[Cumbria]]
| 496,200
| 73/km<sup>2</sup>
| [[Carlisle, Cumbria|Carlisle]] (71,773)
| [[Carlisle, Cumbria|Carlisle]] (71,773)
|}

North West England's population accounts for just over 13% of England's overall population. 37.86% of the North West's population resides in Greater Manchester, 21.39% in Lancashire, 20.30% in Merseyside, 14.76% in Cheshire and 7.41% live in the largest county by area, Cumbria.<ref name=":0" />

===Ethnicity===
[[File:Chinese Arch - geograph.org.uk - 1021559.jpg|thumb|right|[[Chinatown, Liverpool|Liverpool Chinatown]] is the oldest Chinese community in Europe.]]

According to 2009 [[Office for National Statistics]] estimates,<ref name="2009ethnicity">{{cite web |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_population/lad-tables-2009.xls |title=Current Estimates – Population Estimates by Ethnic Group Mid-2009 (experimental) |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |access-date=21 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810102910/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_population/lad-tables-2009.xls |archive-date=10 August 2011}}</ref> 91.6% (6,323,300) of people in the region describe themselves as 'White': 88.4% (6,101,100) [[White British]], 1.0% (67,200) [[White Irish]] and 2.2% (155,000) [[White Other (United Kingdom Census)|White Other]]. During the [[Industrial Revolution]] hundreds of thousands of [[Welsh people]] migrated to the North West of England to work in the coal mines. Parts with notably high populations with Welsh ancestry as a result of this include [[Liverpool]], [[Chester]], [[Skelmersdale]], [[Widnes]], [[Halewood]], [[Wallasey]], [[Ashton-in-Makerfield]] and [[Birkenhead]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/st-davids-day-liverpools-welsh-8738182 |title=St David's Day: why are Liverpool's Welsh links so strong? |first=Dawn |last=Collinson |date=28 February 2015 |access-date=29 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221011313/http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/st-davids-day-liverpools-welsh-8738182 |archive-date=21 February 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ashtoninmakerfieldanddistrictu3a.co.uk/About%20Ashton-in-Makerfield.html |title=About Ashton-in-Makerfield |access-date=29 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805203420/http://www.ashtoninmakerfieldanddistrictu3a.co.uk/About%20Ashton-in-Makerfield.html |archive-date=5 August 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[British Mixed|Mixed Race]] population makes up 1.3% (93,800) of the region's population. There are 323,800 [[British Asian|South Asians]], making up 4.7% of the population, and 1.1% [[Black British|Black]] (80,600). 0.6% of the population (39,900) are [[British Chinese|Chinese]] and 0.5% (36,500) of people belong to another ethnic group.

North West England is a very diverse region, with Manchester and Liverpool amongst the most diverse cities in Europe. 19.4% of [[Blackburn with Darwen]]'s population are Muslim, the third-highest among all local authorities in the United Kingdom and the highest outside London. Areas such as [[Moss Side]] in Greater Manchester are home to a 30%+ [[Black British]] population. In contrast, the town of St. Helens in Merseyside, unusually for a city area, has a very low percentage of ethnic minorities with 98% identifying as White British.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/census-2001-key-statistics/urban-areas-in-england-and-wales/urban-areas-in-england-and-wales-ks06--ethnic-group.xls |title=UK Government Web Archive |access-date=19 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316031524/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/census-2001-key-statistics/urban-areas-in-england-and-wales/urban-areas-in-england-and-wales-ks06--ethnic-group.xls |archive-date=16 March 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> The City of Liverpool, over 800 years old, is one of the few places in Britain where ethnic minority populations can be traced back over dozens of generations: being the closest major city in England to Ireland, it is home to a significant ethnic Irish population, with the city being home to one of the first ever [[British African-Caribbean people|Afro-Caribbean]] communities in the UK, as well as the oldest Chinatown in Europe.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="3" |Ethnic group
! colspan="12" |Year
|-
! colspan="2" |1971 estimations<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1t8915s |title=Explaining ethnic differences: Changing patterns of disadvantage in Britain |date=2003 |publisher=Bristol University Press |edition=1|doi=10.2307/j.ctt1t8915s |jstor=j.ctt1t8915s }}</ref>
! colspan="2" |1981 estimations<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1985 |title=Ethnic minorities in Britain: statistical information on the pattern of settlement |url=https://jstor.org/stable/community.28327806 |journal=Commission for Racial Equality|pages=Table 2.1|last1= Equality|first1= Commission for Racial}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |1991<ref name=":412">Data is taken from United Kingdom [http://casweb.ukdataservice.ac.uk/index.htm Casweb Data services] of the United Kingdom [http://casweb.ukdataservice.ac.uk/step1.cfm 1991 Census on Ethnic Data for England, Scotland and Wales] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405213012/http://casweb.ukdataservice.ac.uk/step1.cfm |date=5 April 2022 }} (Table 6)</ref>
! colspan="2" |2001<ref>{{Cite web |title=Office of National Statistics; 2001 Census Key Statistics |url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/census-2001-key-statistics/local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/local-authorities-ks06--ethnic-group.xls |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |2011<ref>{{Cite web |title=2011 Census: Ethnic Group, local authorities in England and Wales |url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rft-table-ks201ew.xls |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |2021<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ethnic group – Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS021/editions/2021/versions/1/filter-outputs/d2f0a39a-75b6-4995-b4bd-a5b68ff79027#get-data |access-date=2022-11-29 |website=ons.gov.uk}}</ref>
|-
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
![[White people in the United Kingdom|White]]: Total
!–
!98.7%
!6,580,840
!97.5%
!6,480,131
!96.3%
!6,355,495
!94.43%
!6,361,716
!90.2%
!6,347,394
!85.6%
|-
|White: [[White British|British]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|6,203,043
|92.17%
|6,141,069
|87%
|6,019,385
|81.2%
|-
|White: [[Irish Briton|Irish]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|77,499
|
|64,930
|
|61,422
|0.8%
|-
|White: [[Irish Traveller]]/[[Romani people|Gypsy]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
| –
| –
|4,147
| –
|5,741
|0.1%
|-
|White: Roma
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|7,359
|0.1%
|-
|White: [[White Other (United Kingdom Census)|Other]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|74,953
|
|151,570
|
|253,487
|3.4%
|-
![[British Asian|Asian or Asian British]]: Total
!–
!–
!–
!–
!174,878
!2.6%
!256,762
!3.81%
!437,485
!6.2%
!622,685
!8.4%
|-
|Asian or Asian British: [[Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin|Indian]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|55,823
|
|72,219
|
|107,353
|
|140,413
|1.9%
|-
|Asian or Asian British: [[British Pakistani|Pakistani]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|77,150
|
|116,968
|
|189,436
|
|303,611
|4.1%
|-
|Asian or Asian British: [[British Bangladeshi|Bangladeshi]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|15,016
|
|26,003
|
|45,897
|
|60,859
|0.8%
|-
|Asian or Asian British: [[British Chinese|Chinese]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|17,803
|
|26,887
|
|48,049
|
|54,051
|0.7%
|-
|Asian or Asian British: [[British Asian|Asian Other]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|9,086
|
|14,685
|
|46,750
|
|63,751
|0.9%
|-
![[Black British people|Black or Black British]]: Total
!–
!–
!–
!–
!47,478
!0.7%
!41,637
!0.61%
!97,869
!1.38%
!173,918
!2.3%
|-
|Black or Black British: [[Black British|African]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|9,417
|
|15,912
|
|59,278
|
|126,608
|1.7%
|-
|Black or Black British: [[British African-Caribbean community|Caribbean]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|21,763
|
|20,422
|
|23,131
|
|25,919
|0.3%
|-
|Black or Black British: [[Other Black|Other]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|16,298
|
|5,303
|
|15,460
|
|21,391
|0.3%
|-
![[Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category)|Mixed]]: Total
!–
!–
!–
!–
!–
!–
!62,539
!0.92%
!110,891
!1.57%
!163,245
!2.1%
|-
|Mixed: [[White people|White]] and [[British African-Caribbean community|Caribbean]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|22,119
|
|39,204
|
|46,962
|0.6%
|-
|Mixed: [[White people|White]] and [[Black British|African]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|9,853
|
|18,392
|
|30,011
|0.4%
|-
|Mixed: [[White people|White]] and [[British Asian|Asian]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|17,223
|
|30,529
|
|47,829
|0.6%
|-
|Mixed: [[Multiracial|Other Mixed]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|13,344
|
|22,766
|
|38,443
|0.5%
|-
!Other: Total
!–
!–
!–
!–
!24,373
!0.4%
!13,331
!0.19%
!44,216
!0.62%
!110,156
!1.5%
|-
|Other: [[Arab people|Arab]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
| –
| –
|24,528
|
|43,865
|0.6%
|-
|Other: Any other ethnic group
|–
|–
|–
|–
|24,373
|0.4%
|13,331
|0.19%
|19,688
|
|66,291
|0.9%
|-
!Non-White: Total
!–
!1.3%
!168,695
!2.5%
!246,729
!3.7%
!374,269
!5.6%
!690,461
!9.8%
!1,070,004
!14.4%
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!Total
!–
!100%
!6,749,535
!100%
!6,726,860
!100%
!6,729,764
!100%
!7,052,177
!100%
!7,417,398
!100%
|}

===Place of birth===

The table below is not how many people belong to each ethnic group (e.g. a BBC News article in 2008 claimed there are over 25,000 ethnic [[Italians in the United Kingdom|Italians]] in Manchester alone whilst only 6,000 Italian-born people live in the North West).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/3223776.stm |title=Italians revolt over church closure |last=Green |first=. David |date=29 November 2003 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=27 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122111600/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/3223776.stm |archive-date=22 November 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> The proportion of people residing in North West England born outside the UK was 11.7% in 2021, compared with 8.2% in 2011 and 5.1% in 2001. Below are the fifteen largest overseas-born groups in the region according to the 2021 census, alongside the two previous censuses:

[[File:Jodrell Bank (1).jpg|thumb|right|The [[Jodrell Bank Observatory|Jodrell Bank]] [[Lovell Telescope|Lovell]] 76-m [[radio telescope]] in [[Lower Withington]], built in August 1957, is the world's third largest steerable telescope, and was the largest until 1971. It was designed by Sheffield's Sir [[Charles Husband]] and built of steel from [[Scunthorpe]] ]]
{| class="wikitable collapsible sortable"
|-
!  style="text-align:center; background:#9dbec3;"|Place of birth
!  style="text-align:center; background:#9dbec3;"|2021<ref name="E&W_CoB22">{{cite web |title=TS012: Country of birth (detailed) |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS012/editions/2021/versions/2/filter-outputs/ba18881b-a88f-432f-89be-af1fee321107#get-data |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref>
!  style="text-align:center; background:#9dbec3;"|2011<ref>{{cite web |title=QS203EW: Country of birth (detailed) |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/qs203ew |website=nomisweb.co.uk |publisher=Nomis |access-date=30 January 2013}}</ref>
!  style="text-align:center; background:#9dbec3;"|2001<ref>{{cite web |title=UV008: Country of birth |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2001/uv008 |website=nomisweb.co.uk |publisher=Nomis |access-date=30 January 2013}}</ref>
|-
|border = "1"|{{flag|Pakistan}}
|align="right"|125,110
|align="right"|79,289
|align="right"|46,529
|-
|border = "1"|{{flagicon|Poland}} [[Poles in the United Kingdom|Poland]]
|align="right"|76,688
|align="right"|51,999
|align="right"|4,864
|-
|border = "1"|{{flag|India}}
|align="right"|60,180
|align="right"|48,676
|align="right"|34,600
|-
|border = "1"|{{flagicon|Ireland}} [[Irish people in Great Britain|Ireland]]
|align="right"|38,379
|align="right"|48,456
|align="right"|56,887
|-
|border = "1"|{{flagicon|Romania}} [[Romanians in the United Kingdom|Romania]]
|align="right"|33,918
|align="right"|3,052
|align="right"|484
|-
|border = "1"|{{flagicon|Nigeria}} [[Nigerians in the United Kingdom|Nigeria]]
|align="right"|29,092
|align="right"|13,903
|align="right"|3,011
|-
|border = "1"|{{flag|Bangladesh}}
|align="right"|23,876
|align="right"|19,485
|align="right"|13,746
|-
|border = "1"|{{flagicon|Italy}} [[Italians in the United Kingdom|Italy]]
|align="right"|23,305
|align="right"|7,434
|align="right"|6,325
|-
|border = "1"|{{flag|China}}
|align="right"|22,792
|align="right"|20,561
|align="right"|6,439
|-
|border = "1"|{{flagicon|Germany}} [[Germans in the United Kingdom|Germany]]
|align="right"|22,169
|align="right"|22,094
|align="right"|19,931
|-
|border = "1"|{{flagicon|Spain}} [[Spaniards in the United Kingdom|Spain]]
|align="right"|17,237
|align="right"|5,673
|align="right"|3,473
|-
|border = "1"|{{flagicon|Iran}} [[Iranians in the United Kingdom|Iran]]
|align="right"|14,724
|align="right"|8,436
|align="right"|3,473
|-
|border = "1"|{{flagicon|South Africa}} [[South Africans in the United Kingdom|South Africa]]
|align="right"|12,981
|align="right"|10,500
|align="right"|7,740
|-
|border = "1"|{{flagicon|Hong Kong}} [[Hong Kongers in the United Kingdom|Hong Kong]]
|align="right"|12,770
|align="right"|9,692
|align="right"|9,052
|-
|border = "1"|{{flagicon|United States}} [[Americans in the United Kingdom|United States]]
|align="right"|10,995
|align="right"|9,028
|align="right"|7,037
|-
!border = "1"|Overall – all overseas-born
!align="right"|865,445
!align="right"|577,232
!align="right"|341,593
|-
|}

===Religion===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Religion in North West England
|-
! rowspan="2" |Religion
! colspan="2" |[[2021 United Kingdom census|2021]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=TS030 – Religion Edit query|url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/datasets/c2021ts030|access-date=2022-11-29|website=nomisweb.co.uk}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |[[2011 United Kingdom census|2011]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=KS209EW (Religion) – Nomis – 2011 |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks209ew |access-date=2022-10-18 |website=nomisweb.co.uk}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |[[2001 United Kingdom census|2001]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=KS007 – Religion – Nomis – 2001 |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/datasets/ks007 |access-date=2022-10-18 |website=nomisweb.co.uk}}</ref>
|-
!Number
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!Number
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!Number
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
|-
| style="background:#E0E0FF;" |[[History of Christianity in Britain|Christianity]]
| 3,895,779
| 52.5%
| 4,742,860
| 67.3%
| 5,249,686
| 78.0%
|-
| style="background:#E0FFD0;" |[[Islam in the United Kingdom|Islam]]
| 563,105
| 7.6%
| 356,458
| 5.1%
| 204,261
| 3.0%
|-
| style="background:#FFE0C0;" |[[Hinduism in the United Kingdom|Hinduism]]
| 49,749
| 0.7%
| 38,259
| 0.5%
| 27,211
| 0.4%
|-
| style="background:#E0F0FF;" |[[History of the Jews in the United Kingdom|Judaism]]
| 33,285
| 0.4%
| 30,417
| 0.4%
| 27,974
| 0.4%
|-
| style="background:#FFFFC0;" |[[Buddhism in the United Kingdom|Buddhism]]
| 23,028
| 0.3%
| 20,695
| 0.3%
| 11,794
| 0.2%
|-
| style="background:#F0F0C0;" |[[Sikhism in the United Kingdom|Sikhism]]
| 11,862
| 0.2%
| 8,857
| 0.1%
| 6,487
| 0.1%
|-
| style="background:#F0E0F0;" |Other religion
| 28,103
| 0.4%
| 19,166
| 0.3%
| 10,625
| 0.2%
|-
| style="background:#F5F5F5;" |[[Irreligion in the United Kingdom|No religion]]
| 2,419,624
| 32.6%
| 1,397,916
| 19.8%
| 705,045
| 10.5%
|-
| style="background:#DCDCDC;" |Religion not stated
| 392,862
| 5.3%
| 437,549
| 6.2%
| 486,681
| 7.2%
|-
!Total population
! '''7,417,397'''
! '''100%'''
! '''7,052,177'''
! '''100%'''
! '''6,729,764'''
! '''100%'''
|-
|}

One in five of the population in the North West is [[Catholic Church|Catholic]],<ref>{{cite news |title=The Catholic Vote in Britain Helped Carry Blair To Victory |quote=There are considerable regional variations, of course, Catholics being most widespread in London, Scotland and particularly the North-West (where one in five is Catholic) |url=http://www.ipsos-mori.com/newsevents/ca/247/The-Catholic-Vote-In-Britain-Helped-Carry-Blair-To-Victory.aspx |work=Ipsos MORI |date=23 May 2005 |access-date=16 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104203539/https://www.ipsos-mori.com/newsevents/ca/247/The-Catholic-Vote-In-Britain-Helped-Carry-Blair-To-Victory.aspx |archive-date=4 January 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> a result of large-scale [[Irish migration to Great Britain|Irish emigration]] in the nineteenth century<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/country/scgb1.html |title=Great Britain, Statistics by Diocese, by Catholic Population [Catholic-Hierarchy] |first=David M. |last=Cheney |access-date=19 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115214456/http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/country/scgb1.html |archive-date=15 January 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Kevin Phillips, ''The Cousins' Wars'' (New York: Basic Books, 1999), 480–84. Phillips notes: "The subjugation [of the Irish] of the seventeenth century was almost complete.... During the first quarter of the eighteenth century [after the Treaty of Union], Catholic bishops were banned and priests required to register. Catholics lost their right to vote, hold office, own a gun or a horse worth more than 5 pounds, or live in towns without paying special fees... Once again the Irish were pushed west to poorer lands, an exodus that prefigured the disposition of the American Indians over the next two centuries."</ref> as well as the high number of English [[Recusancy|recusants]] in [[Lancashire]].{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}

===Social deprivation===
Of the nine regions of England, the North West has the [[Countries of the United Kingdom by GVA per capita|fourth-highest GVA per capita]]—the highest outside southern England. Despite this the region has above average [[Multiple deprivation index|multiple deprivation]] with wealth heavily concentrated on very affluent areas like rural Cheshire, rural Lancashire, and south Cumbria. As measured by the [[Indices of deprivation 2007]], the region has many more [[ONS coding system|Lower Layer Super Output Areas]] in the 20% most deprived districts than the 20% least deprived council districts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/576659.pdf |title=LSOA data 2007 |access-date=17 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206165428/http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/576659.pdf |archive-date=6 December 2008}}</ref> Only [[North East England]] shows more indicators of deprivation than the North West, but the number of affluent areas in the North West is very similar to [[Yorkshire and the Humber]].

The most deprived local authority areas in the region (based on specific wards within those borough areas) are, in descending order—Liverpool, Manchester, Knowsley, Blackpool, Salford, Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Rochdale, Barrow-in-Furness, Halton, Hyndburn, Oldham, Pendle, St Helens, Preston, Bolton, Tameside, Wirral, Wigan, Copeland, Sefton, and Rossendale.

In 2007 when Cheshire still had district councils, the least deprived council districts in the region by council district, in descending order, were—Congleton, Ribble Valley, Macclesfield, and South Lakeland.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/576659.pdf |title=2007 deprivation data |access-date=17 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206165428/http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/576659.pdf |archive-date=6 December 2008}}</ref> These areas have Conservative MPs, except South Lakeland has a Lib Dem and Labour MPs. At county level, before it was split into two, Cheshire was the least deprived, followed by Trafford, and by Warrington and Stockport.

In March 2011, the overall [[Jobseeker's Allowance|unemployment claimant]] count was 4.2% for the region. Inside the region the highest was Liverpool with 6.8%, followed by Knowsley on 6.3%, Halton with 5.5% and Rochdale with 5.1%. The lowest claimant count is in [[Eden (district)|Eden]] (Cumbria) and [[Ribble Valley]] (Lancashire) each with 1.3%, followed by [[South Lakeland]] with 1.4%.<ref>[http://www.statistics.gov.uk/elmr/downloads/Table6-18.xls Claimant count] {{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

===Elections===
[[File:2019 UK General Election in Northwest England.svg|thumb|right|General election results in 2019]]

In the [[2019 United Kingdom general election|2019 general election]], the Conservatives gained ten seats, from the Labour Party, with no other seats changing hands. Labour held 42 of their 52 seats, albeit many with slimmed down majorities. They remain the dominant party in the region by seat count, with the Conservatives total now standing at 27. The Conservatives made two gains in Cheshire, three gains in Lancashire, five gains in Greater Manchester, notably including [[Andy Burnham]]'s former seat of Leigh.

In the [[2017 United Kingdom general election|2017 general election]], the area was dominated by the Labour Party. Fifty-five per cent of the region's electorate voted Labour, 36.3% Conservative, 5.4% Liberal Democrat, 1.9% UKIP and 1.1% Greens; however, by number of parliamentary seats, Labour have 54, the Conservatives have 20, and the Liberal Democrats have 1. The Lib Dems' North West seat is in south Cumbria; Labour dominates Greater Manchester, and the Conservatives' vote is concentrated in affluent suburban areas such as [[Cheadle (UK Parliament constituency)|Cheadle]], [[Hazel Grove (UK Parliament constituency)|Hazel Grove]] and [[Altrincham and Sale West (UK Parliament constituency)|Altrincham and Sale West]]. Labour seats also predominate in Merseyside. In Cheshire the 2015 result was reversed, with Labour winning seven seats and the Conservatives four, whilst Lancashire is competitive between Labour and Conservative (8 seats each); the Labour seats in Lancashire are concentrated in the south of the county along the [[M65 motorway|M65]]. For the region, the Labour gained 3 seats; there was a 5.2% swing from Conservative to Labour.

In the 2015 general election, [[Liverpool Walton (UK Parliament constituency)|Liverpool Walton]] was the safest seat in the UK, with a 72% majority, and in 2017 this was repeated with a 77% majority for [[Dan Carden]] (Labour), when an astonishing 85.7% of the electorate voted for him (the Conservatives came second with 8.6%). In the [[2012 Manchester Central by-election|by-election of 2012]], [[Manchester Central (UK Parliament constituency)|Manchester Central]] has the record for the lowest turnout in the UK—18%. [[Gwyneth Dunwoody]], for Crewe and Nantwich, was the longest serving female MP until her death in 2008.

In the final [[2019 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom|European Elections]] in the UK in 2019, 31.23% voted for the Brexit Party, with Labour polling 21.91%, the Liberal Democrats 17.15% and the Green Party 12.48%. The Conservatives came fifth in the region with 7.55% of votes cast.<ref>{{Cite web |last=votes |first=North west |title=North west votes Results Information |url=http://www.northwestvotes.gov.uk/info/11/results |access-date=2020-12-17 |website=northwestvotes.gov.uk|archive-date=9 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509203250/http://www.northwestvotes.gov.uk/info/11/results |url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Constituencies in North West England}}

===Language and dialect===
The earliest known language spoken in the North West was a dialect of the [[Common Brittonic|Brythonic language]] spoken across much of Britain from at least the [[Iron Age]] up to the arrival of English in the first millennium AD. Fragments of this early language are seen in the inscriptions and place names of the Roman era. In some parts of the region, the Brythonic dialect developed into the medieval language known today as [[Cumbric]], which continued to be spoken perhaps as late as the 12th century in the north of Cumbria. This early Celtic heritage remains today in place names such as [[Carlisle, Cumbria|Carlisle]], [[Penrith, Cumbria|Penrith]] and [[Eccles, Greater Manchester|Eccles]], and many river names such as [[River Cocker, Cumbria|Cocker]], [[River Kent|Kent]] and [[River Eden, Cumbria|Eden]].

English may have been spoken in the North West from around the 7th century AD, when the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of [[Northumbria]] first appears to have made inroads west of the Pennines. The language at this time would have been the Northumbrian dialect of [[Old English]]. The high percentage of English place names in the region as a whole suggests English became almost ubiquitous over the coming centuries, particularly in the area south of the Lake District. Manchester, Liverpool, Lancaster, Blackburn and Preston are among the region's many English place names. In the 9th to the 11th centuries, Danes from the east and Norsemen from Ireland and Scotland began settling in the area. The North West is really the only area of England where Norse settlement was significant and their influence remains in the place names and dialect of the region. Elements like ''fell'', ''thwaite'' and ''tarn'', which are particularly common in Cumbria, are all Norse. The numerous Kirkbys and place names with "holm" and "dale" show the [[Scandinavia]]n influence throughout the North West.

Through the [[Middle Ages]] the dialects of the North West would have been considerably different from those spoken in the Midlands and south. It was only with the spread of literacy (particularly with the publication of the [[King James Version|King James Bible]]) that [[Standard English]] spread to the region. Even so, local dialects continued to be used and were relatively widespread until the 19th and 20th centuries.

In modern times, English is the most spoken language in the North West, with a large percentage of the population fluent in it, and close to 100% conversational in it. To the north-east of the region, within the historic boundaries of [[Cumberland]], the [[Cumbrian dialect]] is dominant. The historical county of [[Lancashire]] covered a vast amount of land, and the [[Lancashire dialect]] and accent is still predominant throughout the county, and stretches as far north as [[Furness]] in South Cumbria to parts of north [[Greater Manchester]] and [[Merseyside]] in the south of the region. The region boasts some of the most distinctive accents in the form of the [[Scouse]] accent, which originates from [[Liverpool]] and its surrounding areas, and the [[Manchester dialect|Manc]] accent, deriving from the central [[Manchester]] district. Both of these descend from the Lancashire dialect but have some distinctions from it, especially Scouse. The region's accents are among those referred to as '[[English language in Northern England|Northern English]]'.

Large immigrant populations in the North West result in the presence of significant immigrant languages. South Asian languages such as [[Urdu language|Urdu]], [[Hindi]] and [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] are widespread, with the largest number of speakers residing in [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]], [[Blackburn]] and Manchester. The [[British Chinese|Chinese]] once made up the largest minority in the region (as Liverpool has one of the oldest Chinese settlements in Europe), and still do to the far north where Chinese is spoken by small but significant communities. Since the enlargement of the EU, over one million [[Polish people|Poles]] have immigrated to the UK, a large number of them settling in the North West. Places such as [[Crewe]] as well as larger cities make [[Polish language|Polish]] written information available for the public, to much controversy. Other immigrant languages with a presence in the North West are Spanish, mainly amongst the [[Latin American Briton|Latin American]] communities in [[Liverpool]] and [[Manchester]],{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}} as well as various other Eastern European and Asian languages.

The most taught languages in schools across the North West are English, French and Spanish. German and Italian are available at more senior levels and, in cities such as Manchester and Liverpool, even Urdu and Mandarin are being taught to help maintain links between the local minority populations.{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}

===Eurostat NUTS===
In the [[Eurostat]] [[Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics]] (NUTS), North West is a level-1 NUTS region, coded "UKD", which (since 2015) is subdivided as follows:<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/nomenclatures/index.cfm?TargetUrl=LST_NOM_DTL&StrNom=NUTS_2013L&StrLanguageCode=EN&IntPcKey=33916483&StrLayoutCode=HIERARCHIC NUTS (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics), by regional level, version 2013] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312072721/http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/nomenclatures/index.cfm?TargetUrl=LST_NOM_DTL&StrNom=NUTS_2013L&StrLanguageCode=EN&IntPcKey=33916483&StrLayoutCode=HIERARCHIC |date=12 March 2016 }} accessed 11 March 2016</ref><ref>[http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/geography/beginner-s-guide/eurostat/north-west--england-/index.html NUTS: North West (England) Directory] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016085250/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/geography/beginner-s-guide/eurostat/north-west--england-/index.html |date=16 October 2015 }}, Office for National Statistics, accessed 11 March 2016</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:gold; text-align:left;"
! NUTS 1
! Code
! NUTS 2
! Code
! NUTS 3
! Code
|- 
| North West
| UKD
| rowspan=2 | [[Cumbria]]
| rowspan=2 | UKD1
| West Cumbria ([[Allerdale]], [[Barrow-in-Furness (borough)|Barrow-in-Furness]], [[Copeland, Cumbria|Copeland]])
| UKD11
|-
| rowspan=19 colspan=2 align="center" | [[File:NUTS 3 regions of North West England 2015 map.svg|155px]]
| East Cumbria ([[City of Carlisle|Carlisle]], [[Eden, Cumbria|Eden]], [[South Lakeland]])
| UKD12
|-
| rowspan=3 | [[Cheshire]]
| rowspan=3 | UKD6
| [[Borough of Warrington|Warrington]]
| UKD61
|-
| [[Cheshire East]]
| UKD62
|-
| [[Cheshire West and Chester]]
| UKD63
|-
| rowspan=5 | [[Greater Manchester]]
| rowspan=5 | UKD3
| [[City of Manchester|Manchester]]
| UKD33
|-
| Greater Manchester South West ([[City of Salford|Salford]] and [[Trafford]])
| UKD34
|-
| Greater Manchester South East ([[Metropolitan Borough of Stockport|Stockport]] and [[Tameside]])
| UKD35
|-
| Greater Manchester North West ([[Bolton (borough)|Bolton]] and [[Wigan (borough)|Wigan]])
| UKD36
|-
| Greater Manchester North East ([[Bury (borough)|Bury]], [[Oldham (borough)|Oldham]] and [[Rochdale (borough)|Rochdale]])
| UKD37
|-
| rowspan=6 | [[Lancashire]]
| rowspan=6 | UKD4
| [[Blackburn with Darwen]]
| UKD41
|-
| [[Borough of Blackpool|Blackpool]]
| UKD42
|-
| [[City of Lancaster|Lancaster]] and [[Borough of Wyre|Wyre]]
| UKD44
|-
| Mid Lancashire ([[Borough of Fylde|Fylde]], [[City of Preston, Lancashire|Preston]], [[Ribble Valley]] and [[South Ribble]])
| UKD45
|-
| East Lancashire ([[Borough of Burnley|Burnley]], [[Hyndburn]], [[Borough of Pendle|Pendle]] and [[Borough of Rossendale|Rossendale]])
| UKD46
|-
| [[Borough of Chorley|Chorley]] and [[West Lancashire]] 
| UKD47
|-
| rowspan=4 | [[Merseyside]]
| rowspan=4 | UKD7
| East Merseyside ([[Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley|Knowsley]], [[Metropolitan Borough of St Helens|St. Helens]] and [[Halton (borough)|Halton]])
| UKD71
|-
| [[Liverpool]]
| UKD72
|-
| [[Metropolitan Borough of Sefton|Sefton]]
| UKD73
|-
| [[Wirral (borough)|Wirral]]
| UKD74
|}

==Cities and towns==
{|
||
*GM=[[Greater Manchester]]
*ME=[[Merseyside]]
*CU=[[Cumbria]]
||
*LA=[[Lancashire]]
*CH=[[Cheshire]]
|}
'''Population > 400,000'''
{{multiple images|
|total_width=300px
|image1=Liverpool city centre.jpg
|image2=Manchester from the Sky, 2008.jpg|
|footer=[[Liverpool City Centre]] and [[Manchester City Centre]]}}
{|
||
*[[Manchester]], GM
*[[Liverpool]], ME
|}
'''Population > 100,000'''
{{multiple images|
|perrow=2
|total_width=300px
|image1=Blackburn Lancashire Townscape.jpg
|image2=Blackpool promenade - DSC07204.JPG
|image3=Preston City Centre.jpg
|image4=Northgate Street 29-31.jpeg
|footer=[[Blackburn]] town centre and [[Blackpool]] promenade<br/>[[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]] and [[Chester]] city centres}}
{|
||
*[[Warrington]], CH
*[[Blackpool]], LA
*[[Chester]], CH
*[[Stockport]], GM
*[[Sale, Greater Manchester|Sale]], GM
*[[Bolton]], GM
*[[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]], LA
||
*[[Rochdale]], GM
*[[Blackburn]], LA
*[[Wigan]], GM
*[[St Helens, Merseyside|St. Helens]], ME
*[[Wythenshawe]], GM
*[[Salford, Greater Manchester|Salford]], GM
|}
'''Population > 70,000'''
{{multiple images|
|total_width=300px
|image1=Barrow skyline.jpg
|image2=Wirral Museum - old Town Hall, Birkenhead - geograph.org.uk - 237692.jpg
|footer=[[Barrow-in-Furness]] town centre and [[Birkenhead]] town hall}}
{|
||
*[[Oldham]], GM
*[[Southport]], ME
*[[Birkenhead]], ME
*[[Bury, Greater Manchester|Bury]], GM
*[[Bootle]], ME
||
*[[Carlisle, Cumbria|Carlisle]], CU
*[[Northwich]], CH
*[[Burnley]], LA
*[[Barrow-in-Furness]], CU
*[[Crewe]], CH
|}
'''Population > 50,000'''
{|
||
*[[Runcorn]], CH
*[[Widnes]], CH
*[[Wallasey]], ME
*[[Ellesmere Port]], CH
||
*[[Altrincham]], GM
*[[Macclesfield]], CH
*[[Crosby, Merseyside|Crosby]], ME
*[[Leigh, Greater Manchester|Leigh]], GM
|}
'''Population > 30,000'''
[[File:Lancaster and the Lune from the Carlisle Bridge.jpg|thumb|right|201px|[[Lancaster, Lancashire|Lancaster]] city centre]]
{|
||
*[[Accrington]], LA
*[[Lancaster, Lancashire|Lancaster]], LA
*[[Ashton-under-Lyne]], GM
*[[Middleton, Greater Manchester|Middleton]], GM
*[[Lytham St Annes]], LA
*[[Urmston]], GM
*[[Kirkby]], ME
*[[Skelmersdale]], LA
*[[Eccles, Greater Manchester|Eccles]], GM
*[[Stretford]], GM
*[[Denton, Greater Manchester|Denton]], GM
||
*[[Leyland, Lancashire|Leyland]], LA
*[[Chadderton]], GM
*[[Morecambe]], LA
*[[Chorley]], LA
*[[Hyde, Greater Manchester|Hyde]], GM
*[[Huyton]], ME
*[[Thornton-Cleveleys]], LA
*[[Prestwich]], GM
*[[Saddleworth]], GM
*[[Winsford]], CH
*[[Farnworth]], GM
|}
'''Population > 20,000'''
{|
||
*[[Radcliffe, Greater Manchester|Radcliffe]], GM
*[[Nelson, Lancashire|Nelson]], LA
*[[Ashton-in-Makerfield]], GM
*[[Kendal]], CU
*[[Heywood, Greater Manchester|Heywood]], GM
*[[Reddish]], GM
*[[Darwen]], LA
*[[Hindley, Greater Manchester|Hindley]], GM
*[[Cheadle Hulme]], GM
*[[Fleetwood]], LA
*[[Congleton]], CH
*[[Swinton, Greater Manchester|Swinton]], GM
*[[Workington]], CU
*[[South Turton]], GM
*[[Westhoughton]], GM
*[[Wilmslow]], CH
*[[Ormskirk]], LA
*[[Golborne]], GM
||
*[[Whitehaven]], CU
*[[Stalybridge]], GM
*[[Marple, Greater Manchester|Marple]], GM
*[[Whitefield, Greater Manchester|Whitefield]], GM
*[[Droylsden]], GM
*[[Penwortham]], LA
*[[Formby]], ME
*[[Litherland]], ME
*[[Newton-le-Willows]], ME
*[[Atherton, Greater Manchester|Atherton]], GM
*[[Rawtenstall]], LA
*[[Royton]], GM
*[[Walkden]], GM
*[[Shaw and Crompton]], GM
*[[Failsworth]], GM
*[[Maghull]], ME
*[[Halewood]], ME
*[[Horwich]], GM
|}
'''Population > 10,000'''
{|
||
*[[Alsager]], CH 
*[[Bramhall]], GM
*[[Clitheroe]], LA
*[[Colne]], LA
*[[Dukinfield]], GM
*[[Haslingden]], LA
*[[Hazel Grove]], GM
*[[Heysham]], LA
*[[Irlam]], GM
*[[Lowton]], GM
*[[Maryport]], CU
*[[Moreton, Merseyside|Moreton]], ME
||
*[[Nantwich]], CH
*[[Neston]], CH
*[[Pendlebury]], GM
*[[Penrith, Cumbria|Penrith]], CU
*[[Poulton-le-Fylde]], LA
*[[Ramsbottom]], GM
*[[Romiley]], GM
*[[Sandbach]], CH
*[[Tyldesley]], GM
*[[Ulverston]], CU
*[[Upton, Merseyside|Upton]], ME
*[[Woodley, Greater Manchester|Woodley]], GM
|}
'''Population > 5,000'''
{|
||
*[[Burscough]], LA
*[[Carnforth]], LA
*[[Cleator Moor]], CU
*[[Cockermouth]], CU
*[[Dalton-in-Furness]], CU
||
*[[Frodsham]], CH
*[[Gatley]], GM
*[[Millom]], CU
*[[Tarleton]], LA
*[[Windermere, Cumbria (town)|Windermere]], CU
|}

===Metropolitan areas===
{{See also|List of metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom}}
The five largest metropolitan areas in the North West are as follows:
*Greater Manchester metropolitan area – 2,556,000<ref name=j>{{cite web |url=http://www.espon.eu/export/sites/default/Documents/Projects/ESPON2006Projects/StudiesScientificSupportProjects/UrbanFunctions/fr-1.4.3_April2007-final.pdf#page=119 |title=British urban pattern: population data |access-date=22 February 2010 |date=March 2007 |work=ESPON project 1.4.3 Study on Urban Functions |publisher=[[European Spatial Planning Observation Network]] |page=119 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924002318/http://www.espon.eu/export/sites/default/Documents/Projects/ESPON2006Projects/StudiesScientificSupportProjects/UrbanFunctions/fr-1.4.3_April2007-final.pdf#page=119 |archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref>
*Liverpool/Birkenhead metropolitan area – 2,241,000<ref name=j/>
*[[Blackburn]]/[[Burnley]] – 391,000<ref name=j/>
*[[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]] – 354,000<ref name=j/>
*[[Blackpool]] −304,000<ref name=j/>

Liverpool and Manchester are sometimes considered parts of a single large polynuclear [[metropolitan area]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/uk-ac-man-scw:89997 |title=Shrinking cities and growing regions – emerging trends of new rural-urban relationships in the UK and Germany (Manchester eScholar – The University of Manchester) |publisher=Escholar.manchester.ac.uk |access-date=17 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425150854/https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/uk-ac-man-scw:89997 |archive-date=25 April 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=1122670315&men=gcis&lng=en&des=wg&geo=-81&srt=pnan&col=adhoq&msz=1500&va=&pt=a |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130105182544/http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=1122670315&men=gcis&lng=en&des=wg&geo=-81&srt=pnan&col=adhoq&msz=1500&va=&pt=a |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 January 2013 |title=World Gazetteer: United Kingdom – largest cities (per geographical en...}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Martin Wainwright |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/oct/23/ruralaffairs.britishidentity |title=Seeking peace and quiet? Here's where to find it {{pipe}} UK news |work=The Guardian |access-date=17 May 2012 |location=London |date=23 October 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215220517/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/oct/23/ruralaffairs.britishidentity |archive-date=15 December 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> or [[megalopolis]] but are usually treated as separate metropolitan areas.<ref name=j/> In some studies, part of [[Wigan]] in Greater Manchester is considered part of the Liverpool metropolitan area.<ref name=j/>

==Politics==
The North West of England has historically been held by the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]].

===National politics===
In the [[2019 United Kingdom general election]], the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] won a plurality of seats in the North West.
{{Constituencies in North West England}}

===Elected regional assembly===
[[File:Flag of North West England.svg|thumb|200px|[[Flag of North West England|Proposed flag for the region]] designed by [[Peter Saville (artist)|Peter Saville]]]]

It is one of the two regions (along with [[Yorkshire and the Humber]]) that were expected to hold a referendum on the establishment of an elected [[Regional assembly (England)|regional assembly]]. However, when the [[North East England|North East]] region of England rejected having an elected regional assembly in a referendum, further referendums were cancelled and the proposals for elected regional assemblies in England put on hold. The regional leaders' forum, [[North West Regional Leaders Board|4NW]] is based on Waterside Drive in [[Wigan]].

===European Parliament===
The former [[North West England (European Parliament constituency)|North West England European Parliament constituency]] had the same boundaries as the Region.

==History==
{{Main|History of Cumbria|History of Lancashire|History of Manchester|History of Liverpool|History of Cheshire}}

Ten English regions were established by the government in 1994. At that time, [[Merseyside]], which already had its own Government Office, formerly the Merseyside Task Force, was regarded as a separate region. In 1998, Merseyside was merged into the North West region. This action was controversial in some quarters.<ref>{{Cite web |title=North West England – Cities History Map Weather Places to Visit |url=https://www.thetopmatters.com/2021/08/north-West-england.html |access-date=2021-08-17 |website=The Top Matters – Know About Our World More|archive-date=17 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817081922/https://www.thetopmatters.com/2021/08/north-West-england.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Regional Government Offices were abolished in April 2011 by the Coalition Government.

===Scientific heritage===
{{see also|Science and engineering in Manchester|List of British innovations and discoveries}}
Sir [[Ernest Marsden]] (of Blackburn) and [[Hans Geiger]] conducted the [[Geiger–Marsden experiment]] at the University of Manchester in 1909, where the [[Geiger counter]] was invented, which demonstrated the existence of the [[atomic nucleus]]. Sir [[J. J. Thomson]] of Cheetham Hill discovered the electron (given its name in 1891 by [[George Johnstone Stoney]]) in April 1897 and received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1906; his son [[George Paget Thomson]] would win the Nobel Prize for Physics 1937 for discovering [[electron diffraction]] (at the University of Aberdeen). [[John Dalton]], from Cumbria and moved to Manchester, developed [[atomic theory]]. [[William Sturgeon]] of Lancashire invented the [[electromagnet]] in 1825.

[[Sydney Chapman (mathematician)|Sydney Chapman]], a mathematician from [[Eccles, Greater Manchester|Eccles]], in 1930 explained the [[ozone–oxygen cycle]] in the [[stratosphere]], being the first to propose that atmospheric oxygen or ozone molecules absorb (harmful UVB and UVC) [[ultraviolet]] wavelengths of light in [[Photodissociation|photolysis]], to produce reactive single atoms which accumulate to form the [[ozone layer]].

[[Graphene]] was discovered at the University of Manchester in 2004 under [[Andre Geim]] and [[Konstantin Novoselov]].

[[File:Fluothane packaging 01.jpg|thumb|left|160px|Exhibit of ICI's Fluothane (Halothane), discovered at Widnes, at [[Catalyst Science Discovery Centre]], near [[Spike Island (Cheshire)|Spike Island]] in Widnes]]
At the [[Calico Printers' Association]] in Manchester in 1941, [[John Rex Whinfield]] and [[James Tennant Dickson]] discovered [[polyethylene terephthalate]], known as PET, a common [[polyester]] compound found in [[plastic bottle]]s and food, and also known as Terylene or Dacron. [[Cheslene and Crepes]] of Macclesfield discovered [[crimplene]], the fabric that is now referred to as polyester. [[ICI Dyestuffs]] at [[Hexagon House (Manchester)|Hexagon House]], in [[Blackley]] in north Manchester, discovered [[Procion]] dyes. At the [[Winnington Laboratory]] on 27 March 1933, Eric Fawcett and Reginald Gibson discovered [[Polyethylene|polythene]] in an ICI laboratory in Northwich, when reacting [[benzaldehyde]] with [[Ethylene|ethene]] at a pressure of 2,000 [[Atmosphere (unit)|atmosphere]]s; the process was improved in 1935 by [[Michael Perrin]].

[[Halothane]], the world's first synthetic inhalation [[general anaesthetic]] gas, was discovered in 1951 at ICI's [[Widnes Laboratory]] by Wallasey's [[Charles Suckling]], and first tested on a patient in Manchester in 1956; it works by binding to the [[GABA receptor]]. [[John Charnley]] of Bury invented the [[hip replacement]] in 1962 at [[Wrightington Hospital]], Lancashire, north-west of Wigan. [[Clatterbridge Hospital]] in Bebington has a [[cyclotron]] ([[Linear particle accelerator|linear accelerator]]), and is the only hospital in the UK to offer [[proton therapy]].

Alderley Park opened in October 1957, and [[ICI Pharmaceuticals]] was formed in the same year. In 1962 [[Dora Richardson]] of ICI discovered [[tamoxifen]]. ICI [[Alderley Park]] later discovered [[Anastrozole]], [[Fulvestrant]], [[Goserelin]] and [[Bicalutamide]], later made by [[Zeneca]]. James Black discovered [[beta blocker]]s—[[propranolol]] (Inderal) at Alderley Park in 1962. The [[Wellcome Trust|Wellcome Foundation]], a provider of much of Britain's medical research, was based from 1966 to 1997 at [[Crewe Hall]] in [[Crewe Green]].

[[Clifford Cocks]] and [[James H. Ellis]] from Cheshire, with [[Malcolm J. Williamson]], invented the [[RSA (cryptosystem)|RSA (algorithm)]] in 1973 at GCHQ, used for [[public-key cryptography]]. [[Richard Owen]] from Lancaster coined the word ''[[dinosaur]]'' in 1842, and he founded the [[Natural History Museum, London]], opening in 1881.

===Industrial heritage===
[[File:Rainhill Bridge, from Bury's Liverpool and Manchester Railway, 1831 - artfinder 3408.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Rainhill Skew Bridge]] in 1831]]

The [[Liverpool & Manchester Railway]] was the world's first passenger [[inter-city rail]]way in 1830. [[Manchester Liverpool Road railway station]] is the world's oldest surviving railway station, having opened on 15 September 1830; the [[Stockton & Darlington Railway]] had opened in 1825. [[Chat Moss]] was a problem to constructing the railway, with [[Wapping Tunnel|Edge Hill Tunnel]] and [[Sankey Viaduct]]; the line was bitterly opposed by [[William Molyneux, 2nd Earl of Sefton]]. The [[Bridgewater Canal]] was the first recognised canal of the modern era. [[Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater]] had visited France and noted their canals. [[John Gilbert (agent)|John Gilbert]] had the innovative idea to use water pumped out of his coal mines to fill a canal from the Duke's Worsley mines to Manchester. It was designed by [[James Brindley]] and built in 1761.

{{See also|Textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution}}

The [[Nasmyth, Gaskell & Company|Bridgewater Foundry]] in [[Patricroft]] (Salford) can claim to be the world's first factory
with an [[assembly line]] type arrangement in 1836. [[Joseph Huddart]] of Cumbria was the first to mechanise the production of rope in 1793. The [[spinning jenny]] was invented in 1764 in Lancashire by [[James Hargreaves]], a mechanical advance on the [[spinning wheel]].

{{See also|History of computing hardware}}

The [[University of Manchester]] built the world's first [[Stored-program computer|programmable computer]], the [[Manchester Baby]], on 21 June 1948; the [[Williams tube|Williams–Kilburn tube]] on the machine was the world's first computer memory, and the beginning of [[random-access memory]] (RAM); the baby computer was made from 550 [[Mullard]] valves. The first commercially available computer, the [[Ferranti Mark 1]], was made in Manchester and sold in February 1951 to the University of Manchester. The world's first [[transistor computer]] was the Manchester Transistor Computer in November 1953. [[Atlas (computer)|Atlas]] was another important computer developed at the University of Manchester, largely developed by [[Tom Kilburn]]; at the time in 1962 it was most powerful computer in the world. The government had dropped its financial support of this computer, and was only funded by Ferranti—the total development cost was around £1m. Britain was leading the world at this time in computing, with the only main competitor being IBM; after the mid-1950s America took over the industry. The spreadsheet was invented in 1974, known as the [[Works Record System]], and used an [[Adabas]] database on an [[IBM 3270]] at ICI in Northwich; it was developed by [[Robert Mais]] and it was around four years before (the more well-known) [[VisiCalc]] in 1978. The University of Manchester has collected 25 Nobel prizes, though recent years have been less notable.

[[Parsonage Colliery]] at Leigh had the UK's deepest mine—1,260 metres in 1949. Macclesfield was the base of UK's [[silk]] weaving industry. [[John Benjamin Dancer]] of Manchester invented [[microphotograph]]y in 1839, which would lead to [[microform]] in the 1920s. [[Frank Hornby]] from Liverpool invented [[Meccano]] in 1901, where [[Meccano Ltd]] would be based for over 60 years. [[Bryant & May]]'s site in [[Garston, Merseyside|Garston]] was the last wooden [[match]] factory in the UK, closing in 1994 to become [[Mersey Match Factory|The Matchworks]] business centre off the A561 west of the former Speke airport. [[Cottonopolis]] was the industrial name for Manchester and the local area. Manchester at one time was the world's richest city. The [[CIS Tower]], built by [[Laing O'Rourke|John Laing]] in 1962, was Europe's tallest building, and Britain's tallest building until 1963, and Manchester's tallest building until 2006.

Kirkby was planned in the 1950s as the largest [[Industrial park|trading estate]] in Britain—1,800 acres. Trafford Park is the world's first planned industrial estate. [[Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers]] opened their first co-operative outlet on 21 December 1844.

[[File:The World of Glass Museum, St Helens - geograph.org.uk - 280250.jpg|thumb|left|The [[World of Glass (St Helens)|World of Glass]] museum in October 2006]]
[[Alastair Pilkington]] invented the [[float glass]] method of manufacture in 1957 at St Helens, announcing it in January 1959. It was manufactured from 1961, and 80% of the world's glass is made with the process; the former site closed in 2014 and it is made now at the Green Gate site. [[Pears soap]], made at Port Sunlight, is the world's first registered brand, and world's oldest brand in existence. [[Elihu Thomson]], born in Manchester who subsequently moved to America, formed [[Thomson-CSF]] which became [[Thales Group]] in 2000. The British part ([[British Thomson-Houston]]) would later become part of GEC; he invented the [[arc lamp]]. [[Henry Brunner]] from Liverpool would join with [[Ludwig Mond]] in the 1860s to form a chemical company which became ICI in 1926. [[Mossbay Steelworks]] in Workington, when opened in 1877, were the world's first large-scale steelworks; its [[Austenite|austenitic]] manganese steel ([[mangalloy]]) was produced from 1877 until 1974, with Britain's railways converting from iron to steel by the 1880s. Track was made there for the UK's railways (exclusively from the 1970s onwards, with the steel made in Teesside) until August 2006; much of the rails made were exported (from 1882), with its main competitor being [[Voestalpine]] of Austria, and a plant (bought by British Steel in 1999) in [[Hayange]], France, who make all of [[SNCF]]'s railway tracks, and the [[Katowice Steelworks]] in Poland. Workington was thought to make the best quality [[Track (rail transport)|rail track]] in the world.

{{See also|War of the currents|Mains electricity}}

[[Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti]], born in Liverpool in 1864, was an [[Electrical engineering|electrical engineer]] who designed the layout for [[Deptford Power Station]], the first [[AC power|alternating current]] [[power station]] in the world in 1887, and whose design all others would follow; his later company [[Ferranti]], of Oldham, would later be an industry leader in Britain's defence electronics, on the [[FTSE 100 Index]]. Ferranti's design of increasing AC voltage to [[High voltage|high tension]] at the power station, to be stepped-down at a transformer at [[Electrical substation|substations]] before entering properties, is the system all electricity networks take today; the system reduces wasteful heating of electricity transmission cables.

[[File:HD.15.019 (11823864155).jpg|thumb|right|200px|Calder Hall in 1973]]
The [[Chain Home]] radar transmitters were built by [[Metropolitan-Vickers|Metrovick]] at its Trafford Park Works, which became part of [[Associated Electrical Industries|AEI]] in 1929, [[General Electric Company|GEC]] in 1968, and as [[Alstom]] it was closed in June 2000. [[2ZY]], the first broadcasts in the [[Northern England|north of England]], were made from the Metrovick factory in November 1922, which became part of the [[BBC National Programme]] in 1927. GEC opened its first factory in Manchester in 1888, moving to Salford in 1895 at the [[Peel Works]], and had built the [[Osram]] electric light company in 1893. The [[Metropolitan-Vickers F.2]] of [[Trafford Park Works]], Manchester was the first [[Axial compressor|axial-flow]] jet engine, with a nine-stage compressor, first running in 1941. It would end up as the [[Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire]] and the American-built [[Wright J65]]. The F.2 gas turbine would power [[MGB.2009]] the first gas-turbine-powered vessel in 1947. [[No. 1 Parachute Training School RAF]]—the main parachute training site for the war—was at [[RAF Ringway]] (the [[Central Landing Establishment]] and [[Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment]]) now Manchester Airport; many aircraft were built there too, and the [[Ford Trafford Park Factory]] built 34,000 aircraft engines—mostly [[Rolls-Royce Merlin|Merlin]] [[Aircraft engine|engine]]s; the nearby Metropolitan-Vickers factory built many Lancasters.

{{See also|Nuclear power by country|Nuclear power in the United Kingdom|Nuclear weapons and the United Kingdom}}
[[Sellafield|Calder Hall]] was the world's first nuclear power station in 1956. There are approximately 430 [[nuclear power]] stations around the world, and the UK is the third most experienced operator of nuclear reactors after the US and France, and is the world's ninth largest producer of nuclear-generated electricity, with [[Nuclear power in the United Kingdom|nine stations operating in the UK]] producing around 10GW. New-build nuclear power stations will either be the [[AP1000]] (Toshiba Westinghouse [[NuGeneration]]) or [[EPR (nuclear reactor)|EPR]] design (developed by [[Areva]]). BNFL bought Pittsburgh-based [[Westinghouse Electric Company]] in 1999; it was sold in October 2006 for £5.4 billion to Toshiba. [[British Energy]] was sold in 2009 for £12.5 billion to [[Électricité de France|EDF]]; [[Centrica]] ([[British Gas]]) had also wanted to buy it; 26 Magnox reactors were built in the UK, followed by 14 AGR reactors.

[[Operation Hurricane]] on 3 October 1952, Britain's first [[Nuclear weapon|nuclear bomb]], detonated on [[HMS Plym (K271)|HMS ''Plym'']] on the [[Montebello Islands]] in the state of [[Western Australia]], was made of [[plutonium-239]] mostly made at Windscale (which began production in 1950), with some possibly from [[Chalk River Laboratories]] in [[Ontario]], Canada (where the [[Tube Alloys]] project was later moved).

[[File:Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR2 (801), UK - Air Force AN1914655.jpg|thumb|left|200px|A [[Hawker Siddeley Nimrod]] MR2 (HS 801), built at Woodford (former Avro) and designed in Manchester in the mid-1960s, with ''XV148'' (former Comet 4C) making its [[John Cunningham (RAF officer)|first flight]] on 23 May 1967, flying from Chester ([[Hawarden Airport|Broughton]], which had built many [[de Havilland]] fighter jet aircraft) to Woodford; 49 Nimrods were made for the RAF, entering service with [[No. 201 Squadron RAF|201 Sqn]] on 6 November 1970, serving until March 2010 with [[No. 38 Squadron RAF|38 Sqn]] ]]

[[W. T. Glover & Co.]] of Salford were important electricity cable manufacturers throughout the early 20th century. BAE Systems [[Wind Tunnel Department]] at Warton—one of its four wind tunnels—the High Speed Wind Tunnel—can test speeds intermittently up to Mach 3.8 ([[Supersonic speed|trisonic]])—the second fastest in the UK, to the University of Manchester's [[Aero-Physics Laboratory]] which has a hypersonic wind tunnel up to Mach 6. [[Osborne Reynolds]] of Owens College (which became the [[Victoria University of Manchester]] in 1904), known worldwide for his [[Reynolds number]] (introduced elsewhere by the mathematician [[Sir George Stokes, 1st Baronet|George Gabriel Stokes]]), showed in the early 1880s that wind tunnels (invented by [[Francis Herbert Wenham]] in 1871) could model large-scale objects accurately. [[BAE Systems Regional Aircraft]] assembled Britain's last airliner, the [[British Aerospace 146]] (Avro RJX), at [[Woodford, Greater Manchester|Woodford]] in November 2001. The Merlin-powered [[Avro Tudor]] G-AGPF, which took off from what is now Manchester Airport on 14 June 1945, was Britain's first [[Cabin pressurization|pressurised]] civilian aircraft; only 38 were built and it was designed for the [[Transatlantic flight|North Atlantic route]]. On 13 May 1949, ''VN799'' the English Electric Canberra first flew from Warton: Warton at the time was a former [[United States Army Air Forces|USAAF]] wartime maintenance base; the German [[Arado Ar 234]] was technically the world's first jet bomber; the Canberra would be the first jet aircraft to make a non-stop crossing of the Atlantic on 21 February 1951.

[[Robert Whitehead (engineer)|Robert Whitehead]] of Bolton invented the modern-day [[Whitehead torpedo|torpedo]] in 1866. Sir [[William Pickles Hartley]] of Lancashire founded [[Hartley's]] Jam in 1871, building a purpose-built village at [[Aintree]]. Sir [[Henry Tate]] also came from Lancashire, joining [[Abram Lyle]] in 1921, of whose [[Golden syrup]] tins are claimed to be Britain's oldest brand; he established the [[Tate]] Gallery in 1897. [[Robert Hope-Jones]] of the Wirral invented the [[Wurlitzer theatre organs in the United Kingdom|Wurlitzer]] organ. The [[Christys' & Co]] factory in Stockport was the largest hat-making factory in the world in the nineteenth century; it became part of [[Associated British Hat Manufacturers]] and is now in [[Oxfordshire]]. The company owner's son founded [[Christy (towel manufacturer)|Christy]] in 1850 in [[Droylsden]] (now in Tameside), which invented the industrially produced [[Terrycloth|towel]].

[[File:Where rabbits once hopped... - geograph.org.uk - 119794.jpg|thumb|right|JLR at Halewood]]
Britain's most popular car, the [[Ford Escort (Europe)|Ford Escort]], was made throughout its life (until 21 July 2000) at Halewood by Ford; 5&nbsp;million were made there from 1967. In 1998, production of its replacement the Focus was transferred to [[Saarlouis Body & Assembly|Saarlouis]] and [[Ford Valencia Plant|Valencia]], which signalled the end of the site's ownership by Ford. The [[Jaguar X-Type]] was first made there in May 2001, until late 2009. In the UK, the [[Ford Mondeo|Mondeo]] has sold 1.4m since 1993, and is made in [[Ford Valencia Plant|Valencia]] in Spain.

[[Starchaser Industries]] of Hyde is hoping to send a British citizen into space, on a [[British space programme|British rocket]]; [[British Aircraft Corporation|BAC]] at Preston had proposed its [[MUSTARD]] re-usable spacecraft in 1964, which although not built had given [[NASA]] a concept.

===Culture===
[[File:Lennon Statue, Liverpool.jpg|Statue of [[John Lennon]] of [[the Beatles]] at [[The Cavern Club]], Liverpool|thumb]]

[[File:LIVERPOOL ANGLICAN CATHEDRAL SEP2012 (7916053494).jpg|[[Liverpool Cathedral|Liverpool Anglican Cathedral]], the largest religious building in the UK|left|thumb]]
The [[Suffragette]] movement came from Manchester—the [[Women's Social and Political Union]]. [[Arthur Wynne]], born in Liverpool, invented the [[crossword]] in December 1913. On 13 August 1964, Britain carried out its last two executions at Strangeways and [[HM Prison Liverpool|Walton Prison]]. Under the [[Museums Act 1845]], the UK's second and third [[Public library|public municipal libraries]] were at Warrington in 1848 and at [[Salford Museum and Art Gallery]] in 1850; Canterbury had been first in 1847. The first [[Trades Union Congress]] was held in 1868 at the [[Mechanics' Institute, Manchester]]. The [[World Pie Eating Championship]] is held in Wigan each year.

[[Ann Lee]] from Manchester started the USA [[Shakers]] movement, founded out of the [[Quakers]], which itself has strong links to [[Pendle Hill]] in Lancashire. [[Joseph Livesey]] of Preston was the founder of [[Temperance movement in the United Kingdom|Britain's temperance movement]], and the word ''teetotal'' was first coined in Preston in 1833. The crumbly [[Cheshire cheese]] is thought to be the oldest in Britain. [[Heaton Park]] in north Manchester is the largest municipal park in Europe. [[Jelly Babies]] were invented in Lancaster in 1864, at Fryers of Lancashire. The first [[KFC]] outlet in the UK was on Fishergate in Preston in May 1965, opened by the entrepreneur Ray Allen. Oldham claims to be the site of the first [[Fish and chips|fried potatoes]] in the UK in 1860. The UK's biggest dance music festival takes place on the August Bank Holiday at [[Creamfields]] on Daresbury Estate. [[Ingvar Kamprad]]'s [[IKEA]] opened its first UK store in Warrington on 1 October 1987; the UK was the 20th country at the time that IKEA had been established. The [[International Cheese Awards]] are held at the end of July in Nantwich.

[[Liverpool]] and [[Manchester]], the two largest cities in the North West by population, are known for being the birthplace of [[beat music]] (also called "Merseybeat") during the 1960s to 1970s, and the development of the [[Madchester]] music scene from the 1980s, and 1990s respectively.

''[[A Taste of Honey (film)|A Taste of Honey]]'' was an influential 1960s film set in Salford, depicting [[working class]] poverty in ways not previously seen at the cinema, known as [[kitchen sink realism]]; [[Walter Greenwood]]'s ''[[Love on the Dole]]'', a 1930s book also set in Salford, was thought by the [[British Board of Film Classification|BBFC]] to be too sordid a depiction of poverty to be made into a film; [[Mike Leigh]], from Salford, has produced films on a similar subject.

==Transport==
[[File:Queensway Mersey Tunnel entrance Liverpool 3.jpg|thumb|left|[[Queensway Tunnel]], Liverpool under the [[River Mersey]] to [[Birkenhead]], Wirral peninsula]]

===Transport policy===
As part of the national transport planning system,
the [[North West Regional Assembly]] was, before its abolition in 2008, required to produce a Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) to provide long term planning for transport in the region. This involved region wide transport schemes, such as those carried out by the [[Highways Agency]] and [[Network Rail]].<ref name=GoNW1>{{cite web |url=http://www.gos.gov.uk/gonw/Transport/RegionalTransportStrategy/?a=42496 |title=Regional Transport Strategy: the National Picture |publisher=[[Government Offices for the English Regions|Government Office for Yorkshire and The Humber]] |access-date=8 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611144459/http://www.gos.gov.uk/gonw/Transport/RegionalTransportStrategy/?a=42496 |archive-date=11 June 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Within the region, the local transport authorities plan for the future by producing [[Local transport plan|Local Transport Plans (LTPs)]] which outline their strategies, policies and implementation programmes.<ref name=DfT1>{{cite web |url=http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/ltp/theltpprocess |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009193023/http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/ltp/theltpprocess |archive-date=9 October 2007 |title=The LTP Process |publisher=[[Department for Transport]] |access-date=8 May 2009}}</ref> The most recent LTP is that for the period 2006–11. In the North West region, the following transport authorities have published their LTP online: [[Blackburn with Darwen]] U.A,<ref name=BwDLTP>{{cite web |url=http://www.blackburn.gov.uk/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.22943&viewPage=2 |title=Blackburn with Darwen 2006–11 Local Transport Plan |publisher=[[Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council]] |access-date=8 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607025029/http://www.blackburn.gov.uk/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.22943&viewPage=2 |archive-date=7 June 2011}}</ref> [[Borough of Blackpool|Blackpool]] U.A.,<ref name=BpLTP>{{cite web |url=http://www.blackpool.gov.uk/Services/S-Z/TransportPolicy/FAQs/WhatisaLocalTransportPlan.htm |title=Blackpool 2006–11 Local Transport Plan |publisher=[[Blackpool|Blackpool Council]] |access-date=8 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070503104148/http://www.blackpool.gov.uk/Services/S-Z/TransportPolicy/FAQs/WhatisaLocalTransportPlan.htm |archive-date=3 May 2007}}</ref> [[Cheshire]],<ref name=ChLTP>
{{cite web |url=http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/localtransportplan/home.htm#localtransportplan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019020114/http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/localtransportplan/home.htm#localtransportplan |archive-date=19 October 2007 |title=Cheshire 2006–11 Local Transport Plan |publisher=[[Cheshire County Council]] |access-date=8 May 2009}}</ref> [[Cumbria]],<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/roads-transport/transportplan/ltp2from2006.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411155959/http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/roads-transport/transportplan/ltp2from2006.asp |archive-date=11 April 2008 |title=Cumbria 2006–11 Local Transport Plan |publisher=[[Cumbria County Council]] |access-date=8 May 2009}}</ref> [[Greater Manchester]],<ref name=GMLTP>
{{cite web |url=http://www.gmltp.co.uk/ |title=Greater Manchester2006-11 Local Transport Plan |publisher=Greater Manchester LTP |access-date=8 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720164951/http://www.gmltp.co.uk/ |archive-date=20 July 2011}}</ref> [[Borough of Halton|Halton]] U.A.,<ref name=LTP>{{cite web |url=http://www2.halton.gov.uk/content/transportandstreets/localtransport/?a=5441 |title=Halton 2006–11 Local Transport Plan |publisher=[[Halton Borough Council]] |access-date=8 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080614071507/http://www2.halton.gov.uk/content/transportandstreets/localtransport/?a=5441 |archive-date=14 June 2008}}</ref> [[Lancashire]],<ref name=LaLTP>{{cite web |url=http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/ltp/ |title=Lancashire 2006–11 Local Transport Plan |publisher=[[Lancashire County Council]] |access-date=8 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090810060840/http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/ltp/ |archive-date=10 August 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Merseyside]]<ref name=MsLTP>{{cite web |url=http://www.letstravelwise.org/content83_The-Local-Transport-Plan.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090509194409/http://www.letstravelwise.org/content83_The-Local-Transport-Plan.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 May 2009 |title=Merseyside 2006–11 Local Transport Plan |publisher=Merseyside LTP |access-date=8 May 2009}}</ref> and [[Borough of Warrington|Warrington]] U.A.<ref name=WrLTP>{{cite web |url=http://www.warrington.gov.uk/Transportandstreets/Transportpolicy/Documents/LTP2.aspx |title=Warrington 2006–11 Local Transport Plan |publisher=[[Warrington Borough Council]] |access-date=8 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108155056/http://www.warrington.gov.uk/Transportandstreets/Transportpolicy/Documents/LTP2.aspx |archive-date=8 January 2009}}</ref> Since 1 April 2009, when the county of Cheshire was split into two unitary councils<ref name=ChGOV>
{{cite web |url=http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/ |title=Cheshire County Council Home Page |publisher=[[Cheshire County Council]] |access-date=8 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070227152139/http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/ |archive-date=27 February 2007}}</ref> the Cheshire transport authority ceased to exist, however it is the most recent LTP for the area.

===Road===
[[File:M6 motorway near Carnforth.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The [[M6 motorway]] is one of the North West's principal roads]]

====Regionwide====
[[File:Hardknott sign.JPG|thumb|right|Warning signs at Hardknott Pass]]

Regionwide, the principal road link is the [[M6 motorway|M6]], which enters the region, from [[Scotland]], near [[Carlisle, Cumbria|Carlisle]] in the north and leaves it, for the [[English Midlands]], near [[Crewe]] in the south. It connects such towns and cities as [[Penrith, Cumbria|Penrith]], [[Kendal]], [[Lancaster, Lancashire|Lancaster]], [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]], [[Warrington]], [[Liverpool]] and [[Manchester]]. The M6 intersects many of the North West's motorways and [[Great Britain road numbering scheme|A-roads]], carrying almost 120,000 vehicles per day (41,975,000 per year).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/7204.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930201501/http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/7204.aspx |archive-date=30 September 2007 |title=Final strategy report – Area 9, M6 (Jct 11a to Jct 20) |work=Route Management Strategy |publisher=[[Highways Agency]] |access-date=16 October 2007}}</ref>

Britain's most severe steep road is [[Hardknott Pass]] in Cumbria and the highest road in the UK is the former A6293 at 2,780&nbsp;ft at [[Milburn, Cumbria]]; the highest classified road in England was the [[A689 road|A689]] east of [[Nenthead]] in Cumbria on the Durham boundary.
[[File:Stockport viaduct M60.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Old meets new at the [[Stockport Viaduct]]; designed by [[George W. Buck]], it is the largest free-standing brick structure in the UK, built in 1840 when it was the largest viaduct in the world; it features in many [[L. S. Lowry]] paintings.]]

====Greater Manchester and Merseyside====
{{Further|Transport in Liverpool|Transport in Manchester}}
[[File:Liverpool City Region Motorways.png|Motorways of [[Liverpool City Region]] and [[Cheshire]] to [[Manchester]]|400px|left|thumb]]

The Greater Manchester and Merseyside areas are home to almost 4&nbsp;million people; over half of the region's population. The road networks intertwining these [[metropolitan area]]s are extremely important to the economy and are largely motorway, including the [[M62 motorway|M62]] which crosses the entire country (east to west, [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]] to Liverpool); this motorway directly connects the cities of Manchester and Liverpool, carrying 78,000 vehicles in the North West per day.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dft.gov.uk/172974/173025/221412/221546/227050/261688/roadtraffdata.xls |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20080306140831/http://www.dft.gov.uk/172974/173025/221412/221546/227050/261688/roadtraffdata.xls |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 March 2008 |format=XLS |title=Road Traffic Statistics 2006 |publisher=Department for Transport |access-date=16 October 2007}}</ref>

The Merseyside-Manchester region has many other motorways that serve many millions on a daily basis: the [[M61 motorway|M61]] connects Manchester to Preston; the [[M56 motorway|M56]] runs south of Manchester to Cheshire and [[Wales]]; the [[M57 motorway|M57]] and [[M58 motorway]]s run north of Liverpool and connect towns such as [[St Helens, Merseyside|St. Helens]] and [[Wigan]]; the [[M60 motorway (Great Britain)|M60]] is Manchester's [[ring road]]; and the [[M67 motorway|M67]] and [[M66 motorway]]s run east and north respectively, both of these roads are under {{cvt|10|mi|km}} and link Manchester to smaller outlying settlements. On top of this there are countless numbers of A-roads, B-roads and minor roads which circle, entwine and serve these two major metropolises.

====Cumbria====
[[File:Border Scotland.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A sign marking entry to Scotland located on the [[M6 motorway]] crossing the border of [[Cumbria]].]]

In Cumbria the M6 runs all the way down the east of the county connecting the very north of England to the Lancashire border. The [[A590 road|A590]] links [[Barrow-in-Furness]] to [[Kendal]] with around 14,000 vehicles per day.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/5066.aspx |title=A590 High and Low Newton Bypass |publisher=[[Highways Agency]] |access-date=16 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930183447/http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/5066.aspx |archive-date=30 September 2007}}</ref> The [[A595 road|A595]] runs all the way along the West Cumbrian coast beginning near Barrow and ending in Carlisle, linking towns such as [[Whitehaven]] and [[Workington]]. The [[A591 road]] runs from Kendal to the centre of the county connecting [[Lake District]] settlements like [[Windermere, Cumbria (town)|Windermere]], [[Ambleside]] and [[Keswick, Cumbria|Keswick]]. Other important A-roads include the A5092, [[A66 road|A66]], [[A596 road|A596]] and formerly the [[A74 road|A74]], until this was upgraded to motorway standard as an extension of the M6 between 2006 and 2008 to meet the [[A74(M) and M74 motorways|A74(M)]] at the [[Anglo-Scottish border|Scottish border]].

====Lancashire====
The Lancashire economy relies strongly on the M6, which also runs from north to south (Lancaster to [[Chorley]]). Other motorways in the region include the [[M55 motorway|M55]], which connects the city of Preston and the town of Blackpool at {{cvt|11.5|mi|km}} in length. The [[M65 motorway]] runs from east to west, starting in the town of [[Colne]], running past [[Burnley]], [[Accrington]], [[Blackburn]] and terminating in Preston. The Lancaster-[[Morecambe]] area is served by the [[A683 road|A683]], [[A6 road (Great Britain)|A6]], [[A588 road|A588]] and A589 roads. The Blackpool-[[The Fylde|Fylde]]-[[Fleetwood]] area is home to the [[A583 road|A583]], [[A584 road|A584]], [[A585 road|A585]], [[A586 road|A586]], [[A587 road|A587]] and A588 roads. The city of Preston and its surroundings are served by the [[A6 road (Great Britain)|A6]], [[A59 road (Great Britain)|A59]], A582, A583, A584 and, to the very south-east, the [[M61 motorway]]. To the east of the county are the A59, A6119, A677, A679, A666, A680, A56, A646 and A682. The [[M66 motorway|M66]] begins {{cvt|500|m|mi|1}} inside the county border near [[Edenfield]], providing an important link between east Lancashire and Manchester.

====Cheshire====
In Cheshire, there are four motorways: the M6, the M56 (linking Chester to the east), the M53 (linking Chester to [[Birkenhead]]) and the M62, which runs just along the county's northern border with Merseyside and Greater Manchester. The Cheshire road system is made up of {{cvt|3417|mi|km}} of highway and the principal road (M6) carries 140,000<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cheshire.police.uk/showcontent.php?pageid=76 |title=Road Policing |publisher=Cheshire Police Web Site |access-date=16 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927230217/http://www.cheshire.police.uk/showcontent.php?pageid=76 |archive-date=27 September 2007}}</ref> vehicles in the county daily, linking the North West to the [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]].

The county town of Chester is served by the [[A55 road|A55]], [[A483 road|A483]] and A494 roads, amongst others. To the west of the M6, [[Crewe]], [[Northwich]] and [[Sandbach]] are served by the [[A54 road|A54]], [[A51 road|A51]], [[A49 road|A49]], A533, A556 and A530 roads; these all eventually link up connecting the towns to the larger cities, including [[Stoke-on-Trent]] to the south. To the east of the M6 in Cheshire lies the [[Peak District]] and towns such as [[Macclesfield]] and [[Congleton]], which are served by the [[A6 road (Great Britain)|A6]], A537, A536, [[A34 road (Great Britain)|A34]], A523 and A566 roads.

===Air===
[[File:Manchester Airport.jpg|thumb|left|[[Manchester Airport]] aerial view]]
[[File:Liverpool John Lennon Airport (1).jpg|[[Liverpool John Lennon Airport]] Terminal building|thumb|200px]]
[[File:Liverpool Airport aerial Coleman.jpg|Aerial view of [[Liverpool John Lennon Airport]]|thumb|200px]]

The biggest [[international airport]] in the region is [[Manchester Airport]], which serves 28.2&nbsp;million passengers annually; more than some of the world's major aviation hubs. The airport is home to [[Manchester Airport#Terminals and destinations|three terminals]], plus the [[Manchester Airport#World Freight Terminal|World Freight Terminal]], which serve destinations worldwide. The largest airlines at the airport (in terms of numbers of flights in 2007) were [[Flybe (1979-2020)|Flybe]], [[BMI (airline)|BMI]], [[British Airways]], [[Jet2.com]] and [[Lufthansa]]; several long-haul carriers such as [[American Airlines]], [[Delta Air Lines]], [[Virgin Atlantic]], [[Singapore Airlines]] and [[Emirates (airline)|Emirates]] also operate from the airport. [[Manchester Airports Group]] is owned approximately one-third by Manchester Council and one-third by the other nine Greater Manchester councils. In 2007, Manchester had a recorded 222,703 aircraft movements.<ref name="caa">{{cite web |url=http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=80&pagetype=88&sglid=3&fld=2007Annual |title=CAA 2007 Annual Airport Statistics |publisher=Caa.co.uk |access-date=17 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120516005138/http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=80&pagetype=88&sglid=3&fld=2007Annual |archive-date=16 May 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> The airport is also a [[Airline hub|hub]] for major holiday airlines such as [[First Choice Airways]] and [[Thomson Airways]]; it was previously served by [[Thomas Cook Airlines]] and [[Monarch Airlines]].

The region's second largest airport, but is the oldest and fastest growing, is [[Liverpool John Lennon Airport]], which serves over 5&nbsp;million passengers annually. The airport serves destinations primarily in the UK and Europe and is a major hub for [[EasyJet]] and [[Ryanair]].

The only other significant passenger airport in the region was [[Blackpool Airport]], which was refurbished in 2006 and handled around half a million passengers annually. Destinations ranged from the [[Canary Islands]] in Spain to the [[Republic of Ireland]]. Commercial flights ended there in March 2017.

; Cumbria
*[[Barrow/Walney Island Airport]] – Operated by [[BAE Systems Submarines]], private use
*[[Carlisle Lake District Airport]] – Operated by [[Stobart Group]], public use

; Greater Manchester
*[[Manchester Airport]] – Major international airport operated by [[Manchester Airport Group]], destinations worldwide
*[[Manchester Barton Aerodrome]] – Operated by City Airport Manchester Ltd, public use
*[[Woodford Aerodrome]] – Operated by [[BAE Systems Regional Aircraft]], now closed

; Lancashire
*[[Blackpool Airport]] – Operated by [[Balfour Beatty]], public use (commercial flights withdrawn)
*[[Warton Aerodrome]] – Operated by [[BAE Systems]], private use

; Merseyside
*[[Liverpool John Lennon Airport]] – International airport operated by Liverpool Airport plc, destinations worldwide
*[[RAF Woodvale]] – Operated by the [[Royal Air Force]], military use
*Southport Birkdale Sands airstrip – Sand runway located on Southport beach (infrequent use, subject to prior permission)

===Rail===
{{further|Blackpool Tramway|Manchester Metrolink|Merseyrail}}
[[File:Piccadilly Station Manchester - geograph.org.uk - 692981.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Manchester's [[Manchester Piccadilly station|Piccadilly station]] is the largest and busiest railway station in the region.]]

[[File:Frontage of Liverpool Lime Street railway station.jpg|[[Liverpool Lime Street railway station]] is the main inter-city and long-distance station in Liverpool|200px|thumb]]
The main connection by train is the [[West Coast Main Line]], connecting most of the North West. Other important lines are the [[Liverpool to Manchester Lines]] and the [[North TransPennine]], which connects [[Liverpool Lime Street railway station|Liverpool]] to [[Manchester Piccadilly station|Manchester]] through [[Warrington Central railway station|Warrington]]. East-west connections in Lancashire are carried via the [[Caldervale Line]] to [[Blackpool North railway station|Blackpool]]. Liverpool and Manchester both have extensive local passenger rail networks operating high-frequency commuter trains. The quietest railway station in the region, by usage, is [[Reddish South railway station|Reddish South]], the 4th quietest in Britain.

The [[InterCity (British Rail)|InterCity]] branded service in the UK began between London and Manchester in the mid-1960s; the new [[Euston railway station|Euston station]] opened in 1968. With the new electrification of the line in the late 1960s, passenger numbers doubled.

The region saw the last steam-train service on the UK network – the [[Fifteen Guinea Special]] on 11 August 1968, with
three [[LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0|Black Five]] locomotives.

===Water===
{{Further|Port of Liverpool|Liverpool Cruise Terminal|Manchester Ship Canal|Mersey Ferry|Heysham Port}}

<gallery>
Royal Daffodil ship in Liverpool.jpg|Mersey Ferry Royal Daffodil
Caribbean Princess and Princes Parade, Liverpool (geograph 2978483).jpg|''Liverpool Cruise Terminal''
Leeds-Liverpool Canal - panoramio.jpg|''Leeds and Liverpool Canal''
Manannan and Liver Building, Pier Head, Liverpool (geograph 2978805).jpg|Isle of Man Steam Packet
Steam packet route map.svg|Isle of Man Steam Packet route map
Manchester Ship Canal map.svg|[[Manchester Ship Canal]]
NORBAYslr.jpg|[[MS Norbay]] operates Liverpool to Dublin
</gallery>
[[File:Liverpool Pier Head.jpg|Liverpool [[Pier Head]] and [[Liverpool Cruise Terminal]]|200px|thumb]]

Sea ferries depart from the following ports: [[Port of Liverpool]] ([[Gladstone Dock]]), Bootle to [[Dublin]] ([[P&O Ferries]]) and [[Douglas, Isle of Man|Douglas]] on the [[Isle of Man]] ([[Isle of Man Steam Packet]]); [[Birkenhead]] ([[Twelve Quays|Twelve Quays Terminal]]) to [[Belfast]] and Dublin ([[Norfolkline|Norfolkline Irish Sea Ferries]] – former [[Norse Merchant Ferries]]); [[Fleetwood]] to [[Larne]] ([[Stena Line]]) in [[Northern Ireland]]; and [[Heysham Port]] to Douglas (Isle of Man Steam Packet).

The world's first hovercraft service took place on 20 July 1962, from [[Leasowe]] ([[Moreton, Merseyside|Moreton]]) to Rhyl, operated by [[British United Airways]] in a [[Vickers-Armstrongs]] VA-3, powered by two [[turboprop]] engines.

[[Leeds and Liverpool Canal]] has run into Liverpool city centre, via [[Liverpool Canal Link]] at Pier Head, since 2009.

[[Liverpool Cruise Terminal]] in the city centre provides long-distance passenger cruises; [[Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines]], [[MS Black Watch (1971)|MS Black Watch]] and [[Cruise & Maritime Voyages]] [[MS Magellan]] all use the terminal to depart to [[Iceland]], [[France]], [[Spain]] and [[Norway]].
[[File:Regional Profile of the North West.png|thumb|Regional profile of the North West]]

==Economy==
The North West is historically linked with the textiles industry, mainly before the mid 20th century. The Greater Manchester region produces [[List of ceremonial counties in England by gross value added|the most economic output according to GVA in 2014]] with £57,395m, followed by Merseyside £28,257m, Lancashire with £27,668m, Cheshire £25,803m and Cumbria with £10,747m.

According to research by [[Cushman & Wakefield]] in 2008, Manchester is the second best city to locate a business in the UK whilst Liverpool is the eleventh best city.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cushwake.com/cwglobal/jsp/newsDetail.jsp?repId=c19200007p&LanId=EN&LocId=GLOBAL |title=London and Manchester lead UK business survey |access-date=24 September 2008 |date=24 September 2008 |publisher=[[Cushman & Wakefield]] |website=Cushman & Wakefield web pages |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081127031929/http://www.cushwake.com/cwglobal/jsp/newsDetail.jsp?repId=c19200007p&LanId=EN&LocId=GLOBAL |archive-date=27 November 2008}}</ref> The ''[[Financial Times]]'' stated that the North West economy, led by the redevelopment of Manchester and Liverpool, is a genuine rival to "overheated London".<ref>{{cite news |title=Living in the North West |url=http://careers.astrazeneca.co.uk/working-here/our-locations/alderley-park/living-in-the-North-West/ |work=AstraZeneca |access-date=20 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026025623/http://careers.astrazeneca.co.uk/working-here/our-locations/alderley-park/living-in-the-North-West/ |archive-date=26 October 2011}}</ref>

The area's electricity, formerly looked after by [[MANWEB]] and [[NORWEB]], is now looked after by [[Scottish Power|ScottishPower Energy Networks]] and [[United Utilities]] respectively. The [[Rampside Gas Terminal|Morecambe Bay gas field]] provides 6% of the UK's natural gas.

{{Electricity generation in North West England}}

===Cheshire===
{{Main|Economy of Cheshire}}
{{See also|Cheshire#Economy and industry}}

{{Multiple issues|section=yes|
{{overly detailed|section|date=October 2017}}
{{more citations needed|section|date=October 2017}}
}}
[[File:Stanlow from a distance - geograph.org.uk - 684459.jpg|thumb|right|[[Essar Energy]]'s [[Stanlow Refinery]], the 
UK's second largest refinery after [[Fawley Refinery|Fawley]], looking north-east from [[Wervin]] ]]

[[File:Vauxhall's, Ellesmere Port - geograph.org.uk - 218503.jpg|thumb|left|[[Vauxhall Ellesmere Port|Vauxhall's plant]] in Ellesmere Port exports 88% of its cars, although many of the components are imported, and has made over 5 million since 1962, also making the [[Opel Vectra|Vectra]] from 1995 to 2008; it makes 686 a day (two a minute, 100,000 a year) and the latest model was designed by [[Mark Adams (designer)|Mark Adams]] and Malcolm Ward. Three million Astras have been sold in the UK since 1979, and featured on the [[Top Gear test track]] until 2015; the production is split with the [[Opel Manufacturing Poland]] site at [[Gliwice]] in southern Poland; the [[Opel Corsa|Corsa]] is made at [[Opel Zaragoza]] in north-east Spain, with 3-door versions at [[Opel Eisenach]]; the [[Opel Insignia|Insignia]] is made at [[Opel Rüsselsheim]] ]]
Cheshire is linked with the [[Salt in Cheshire|salt industry]]. [[AstraZeneca]], the fifth largest pharmaceutical company in the world, has a manufacturing site in the north-east of Macclesfield on [[Hurdsfield]] Ind Est (former ICI Pharmaceuticals) off the A523, where it makes Zoladex ([[goserelin]]); it was formerly ICI until June 1993 when it became [[Zeneca]]. [[Vauxhall Motors|Vauxhall]], home of the [[Vauxhall Astra|Astra]], is on a [[RAF Hooton Park|former airfield]] next to the [[M53 motorway|M53]], and [[Stanlow Refinery|Essar Energy]] (former [[Royal Dutch Shell|Shell]], partly in [[Thornton-le-Moors]]) are in [[Ellesmere Port]]. Industrial inspection organisation [[SGS S.A.|SGS]] UK is based on junction 8 of the M53 at Rossmore Business Park. [[Innospec]] (former Octel) is west of the refinery near junction 9 of the M53 ([[A5032 road|A5032]]); Innospec also has a site at Widnes (former Aroma Fine Chemicals) which makes [[Lilestralis]]. [[Vidrala|Encirc Glass]] (former [[Aventas group]]) make glass bottles to the east of the refinery at [[Elton, Cheshire|Elton]]; the [[Shell Technology Centre]] on the southern side of the [[Ellesmere Port to Warrington Line|railway]], off the A5117 and the M56 [[Hapsford]] Interchange on the east side of the refinery, closed in 2014; to the east is the large site of [[Kemira GrowHow|CF Fertilisers]] UK (former Shellstar) who make the Nitram brand of fertiliser.

[[Lex Autolease]], the UK's largest vehicle leasing company, is in the east of Chester, towards [[Hoole]]. [[Ball Corporation|Ball Packaging Europe]] is based on the [[A483 road|A483]] at Chester Business Park, near the A55 junction in [[Eccleston, Cheshire|Eccleston]], which has a main office of [[Marks & Spencer]]; east of M&S, south of the A55 bypass is [[Sira (notified body)|Sira]], which issues [[ATEX directive|ATEX]] product approvals. To the north at [[Dunkirk, Cheshire|Dunkirk]] at the end of the M56 on the [[A5117 road|A5117]], is [[Max Spielmann]] (including the former Klick) in [[Lea-by-Backford]]; further north at [[Capenhurst]], next to the [[Wirral Line|railway]], [[Urenco Group]] have a [[Enriched uranium|uranium enrichment]] plant, partly in [[Ledsham, Cheshire|Ledsham]]. [[Sandbach]] used to be home of [[ERF (lorry manufacturer)|ERF]] and [[Edwin Foden, Sons & Co.|Fodens]] trucks. [[Tata Chemicals Europe]] (former Brunner Mond) next to the [[A530 road|A530]], next to the [[Mid-Cheshire Line|railway]], is partly in [[Lostock Gralam]] just west of [[Northwich]]; there is another main site at [[Winnington]] on the [[A533 road|A533]] north-west of Northwich. [[British Salt]] is in [[Middlewich]]; [[Bisto]] used to be made there by Centura Foods (RHM), but production moved to [[Worksop]] (Nottinghamshire) in 2008. [[Henkel|Henkel UK]] (the consumer adhesive division, maker of [[Pritt]] and [[Sellotape]]) is on the Winsford Ind Estate in the east of [[Winsford]], home of the UK's [[Salt in Cheshire|largest]] [[salt mine]] at [[Meadowbank, Cheshire|Meadowbank]] run by [[Salt Union]], who are owned by [[Compass Minerals]].

[[Mornflake]] is in Crewe on the B5071, [[Focus (DIY)|Focus]] closed in July 2011, and [[Orion Optics]] make telescopes. [[Bentley|Bentley Motors]] (owned by [[Volkswagen]] since 1998) have their [[Bentley Crewe|main plant]] in the west of the town between the [[A530 road|A530]] and A532, next to the railway to Chester. [[Crewe Works]] built the [[InterCity 125|HST]] ([[British Rail Class 43 (HST)|Class 43]]) power cars, and now carries out maintenance for [[Bombardier Transportation|Bombardier]]. [[Unipart]] Rail is on the B5071 next to Crewe railway station. [[Bargain Booze]] is at the A532/A5020 roundabout in the east of the town, and further along the A532 [[Whitby Morrison]] are the world's leading manufacturer of [[ice cream van]]s. Air Products have a main HQ off the [[A534 road|A534]] in central Crewe near the Virgin Trains training academy. [[UK Fuels]] ([[fuel card]]s) are off the A532, north of Crewe railway station.

[[BAE Systems Land & Armaments|BAE Systems Global Combat Systems]] at [[ROF Radway Green|Radway Green]], [[Barthomley]] north of M6 junction 16, south of [[Alsager]] makes small arms ammunition, and [[Freshpack]] make pies next to the A5011 towards the east of the town; [[Twyford Bathrooms]] (owned since 2001 by the Finnish [[Sanitec]]) are off the B5077, but their enormous factory next to the [[Crewe to Derby Line|railway]] closed in early 2011, with production moving overseas. Amec is south of Knutsford at [[Booths Hall]] off the [[A537 road|A537]], now the HQ of [[Amec Foster Wheeler]]; also in the town is [[Edmundson Electrical]]. Between Knutsford and Wilmslow in [[Mobberley]] off the B5085, close to the southern approach of Manchester Airport, is a large site of Harman Technology (known worldwide as [[Ilford Photo]]). [[Four Seasons Health Care]] is in central Wilmslow; north of the town on the [[A538 road|A538]] is a large £60m mass spectrometry research site of the [[Waters Corporation]], built in 2014 on a former research site of [[Ciba-Geigy]] Pharmaceuticals (who formed Novartis in 1996), next to the [[River Bollin]]. [[Pets at Home]] is next to the [[Crewe to Manchester Line|railway]] at [[Handforth]] near [[Wilmslow]] and the Stockport boundary near [[Handforth Dean]] (A34). [[Boalloy Industries]] are on Radnor Park Ind Est in [[West Heath, Cheshire|West Heath]] in west Congleton north of the A534/A34 junction, make [[Semi-trailer|trailer]]s, and pioneered the [[Tautliner]] curtain-sided trailer design in the 1970s. [[Reginox]] UK (kitchen sinks) are in the north of Congleton; Siemens Industry Automation & Drive Technologies UK make [[Adjustable-speed drive|variable-speed drive]]s, exporting 98% of production, on Eaton Bank Trading Est near the [[River Dane]]. [[OK Diner]] is in Macclesfield (previously in Middlewich); [[Tullis Russell]] at [[Bollington]] makes the paper for all [[Great Britain commemorative stamps 2010–19|Royal Mail stamps]], and has done for many years.

[[File:View from Helsby Hill - geograph.org.uk - 250843.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ineos ChlorVinyls at Runcorn in 2006; the [[Chemical industry in the United Kingdom|UK chemicals industry]] is worth £57bn, with 180,000 people in around 3,000 companies]]
[[Ineos]] Fluor (the site was previously owned by [[Imperial Chemical Industries|ICI Chemicals]]) is at Runcorn which produces chlorine and caustic soda from Cheshire salt, piped from [[Lostock Gralam]], south of Northwich; most of the chlorine in the UK comes from this plant; it also makes [[Organofluorine chemistry|hydrofluoroalkane]]s (HFAs) for [[metered-dose inhaler]]s and the anaesthetic [[halothane]]. There is Ineos Chlor and Ineos Vinyls. [[BNFL]] and its subsidiary [[Sellafield Ltd]] (former British Nuclear Group), and [[ABB]] are based in [[Daresbury]] near Runcorn, although most of BNG's operations take place at [[Sellafield]] in Cumbria. Daresbury is also home of the [[EMMA (accelerator)|EMMA]] and [[ALICE (accelerator)|ALICE]] [[FFAG accelerator]]s. [[Diageo]] bottles [[Guinness]] at [[Preston Brook]], between the A56 and [[A533 road|A533]], and nearby [[Saint-Gobain]] UK make Isover insulation. [[Kawneer]] UK (part of [[Alcoa]]) make architectural aluminium systems ([[curtain wall (architecture)|curtain wall]]s) off the [[A533 road|A533]] at [[Astmoor]] in north Runcorn. [[APPH]] (aircraft [[Landing gear|undercarriage]]) is based on the A558 on [[Manor Park (Runcorn)|Manor Park]] in [[Sandymoor]] near [[TALL Security Print]], the UK's leading provider of business cheques; further to the west is [[Yokogawa Electric]] UK. [[Schachihata]] UK ([[Xstamper]] and [[Artline (marker)|Artline]]) are based at Ashville Ind Est on the [[A557 road|A557]] at junction 12 of the M56 next to the Weaver Navigation and the 3,200&nbsp;ft [[Weaver Viaduct]] south of Runcorn towards [[Sutton Weaver]]. [[Croda International|Croda]] Enterprise Technology Group does its important R&D in [[Halebank]], Widnes, south of [[Ditton, Cheshire|Ditton]]. The [[Thermphos International|Thermphos]] factory on the A557 south of Widnes closed in 2013.

[[United Utilities]] is based in the west of Warrington at Lingley Mere Business Park in [[Great Sankey]], next to the St Helens boundary; in Lingley Green to the south on the A57 was the former HQ of [[North West Water]]; to the north, Amazon have a fulfilment centre. Unilever makes ''[[Persil]]'' and ''[[Surf (detergent)|Surf]]'' [[Laundry detergent|washing powders]] next to the [[Warrington Bank Quay railway station|Bank Quay]] railway station; next door between the [[A5061 road|A5061]] and River Mersey is [[PQ Corporation|PQ Silicas]] (former [[Joseph Crosfield]]). [[Cogent Skills]] (the UK's [[Sector Skills Councils|SSC]] for science) is in the south of Warrington off the A5060, on the other side of the [[Ellesmere Port to Warrington Line|railway]] from Bank Quay. [[New Balance]] UK is at Centre Park, off the A5060 in south-west Warrington, with a factory at [[Flimby]], on the Cumbria coast. [[Konftel|Konftel UK]] is at [[Thelwall]]. [[ASICS]] UK (sportswear) is on the Gemini Business Park, off the A574 in [[Burtonwood and Westbrook]] north of Warrington, next to the M62 and a large IKEA and M&S on Gemini Retail Park; next door is [[KYB]] UK, part of the world's largest (Japanese) manufacturer of [[shock absorber]]s; nearby is [[Krauss-Maffei]] UK ([[Injection molding machine|injection moulding machines]]); AlphaBiolabs provide the [[DNA paternity testing]] for ''[[The Jeremy Kyle Show]]'' on Carina Park in [[Westbrook, Cheshire|Westbrook]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 April 2019 |title=Who does Jeremy Kyle DNA testing? |url=https://www.alphabiolabs.co.uk/blog/who-does-jeremy-kyle-dna-testing/ |access-date=19 January 2021 |website=AlphaBiolabs}}</ref>

[[Burtonwood Brewery]] (the HQ of [[Thomas Hardy Burtonwood]], who developed Britain's [[alcopop]] drinks in the 1990s) is on the B5204 in the west of Burtonwood, towards St Helens borough. Birchwood Park has to be the main technical business park in the North West. The Bank of England [[Monetary Policy Committee (United Kingdom)|MPC]]'s Agency for the North West is on [[Birchwood Park]] near the HQ of [[GB Oils]], the UK's leading fuel oil supplier (owned by [[DCC Plc|DCC]]), and the operator of [[Gulf Oil UK|Gulf Oil]] petrol stations in the UK. [[Electricity North West]] (the North West's [[distribution network operator]]) is near by, with [[ESR Technology]], who did work for the [[Philae (spacecraft)|Philae]] space probe and owns the [[National Centre of Tribology]] at Whittle House in Risley, with [[TalkTalk Business]] to the west, near [[International Nuclear Services]] and [[Sellafield Ltd]] at [[Christopher Hinton, Baron Hinton of Bankside|Hinton House]]. [[Terberg Group|Terberg]] Matec UK (Dutch) supply lifts for bin wagons next to M62 junction 11. Also west of the park is [[Nuvia]] UK (part of [[Soletanche Freyssinet]]). [[Betfred]] (having the largest turnover in the region—£13.3bn) is at the western end of Birchwood itself, next to the M6 and [[Birchwood railway station]]. Birchwood was built on the former [[ROF Risley]].

===Lancashire===
{{Overly detailed|details=move to [[Lancashire#Economy]]|date=May 2023}}{{Main|Lancashire#Economy}}
[[File:Canberra, Samlesbury - geograph.org.uk - 101508.jpg|thumb|left|[[English Electric Canberra]] [[Gate guardian|gate guard]] at [[BAE Systems Military Air & Information|BAE's]] [[Samlesbury Aerodrome|Samlesbury]] site]]
The [[Office for National Statistics|ONS]] 2010 Annual Business Survey states that 30.3% of jobs in the British aerospace industry are based in Lancashire.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/office_of_the_chief_executive/lancashireprofile/main/aerospace.asp |title=The aerospace industry |publisher=Lancashire County Council – Office of the chief executive |access-date=10 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110901174044/http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/office_of_the_chief_executive/lancashireprofile/main/aerospace.asp |archive-date=1 September 2011}}</ref> The main private employer in the county is [[BAE Systems Military Air & Information]] who have two sites east and west of [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]] for the manufacture of military aircraft. [[Samlesbury Aerodrome|Samlesbury]] (4000 employees) makes air-frames; the front fuselage, canards and tailfin of the Eurofighter. [[Warton Aerodrome|Warton]], BAE Systems' main site (former [[English Electric]], then [[British Aircraft Corporation|BAC]]), is in [[Bryning-with-Warton]] (6500 employees).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17054577 |title=BAE Systems' annual sales fall by 14% |date=16 February 2012 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=10 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511013950/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17054577 |archive-date=11 May 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> BAE builds a Eurofighter every two weeks ([[takt time]]). [[Rolls-Royce plc|Rolls-Royce]] make [[turbofan]] blades in [[Barnoldswick]] (950 employees).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rolls-royce.com/careers/where_in_the_world/uk/barnoldswick.jsp |title=Where in the world? Barnoldswick |publisher=Rolls-Royce |access-date=10 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111231194001/http://www.rolls-royce.com/careers/where_in_the_world/uk/barnoldswick.jsp |archive-date=31 December 2011}}</ref> Nearby Weston EU manufacture components in [[Foulridge]] (250)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/pendle/foulridge/9393282.Pendle_aero_firm_Weston_EU_sold_for___54m/ |title=Pendle aero firm Weston EU sold for £54m |date=30 November 2011 |newspaper=Lancashire Telegraph |access-date=10 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327012351/http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/pendle/foulridge/9393282.Pendle_aero_firm_Weston_EU_sold_for___54m/ |archive-date=27 March 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> and engine maintenance contractor [[Euravia]] are in [[Kelbrook]] (100).<ref name=LTRecr>{{cite news |url=http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/rossendale/8779739.East_Lancashire_s_biggest_firms_plan_to_recruit_staff_in_2011/ |title=East Lancashire's biggest firms plan to recruit staff in 2011 |date=9 January 2011 |newspaper=Lancashire Telegraph |access-date=10 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826114450/http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/rossendale/8779739.East_Lancashire_s_biggest_firms_plan_to_recruit_staff_in_2011/ |archive-date=26 August 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Safran]] Aircelle make engine [[nacelle]]s and [[Thrust reversal|thrust reverser]]s in [[Burnley]] (800), and mostly make thrust reversers for the [[Rolls-Royce Trent 700|Trent 700]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aircelle.com/spip.php?article288 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081116041503/http://www.aircelle.com/spip.php?article288 |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 November 2008 |title=Aircelle Ltd. wins the "Business of the Year" recognition in Lancashire, England |date=18 November 2008 |publisher=Aircelle |access-date=10 June 2012}}</ref> [[GE]] subsidiary Unison Engine Components (320),<ref name=LTRecr/> are the largest of several others in the area.

[[Westinghouse Electric Company|Westinghouse]] (BNFL) make [[nuclear fuel]] at the [[Springfields]] site at [[Salwick]], off the [[A583 road|A583]] in [[Newton-with-Clifton]]. The boiler firm [[BAXI]] have a factory in the south of Preston, and next door, [[Assystem]] UK (engineering consultancy) are off the B5258 in [[Bamber Bridge]]. [[Anheuser-Busch InBev|AB InBev]] have a brewery on the B6230 in nearby in [[Samlesbury]] (former [[Whitbread]], and brews [[Stella Artois]]); further east the BAE Systems factory is between the A677 and A59, mainly in [[Balderstone, Lancashire|Balderstone]]. To the north-east of Preston, Bodycare Group make toiletries at the Red Scar Business Park on the B6243, near junction 31a of the M6, where [[Goss International]] UK make [[printing press]]es. [[Webb Ivory]] (charity fundraising, owned by [[Findel plc]]) is off the A6 in [[Avenham]], in the south of Preston. [[Alstom]] Transport (former [[GEC Traction]]) is at TLS Preston; company's main Trafford Park site closed in the early 1990s. [[Bosal (company)|Bosal]] was the UK's leading manufacturer of car exhausts on Walton Summit, between the M6 and M61 until they closed operations. The Pilkington European Technical Centre is at [[Lathom]].

[[Voith]] Paper has a site in [[Stubbins]], at the northern end of the M66, off the [[A676 road|A676]]. [[Silentnight]] (600)<ref name=LTRecr/> is in [[Barnoldswick]], where [[Hope Technology]] make mountain bike components; nearby [[Johnson Matthey]] makes automotive catalysts. At [[Whitworth, Lancashire|Whitworth]] on the A671, BCH engineer equipment for the food processing industry ([[Nestlé]] and [[Mars (company)|Mars]]).

Brands originating in Lancashire include [[TVR]], [[Reebok]], [[Jaguar Cars]] and [[Warburtons]]. [[Leyland Trucks]] manufactures several truck ranges from [[Leyland, Lancashire|Leyland]], home of [[Enterprise plc]], and where [[Albion Motors|Albion Automotive]] (part of [[American Axle]]) make [[crankshaft]]s at [[Farington]]. [[CCA Occasions]] makes greeting cards on the B5253 on the [[Moss Side, South Ribble|Moss Side]] Ind Estate and nearby [[Dr Oetker]] makes Chicago Town and Pizza Ristorante pizzas (330);<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leylandguardian.co.uk/news/local/40-new-jobs-are-just-what-the-dr-ordered-1-2011714 |title=40 new jobs are just what the Dr ordered |date=25 February 2009 |publisher=Leyland Guardian |access-date=14 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602101912/http://www.leylandguardian.co.uk/news/local/40-new-jobs-are-just-what-the-dr-ordered-1-2011714 |archive-date=2 June 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 40% of the UK's frozen pizzas are made here, and the Pizza Ristorante brand, solely made in Lancashire, is Italy's best-selling frozen pizza with 20% of the Italian market.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jun/21/how-good-dr-oetkers-pizza |title=How good is Dr Oetker's pizza? |date=21 June 2011 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=14 June 2012 |first=Jon |last=Henley |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140827011847/http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jun/21/how-good-dr-oetkers-pizza |archive-date=27 August 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> Nearby, [[Nitecrest]] is the UK's leading manufacturer of [[Gift card|gift]], [[Payment card|payment]], [[Loyalty program|loyalty]] and [[Telephone card|phone card]]s, and exports most of its products.

[[Walkers (snack foods)|Walker's]] make [[Monster Munch]] at junction 5 of the M58 on the Pimbo Ind Est in [[Up Holland]]; nearby [[Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget|SCA Hygiene]] has their Skelmersdale Mill which makes [[Paper towel|kitchen towel]], with [[Uretek]] UK (polyurethane). To the east is [[Frederick's Dairies]] in East Pimbo, who make Cadbury's ice creams, near [[TAAG Steelwork]], who built the [[Olympic Energy Centre]]. To the west, [[Turtle Wax]] Europe are next to M58 junction 4 on Gillibrands Ind Est. [[The Co-operative Bank]] are administered from Delf House in the centre of Skelmersdale.

[[Victrex]] make [[PEEK]] (a [[thermoplastic]]) just north of Blackpool at [[Cleveleys]]. Next door, AGC Chemicals Europe,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Salvidge |first1=Rachel |title=Firm releases almost 800&nbsp;kg of 'forever chemical' a year into Lancashire river |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/29/pfas-forever-chemical-river-wyre-lancashire-environment-agency |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 April 2023}}</ref> owned by [[Asahi Glass Co.]], makes [[ETFE]] (fluon) for [[Electrical wiring|electrical wire insulation]], and [[silica gel]] off the B5268 at [[Thornton-Cleveleys]]. HTI Group in Fleetwood makes toys and owns [[Barbie]].

[[Ennis Prismo]] make traffic white line products at Chorley; Walmsleys is a paper manufacturer off the A675 in [[Withnell]]. [[DXC Technology]] (former CSC) have sites in Chorley and Preston. Along the M65, Fort Vale based in [[Simonstone, Lancashire|Simonstone]] (near [[Burnley]]) (300) are a world leader in valves and fittings for [[Tank truck|road tanker]]s.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/business/9363225.Lancashire_Telegraph_Business_Awards__Export_winner_Fort_Vale_Engineering/ |title=Lancashire Telegraph Business Awards: Export winner Fort Vale Engineering |date=14 November 2011 |newspaper=Lancashire Telegraph |access-date=16 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402234708/http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/business/9363225.Lancashire_Telegraph_Business_Awards__Export_winner_Fort_Vale_Engineering/ |archive-date=2 April 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Close by, office furniture manufacturer Senator International (800)<ref name=LTRecr/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/hyndburn/altham/1059647.Senator_scoops_business_of_year_award/ |title=Senator scoops business of year award |date=6 December 2006 |newspaper=Lancashire Telegraph |access-date=16 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826120156/http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/hyndburn/altham/1059647.Senator_scoops_business_of_year_award/ |archive-date=26 August 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> are the largest in the UK in their field. Off the A646 in [[Habergham Eaves]], east of Burnley, is [[AMS Neve]], a renowned manufacturer of [[Mixing console|audio mixing desk]]s. Telecoms provider [[Daisy Group]] (former Pipex, 400),<ref name=LTRecr/> based in [[Nelson, Lancashire|Nelson]] is one of the UK's fastest growing companies, on Lomeshaye Ind Est north of M65 junction 12 in [[Brierfield, Lancashire|Brierfield]];<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.commsbusiness.co.uk/News_Article_JS1.cfm?NewsID=14670 |title=Group Celebrates a Daisy Decade |date=5 October 2011 |publisher=Comms Business |access-date=7 June 2012 |archive-date=14 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214041417/https://www.commsbusiness.co.uk/news/group-celebrates-a-daisy-decade/ |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Cott|Cott Beverages]] (former [[Macaw Soft Drinks]] before 2006) is off junction 12 of the M65 in [[Brierfield, Lancashire|Brierfield]], west of Nelson, next to [[Pendle Water]]. [[Jura Elektroapparate|Jura]] UK (Swiss coffee machines) is off the A6068 in Colne. At [[Horrocksford]] near Clitheroe, [[Hanson Cement]] have their large [[Ribblesdale Cement]] works, next to the [[River Ribble]], which supplied construction of the [[Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral]]. [[Bensons for Beds]] (previously in [[Burtonwood and Westbrook|Burtonwood]] near Warrington) and [[Sleepmasters]] (both owned by [[Steinhoff International]]) are in the north of Accrington, off junction 8 (A56) of the M65, near [[Huncoat railway station]]. [[Kleeneze]] (owned by [[Findel plc]]) is based with [[Express Gifts]] off the [[A678 road|A678]] in [[Clayton-le-Moors]] off the M65 Hyndburn Interchange between Blackburn and Burnley, north of Accrington with a main distribution centre off the A679 in [[Church, Lancashire|Church]] on the other side of the M65 in the west of Accrington, with both sites next to the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. Off the [[A678 road|A678]] near the River Calder in [[Altham, Lancashire|Altham]] (north east of Clayton le Moors) is [[Senator (furniture)|Senator]] who claim to be the UK's largest manufacturer of office furniture; Simon Jersey designed and made the [[Team GB]] clothing for the [[Great Britain at the 2016 Summer Olympics|2016 Olympics]] opening and closing ceremonies.

In Blackpool is the [[Federation of Small Businesses]] (FSB), [[Amber Taverns]], [[Premium Bond]]s and [[National Savings and Investments]]. [[Dennis Eagle]] makes bin wagons in Marton; [[Tangerine Confectionery]] are based at Little Marton, with another factory to the east, just south of the main government building site. The [[Service Personnel and Veterans Agency]] (MoD's pensions, former [[Veterans Agency]]) is off the [[A585 road|A585]] in east Blackpool at the B268 roundabout at Norcross in the south of [[Anchorsholme]]. The NS & I office of Blackpool is on the [[A583 road|A583]], off the M55 Marton Circle, in [[Marton, Blackpool|Little Marton]] on the eastern edge of the town. [[Disability Living Allowance]], replaced by [[Personal Independence Payment]], is administered by the DWP, with the [[Disablement Services Authority]] at [[Warbreck House]] west of the [[A587 road|A587]], accessed from the B5265 and next to [[Bispham High School Arts College|Bispham High School]]. At the end of the M55 (junction 4) off the A5230 in [[Westby-with-Plumptons]] is DWP's large [[Peel Park Control Centre]], on the Blackpool boundary. Amber Taverns is near [[Blackpool North railway station]]. To the north of Peel Park, next to the Clifton Retail Park in [[Mereside]] is [[Glasdon]] ([[Street furniture|roadside furniture]]), off the A583.
[[Burton's Biscuit Company]] (owned since November 2013 by the [[Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan]]) have many head office functions in [[Layton, Blackpool]] and a factory off the B5124, in the south of Warbreck, next to the [[Blackpool Branch Lines|railway line]], which makes [[Maryland Cookies]], [[Cadbury Fingers]] and [[Wagon Wheels]] (with another main factory in [[Torfaen]], south Wales); it is the UK's second largest biscuit maker and was founded in Blackpool.

[[Crown Paints]] is in [[Darwen]] (500).<ref name=LTRecr/> [[DS Smith]] have the Hollins paper mill just south of junction 4 of the M65, off the A666 in Darwen, which is set to close. Across the M65 to the north [[Apeks]] make [[diving equipment]] at [[Blackamoor, Lancashire|Blackamoor]]. [[Graham & Brown]] at Blackburn make fancy wallpaper, next to the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, and off the A6077 is [[CWV (company)|CWV]] ([[Coloroll]] and [[Crown Wallpaper]]); [[Capita Group]] runs [[Television licensing in the United Kingdom|TV Licensing]] in the middle of the town; [[Lucite International]] has its main plant on the A666 in the north of the town centre, where it makes [[Lucite]]; this site, under ICI Acrylics, manufactured the [[perspex]] for wartime aircraft canopies from 1940, becoming Ineos Acrylics from 1999 until 2002 and the company is the world's largest manufacturer of [[methyl methacrylate]] (MMA); [[ICI Acrylics]] invented the process to make perspex in 1936; the granular form of Perspex was known by ICI as Leukon. [[Tensar|Tensar International]], invented and manufacture [[geogrid]]s for construction, off the A6077 near junction 5 of the M65 in Blackburn near the B6231 roundabout; nearby is [[A. M. Castle & Co.|Castle Metals]] UK; also on the Shadsworth Business Park is [[Evertaut]], who make [[auditorium]] seating.

===Greater Manchester===
{{Main|Greater Manchester#Economy}}
{{See also|Economy of Manchester|List of companies based in Greater Manchester|Liverpool–Manchester rivalry}}
[[Tyco International|Tyco]] UK is based on the A62 in [[Newton Heath]]. [[Joseph Holt's Brewery]] is off the A665 next to [[Manchester (HM Prison)|Strangeways prison]]; [[Boddingtons]]' [[Strangeways Brewery]] closed in 2006. [[Avecia]] (biotechnology) is off the A664 in the Hexagon Tower in [[Blackley]] near the [[North Manchester General Hospital]]. North of the hospital at [[Crumpsall]] was [[B3 Cable Solutions]], the UK's only former manufacturer of [[telecommunications cable]]s, based next to the [[River Irk]]. Heineken (former [[Scottish & Newcastle]]) have their large Royal Brewery in Moss Side next to the A5103, north of the B5219 junction. [[Admiral Sportswear]] are in [[Northenden]]. [[British Textile Technology Group]] is in Didsbury. [[Timpson (retailer)|Timpson]] is in [[Wythenshawe]]; [[Sharwood's]] used to make their sauces there until Premier Foods moved production to [[Bury St Edmunds]] in 2008. [[Duerr's]] make honey and jam at the Roundthorn Ind Estate in Wythenshawe, off the [[A560 road|A560]].

[[Shell UK]] (retail) was at [[Rowlandsway House]] in Wythenshawe until 2011 and has moved to Brabazon House nearby on the Concord Business Park; [[Royal Dutch Shell]], [[List of largest companies by revenue|by revenue]] ($458bn) in 2010, was the world's largest company, with [[ExxonMobil]] second. Electrium make their Wylex [[Distribution board|fuse boxes]] on the B5168 and B5166 in Wythenshawe, north of the [[Sharston]] Interchange of the M56; to the west is a plant of the [[Heimbach Group]]. [[PZ Cussons]] (formerly in [[Cheadle Heath]]) is off the Airport Interchange of the M56, with a manufacturing site on the former [[Agecroft Colliery]] next to the [[Ribble Valley Line|railway]] in Pendlebury, Salford, off the A6044. Nearby in [[Moss Nook]] is [[Franke (company)|Franke UK]], the world's largest manufacturer of domestic [[sink]]s and [[Simon Carves]] ([[process engineering]]), and [[Renold|Renold plc]] is an international chain company based on the B5166, off the Manchester Airport spur of the M56. [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] have a [[Fulfillment house|fulfilment centre]] off the A538 west of the airport, south of the Hale Four Seasons Roundabout of the M56.

[[N Brown Group]] (JD Williams) is one of Britain's main clothing manufacturers and retailers, and based in
central Manchester near the A62/A665 junction and Sir [[Owen Williams (engineer)|Owen William]]'s [[Daily Express Building, Manchester|Daily Express Building]], and owns well-known brands. [[Gazprom|Gazprom Energy]] is on [[Quay Street]] (A34) towards the River Irwell.

[[File:Heinz - geograph.org.uk - 1224705.jpg|thumb|right|[[H. J. Heinz Company|Heinz]], although based in [[Hayes, Hillingdon|Hayes]] in [[Middlesex]], has the [[H. J. Heinz, Wigan|largest food processing complex]] in Europe at a {{cvt|55|acre|ha|adj=on}} site at [[Kitt Green]] in Wigan, which produces 1.4&nbsp;billion cans of food each year; it is accessed to the east of the [[Orrell, Greater Manchester|Orrell]] Interchange of the M6 ([[A577 road|A577]]); the 38-acre Heinz NDC is next door]]
[[JJB Sports]] is at [[Marsh Green, Wigan|Marsh Green]] near the [[River Douglas, Lancashire|River Douglas]], set up by former footballer [[Dave Whelan]] who owns [[Wigan Athletic F.C.]]; also in Wigan are [[The Tote]], [[Shearings Holidays]] and [[Girobank]], and [[R&R Ice Cream]] (former [[Richmond Foods]]) make [[De Roma]] ice cream. [[Contitech]] UK (part of Continental AG) makes industrial [[Belt (mechanical)|belt]]s off the [[A587 road|A587]] in [[Bickershaw]], between Wigan and Leigh. Bulldog Tools make [[spade]]s on the A577 in the east of Wigan. [[Electrium]] ([[Volex]]) make [[Electrical wiring in the United Kingdom|electrical wiring]] off the A578, north of [[Westleigh, Greater Manchester|Westleigh]]. Ainscough Crane Hire is the UK's largest lifting services company on Bradley Hall Est in [[Standish, Greater Manchester|Standish]], next to the WCML. Off the A580 at the [[A573 road|A573]] roundabout at [[Golborne]], at Stone Cross Park south of the borough, is [[Alpla]] UK (plastic bottles) and [[Sofology]] (furniture).

[[Makro]] is in [[Eccles, Greater Manchester|Eccles]]. [[Akcros Chemicals]] are off the A576. [[Cooper & Stollbrand]] make premium garments next to the River Irwell on Cambridge Ind Est in [[Broughton, Greater Manchester|Lower Broughton]]. On the Bolton boundary in north of the borough in [[Little Hulton]], [[Eaton Corporation|Eaton Transmissions]] closed in 2006, with production moving to [[Tczew]] in Poland. Colgate closed its toothpaste factory in October 2008, on the [[A5066 road|A5066]], and is now called [[Soapworks]], near the former [[Manchester Docks|Pomona Docks]] in [[Ordsall, Greater Manchester|Ordsall]]. [[Pentair]] Safety Systems have a main site in [[Linnyshaw]], west of the M61 [[Worsley Braided Interchange]].
[[File:Back o' th' Bank House, Hereford St, Bolton - geograph.org.uk - 158440.jpg|thumb|right|Head office of Warburtons in Bolton in April 2006]]

[[Sock Shop]] is in Bolton, and [[MBDA]] ([[Matra]] [[BAe Dynamics]] [[Alenia Marconi Systems|Alenia]], owned 37.5% by BAE Systems) makes missiles in [[Lostock, Bolton|Lostock]] near the Horwich Link Interchange of the M61; it is the historic main manufacturing site of Britain's aircraft-launched missiles; MBDA Lostock is MBDA's largest production site (of the whole company) and makes the air-to-air [[ASRAAM]] (found on the Eurofighter) and the air-to-surface [[active radar homing]] [[Brimstone (missile)]] designed by GEC-Marconi in the 1990s, and previously made the [[Rapier (missile)|Rapier]] [[surface-to-air missile]], and the [[De Havilland Firestreak]], Britain's first ([[infrared homing]]) [[air-to-air missile]]. [[Cash Generator]] is south of the borough off the [[A575 road|A575]] in [[Farnworth]], north of the Salford boundary; [[Cosatto]] (nursery equipment) is on the A575 [[Moses Gate]], in East Farnworth. [[dabs.com]], an e-commerce site owned by BT, is in [[Wingates]] ([[Westhoughton]]), west of Bolton off the A6 and the [[Horwich]] Link Interchange of the M61, next to [[Krones]] UK (German) on the Wingates Ind Est, which produces machinery for bottling manufacture; nearby is a hologram factory of [[De La Rue]]. [[Benteler International|Benteler]] UK ([[carbon steel]] tubes) is next to the [[River Croal]] off the A58 at [[Tonge Moor]] next to [[Astley Bridge]] in north Bolton and to the south [[PMT Italia|PMT Industries]] makes paper drying machines. [[Severfield]], opposite MBDA in Lostock) built steel structures for [[Olympic Stadium (London)|Olympic Stadium]], the [[Lee Valley VeloPark|Velodrome]], the [[Basketball Arena (London)|Basketball Arena]], the [[ArcelorMittal Orbit]], and the [[Copper Box|Handball Centre]], as well as numerous well-known [[Structural steel|steel structures]] around the UK, such as [[Aspire (sculpture)|Aspire]], and the [[Clyde Arc]].

[[BAE Systems]] built aircraft in [[Chadderton]] and Woodford in Stockport (former [[Avro]]) off the A5102 (the eastern half of the airfield is in [[Cheshire East]]); the [[British Aerospace 146|BAe 146]] (Avro RJ) was manufactured at Woodford until 2001. [[Senior plc|Senior Aerospace BWT]] at [[Adlington, Cheshire]] off the A523 at the eastern end of Woodford Aerodrome, make air-conditioning systems for [[business jet]]s. [[Det Norske Veritas|DNV]] UK (engineering standards), [[National Tyres and Autocare|National Tyre Service]] (at the A5145/A6 junction) and Britain's first [[internet bank]] [[Smile (bank)|Smile]] (founded by the Co-op in 1999) are nearby in Stockport. [[Wienerberger]] UK, the Austrian brick company who own Baggeridge, are based at the [[Cheadle Royal Business Park]] at the B5358/A34 junction, as is [[Umbro]], and [[Agilent Technologies]] UK (biomedical equipment), and [[Chiesi]] UK ([[Pulmonology|respiratory medicine]]). [[DBS Civilian HR]] (the former Pay and Personnel Agency) is off A555 at [[Cheadle Hulme]]. [[Adidas|Adidas UK]] is in [[Bramhall Moor]], [[Hazel Grove]] off the A5143, and further south is [[NXP Semiconductors]] UK which make [[MOSFET]]s; on the opposite side of the railway is [[MAN Diesel & Turbo]], which is next to [[Stepping Hill Hospital]]. [[BASF|BASF UK]] is in [[Handforth]] next to the A34/[[A555 road|A555]] junction on the Cheshire boundary. [[Thales Underwater Systems]] (former [[Thomson Marconi Sonar|Ferranti Thomson Sonar Systems]]) is in [[Cheadle Heath]]. [[McVitie's]] make their [[Jaffa Cakes]], [[Penguin (biscuit)|Penguins]] and [[Digestive biscuit|chocolate digestives]] at a factory in South Manchester on the A6.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unitedbiscuits.com/about-us.php |title=About |publisher=United Biscuits |access-date=17 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527220829/http://www.unitedbiscuits.com/about-us.php |archive-date=27 May 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Jysk (store)|JYSK]] UK (mattresses) are off the A523 near the A6 junction. [[Pilkington's Tiles]] are based on Bredbury Park Ind Est, near a main factory of Renold Chain on the A6017 off the M60 Bredbury Interchange; also in [[Bredbury]] off the [[A6017 road|A6017]] is [[Janome]] UK ([[sewing machine]]s).

[[Russell Hobbs]] is in the south of the borough at [[Failsworth]] on the [[A62 road|A62]], west of the M60 Hollinwood Interchange; nearby to the [[Hollinwood railway station]] in Oldham, [[Trinity Mirror]] (former Mirror Colour Print before 2006) prints the ''Mirror'' and ''Independent'' for the north of England, as well as the ''Manchester Evening News'' and ''Liverpool Echo''. [[Diodes Incorporated|Diodes Semiconductors]] (former Zetex) based off the A669 in [[Alder Root]], Chadderton, is a leader in [[LED lamp|LED lighting]]. [[Money Controls]], in Royton in the north of the borough, make [[currency detector]]s, being owned by [[Crane Merchandising Systems|Crane Payment Solutions]], and [[Pulse Home Products]] (makes [[Breville]], owned by [[Jarden]] in Florida) is on the B6195. [[BAE Chadderton]] was next to the M60 and B6393, and a [[Caldervale Line|railway]], and closed in March 2012; later a repair facility, it built the [[Avro Lancaster|Lancaster]] and [[Avro Vulcan|Vulcan]]. [[Mölnlycke Health Care]] UK on the B6194 in central Oldham make [[Scrubs (clothing)|surgical clothing]] and [[Surgical mask|mask]]s. Shop Direct have their [[Shaw National Distribution Centre]].

Revolution Bars Group (former Inventive Leisure before December 2014), who own the [[Revolution (vodka bars)|Revolution]] pub chain, are in [[Ashton-under-Lyne]]. [[Kerry Group|Kerry Foods]] at [[Godley, Greater Manchester|Godley Hill]] (Hyde) on the A57 make Richmond and [[Wall's (meat)|Wall's]] sausages. [[Robertson's]] (now owned by [[Premier Foods]] since it was bought from [[Rank Hovis McDougall]]) moved their marmalade (Golden Shred) and jam processing from [[Droylsden]] to [[Histon]] (Cambridgeshire) in October 2008. [[Brother Industries|Brother]] Europe (typewriters and sewing machines) are at [[Hooley Hill]] on the A6017 next to [[Guide Bridge railway station]], east of the Snipe Interchange of the M60. [[Outdoor Sports Company]] owner of [[Mountain Equipment (company)|Mountain Equipment]], [[Ronhill]] (running clothing), and Sprayway, are based off the B6468 in Hyde.

[[Cotton Traders]] are in Altrincham, and [[Dulux|Dulux Decorator Centres]] is in [[Timperley|West Timperley]]. [[Britannia Hotels]] is on the [[A538 road|A538]] in Hale near the A5144 junction. [[LyondellBasell]] UK (former [[Basell Polyolefins]]), makes [[polypropylene]] resin at [[Carrington Works]], off the [[A6144(M) motorway|A6144]] (former motorway) in [[Carrington, Greater Manchester|Carrington]], off the Carrington Interchange of the M60, which was set up to exploit the British-invented [[Catarole process]], later bought by Shell in 1955. [[Ethel Austin]] is in Altrincham (formerly Knowsley until 2010). [[Virtalis]] ([[virtual reality]]) is off the B5397 near [[Dane Road Metrolink station]] in Sale. [[S2Blue]], a radio jingles company run by [[Steve England]], is off the A6144 near the B5165 junction, in [[Ashton upon Mersey]] in the former studios of [[Alfasound]] (having moved from [[Leek, Staffordshire|Leek]] in 2013). [[HomeForm Group]], owner of [[Moben Kitchens|Möben Kitchens]], [[Sharps Bedrooms]] and Dolphin Bathrooms until 2011, was on the [[A56 road|A56]] in [[Old Trafford (district)|Old Trafford]]. [[Itron]] UK (flow metering) have a plant at the A56/A5014 junction at [[Gorse Hill]]in Stretford; further along the A5014 there is Kelloggs UK HQ next to the Old Trafford cricket ground. [[Regatta (clothing)|Regatta]] and [[Craghoppers]] are on Barton Dock Road (B5211), near the [[Trafford Centre]] (the base of [[The Peel Group]]), on the other side of the A5081. [[Holt Lloyd]], known as Holts, the largest car care company in the world in the 1980s, now owned by Honeywell Consumer Products Group, is based on Barton Dock Road (B5211), at Merlin Park on the south of Trafford Park, off the M60 Lostock Circle. On Trafford Park near the A576 [[Centenary Bridge (Manchester)|Centenary Bridge]] [[Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget|SCA]] makes household tissue products (owned by [[Procter & Gamble|P&G]] before 2007), and next door is P&G's Manchester Plant which makes its ''[[Pampers]]'' nappies. [[The Fragrance Shop]] is based near [[Trafford Ecology Park]], on Trafford Park. [[Soreen]] is made south of Trafford Park, next to the Bridgewater Canal off the A5081 Parkway Circle roundabout; next door UK Data Capture (Lockheed Martin) processed all the [[2011 United Kingdom census|2011]] census data.

[[File:The Best to You Each Morning^ - geograph.org.uk - 47831.jpg|thumb|left|Kelloggs in Manchester, looking north along the A5181 next to [[Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service|GMFRS]]'s Stretford Area Command HQ; the site is the largest producer of cereals in Europe]]
[[Kelloggs]] is in [[Trafford Park]] (Manchester); to the north Adidas have their European distribution centre, and nearby [[TDG Limited|TDG]] was on the industrial estate, until bought by [[Norbert Dentressangle]] in 2011. [[DHL Freight]] UK is at [[Manchester International Freight Terminal]], west of the Old Trafford football ground. [[Chemtura]] (chemicals, former site of [[Ciba-Geigy]]) is between the A576 and B5214 towards the north end of the industrial park. [[Lucchini RS|Lucchini]] UK (railway [[Wheelset (rail transport)|wheelset]]s and axles) are on Trafford Park off the B5214, and are a main supplier for UK trains. [[Ocean Finance]] is on Trafford Park (previously in [[Tamworth, Staffordshire|Tamworth]]). [[Hot Animation]], who made ''[[Bob the Builder]]'', are on Hanover Business Park in the east of Altrincham, in [[Broadheath, Greater Manchester|Broadheath]]; to the south towards the Bridgewater Canal, across a [[Warrington and Altrincham Junction Railway|former railway]], on the Altrincham Ind Est, [[Girlguiding]] UK run their trading service.

[[File:JD Sports, Belfast, March 2011.JPG|thumb|right|150px|JD Sports (in Belfast), the largest company in Bury]]
[[JD Sports]] is west of the [[Pilsworth]] Interchange of the M66 in [[Unsworth]] south of [[Bury, Greater Manchester|Bury]]; [[Birthdays (retailer)|Birthdays]] is west of the Heap Bridge Interchange; Tetrosyl Group Ltd, UK maker of car care products are at [[Walmersley]], off the A56 and also at junction 2 (A58) of the M66. At A6053/A56 junction in [[Redvales]], to the south of Bury is [[Swintex|Melba Swintex]], a main supplier of [[street furniture]]—[[traffic cone]]s and [[Traffic barrier|barrier]]s, claiming to be a world leader. [[Milliken & Company|Milliken]] make airbags on the A58, south-west of Bury.

PTG (Holroyd Machine Tools) are based off the M62 [[Milnrow]] Interchange; nearby off the A6193 are [[Takeuchi Manufacturing]] UK (construction equipment). [[Premier Foods]] make [[Sarson's]] on the A669 near [[Mills Hill railway station]] in [[Middleton, Greater Manchester|Middleton]]; on the opposite side of the railway [[Vita Group]] make [[List of polyurethane applications|polyurethane foam]] (Vitafoam, the largest supplier in the UK). Voith Paper have a servicing centre on the [[A576 road|A576]], west of Middleton town centre. The [[Co-op UK|Co-op]] is based in Manchester and [[Rochdale]]. [[Minky Homecare]] ([[Housekeeping|household cleaning]]) and [[Freudenberg Group|Freudenberg Household Products]] UK is in the centre of Rochdale off the [[A671 road|A671]]. Zen Internet is at Sandbrook House on [[Sandbrook Park]] at end of the [[A627(M) motorway|A627(M)]] off the A664 in Stoneyfield in the south of Rochdale, and next door is the HQ of [[The Co-operative Pharmacy]]. [[We Buy Any Car]] is at [[Castleton, Greater Manchester|Castleton]] near the A664, in the south-west of Rochdale, the same site of [[Carcraft]]. [[C.H. Guenther|Guenther Bakeries]] (owned by Golden West, part of RHM, until 2005) in the south of Heywood, east of the large Heywood Distribution Park, makes the bread buns for [[McDonald's]] (with another site in Banbury).

===Merseyside===
{{Main|Merseyside#Economy}}
{{See also|Economy of Liverpool}}
[[File:Littlewoods Building.jpg|thumb|left|The 1938 [[Littlewoods Pools building|Littlewood's Building]] next to [[Wavertree Technology Park]], on [[Edge Lane]], looking east from [[Liverpool Cathedral]] ]]

[[Pilkington]] is in [[St Helens, Merseyside|St. Helens]]; [[Knauf Insulation]] UK, is south-west of the town centre. [[Alumasc]] Exterior Building Products is on B5204 near [[St Helens Junction railway station]] in [[Sutton, St Helens|Sutton]]. [[Kalzip]], a division of [[Tata Steel Europe]], make aluminium roofs in [[Haydock]]; GCE Group UK, who make [[Medical gas supply|medical gas controllers]] and [[diving regulator]]s, are on the [[A599 road|A599]] near the M6 Haydock Island; to the north-west is a large Sainsbury's RDC; further up the A49 before Ashton-in-Makerfield and [[Byrchall High School]] is [[Speedy Hire]], the biggest hire firm in the UK. [[Vimto]] is owned by [[Nichols plc]] of [[Newton-le-Willows]], although actually made by [[Cott|Cott Beverages]] in north [[Leicestershire]].

[[Littlewoods]] are in [[Garston, Merseyside|Garston]], who are owned by the [[Shop Direct Group]] in [[Speke]]. [[Princes (company)|Princes]], [[Johnsons Cleaners UK]], [[A. P. Moller-Maersk Group|Maersk Line UK]], the [[Beetham Organization]], [[John West Foods]], [[Bibby Line]], [[Home Bargains]], the [[Royal Liver Friendly Society|Royal Liver Assurance]] and [[T J Hughes]] have their headquarters in Liverpool. Towards [[Aintree]], [[Jacob's]] and their crackers are historically based, and also make [[Twiglets]] at their site at [[Hartley's]] Village in [[Fazakerley]], and nearby is [[Sportech PLC]], owner of the [[football pool]]s; Trigon Snacks make [[Big D (peanuts)]] in Aintree, and have done since the 1970s on the Greylaw Ind Est off the B5187, near the [[Archbishop Beck Catholic Sports College]]. HMRC's (former Inland Revenue) [[National Insolvency Unit]] is at [[Regian House]] (previously at [[Queen's Dock, Port of Liverpool|Queen's Dock]]) opposite [[Liverpool James Street railway station]] and next to Liverpool's [[Armed Forces Careers Office]]. The Criminal Records Bureau is on [[Prince's Dock, Liverpool|Prince's Dock]], since 2013 part of the new [[Disclosure and Barring Service]] (with the former [[Independent Safeguarding Authority|ISA]] in Darlington). The [[Defence Bills Agency]] was at Mersey House next to St James railway station, now part of [[Defence Business Services|DBS Finance]].

[[Tangerine Confectionery]] makes its Princess [[marshmallow]]s off [[Edge Lane]] (A5047) in east Liverpool, west of Wavertree Technology Park. [[Home Bargains]] are off the [[A580 road|A580]] west of junction 4 of the M57, on the Knowsley boundary at [[Stonebridge Park, Liverpool|Stonebridge Park]]. [[JF Renshaw]] (Renshaw Napier), who have a Royal warrant, make [[Icing (food)|cake icing]] on the [[A562 road|A562]] next to the [[Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust|Liverpool Women's Hospital]] in Edge Hill; 90% of the UK's [[marzipan]] comes from this factory. At Speke on the A561, west of the [[Jaguar Land Rover|JLR]] plant, partly in Knowsley, [[Novartis]] make vaccines such as [[Influenza vaccine|Fluvirin]], and directly to the south [[MedImmune]] (owned by [[AstraZeneca]]) makes components of influenza vaccine ([[Live attenuated influenza vaccine|FluMist]]); [[Briggs Automotive Company]] is on Speke Hall Ind Est, with HP Chemie Pelzer UK (automobile [[Absorption (acoustics)|acoustics]]). At [[Hunts Cross]] on the northern side of the railway line, the large [[Eli Lilly and Company|Eli Lilly]] Speke Operations manufacturing plant produces antibiotics such as [[Capreomycin]], and in 1981 produced the world's first [[Biosynthesis|biosynthetic]] product, by manufacturing [[biologic medical product|biologic]] insulin, and has also produced biosynthetic human [[growth hormone]] since 1985; the plant was owned by [[The Distillers Company]] after the war until 1962, where it made penicillin and later made [[thalidomide]]. Near the A561/A562 junction, the [[Northwest Regional Development Agency|NWDA]]-funded [[National Biomanufacturing Centre]] was built in 2006. On the south side of the A561 in Speke is Estuary Commerce Park. Further to south is [[Prinovis]] UK and [[B & M]] (previously in Blackpool) on the Liverpool International Business Park; on the former Speke Aerodrome is [[Shop Direct]] near the National Biomanufacturing Centre.
[[File:Entrance to Cereal Partners UK factory, Bromborough.jpg|thumb|left|[[Cereal Partners Worldwide|Cereal Partners]] UK ([[Nestlé]]) make [[Cheerios]] and [[Golden Nuggets]] on the A41 opposite Port Sunlight at [[Bromborough]], also the base of [[CSM N.V.|CSM]] UK, the baking ingredients company based at a former Unilever [[Stork (margarine)|Stork]] margarine site.]]

[[Jaguar Land Rover]] has 166 acres of its main [[Halewood Body & Assembly|production site]] (formerly owned by [[Ford of Europe|Ford]]) in [[Halewood]], making the [[Land Rover Freelander|Freelander]] and [[Range Rover Evoque]]. [[Getrag|Getrag Ford Transmissions]], make 400,000 [[Automatic transmission|automatic]] and [[manual transmission]]s next door to the east of JLR's Halewood plant, for Ford, Volvo and Mazda vehicles. [[Magna International|Magna Decoma]], west of JLR Halewood and east of Novartis, make car interiors and exteriors. [[Dairy Crest]] makes [[Vitalite]] and [[Utterly Butterly]] on the A5207 in [[Kirkby]], off the M57 Randles Farm Interchange, opposite a former site of [[Ethel Austin]]; to the east of Dairy Crest is [[Yorkshire Copper Tube]], Britain's main manufacturer of [[copper tubing]], owned by Italian [[KME Group]]; Counterline make [[foodservice]] counters on Knowsley Business Park; [[Clarke Energy]] is on the [[A5208 road|A5208]]. Further north on the estate next to the A5208 is [[QVC (UK)|QVC UK]]'s distribution centre, with all three in Kirkby. Further north, next to the Lancashire boundary is Goodrich Actuation Systems on the Huyton Ind Est (in former Huyton Quarry) on the north-west side of the M62 [[Tarbock Island]] (off the A5080) in [[Tarbock]]. Next door [[Halewood International]], who make [[Lambrini]], Red Square, [[Lamb's]] Navy Rum and some [[alcopop]]s, are in [[Whitefield Lane End]], in the south of [[Huyton]] at the M62/M57 junction. Belling Ltd (owned by [[Glen Dimplex]]) is in [[Whiston, Merseyside|Whiston]], next to the large [[Whiston Hospital]]; Glen Dimplex Whiston is the UK's only manufacturer of cookers, around 350,000 a year (Stoves plc before 2001), and also owns [[LEC Refrigeration|LEC]] fridges. Manesty manufactures medicine tablets off the B5194 on the Knowsley Business Park. Nationwide fashion retailer [[Matalan]] has its head office and main distribution centre in the north of the Knowsley Ind Est (at Skelmersdale until 2014); the Knowsley Ind Estate is all on the former [[ROF Kirkby]]. [[Camelot Group]] have their Liverpool Prize Payout Centre on the Kings Business Park on the A57, west of the M57 Forest House Interchange.

[[File:Unilever Research Laboratory - geograph.org.uk - 524705.jpg|thumb|right|[[Unilever Research & Development Port Sunlight Laboratory|Unilever Research Laboratory]] at Port Sunlight ([[Bebington]]) looking west, next to the [[Wirral Line]] ]]
[[Typhoo]] tea is made in [[Moreton, Merseyside|Moreton]] off the A551 next to [[Moreton (Merseyside) railway station|Moreton railway station]], and on the same site there is Manor Bakeries ([[Premier Foods]], former [[J. Lyons and Co.|Lyons Cakes]], before April 1995) who make [[List of Cadbury products|mini rolls]], and a factory of [[Burton's Biscuit Company]] closed in December 2011 which made Cadbury's biscuits ([[Cadbury Fingers]]) and [[Wagon Wheels]], where they still have a chocolate refinery. [[Bristol-Myers Squibb]] UK have their main research laboratories east of the Moreton bakery, near [[Leasowe railway station]]. [[CML Group]] (part of [[Teledyne Technologies|Teledyne]]) makes composites and aircraft components off the A41 at Bromborough near [[Eastham, Merseyside|Eastham Country Park]]; to the south is [[Einhell]] UK (power tools). [[Stiebel Eltron]] UK (heat pumps) nearby, are near [[Meyer Corporation|Meyer]] [[Prestige (cookware)|Prestige]] who make [[Cookware and bakeware|cookware]] (who also own Circulon and [[Anolon]]) and [[Givaudan]] UK have a fragrances factory. [[Lithium Corporation of America|FMC Lithium]], east of the A41 at Wirral International Business Park, makes [[butyllithium]] and other [[Organometallic chemistry|organometallic]] compounds. At [[Port Sunlight]], [[Unilever]] make and research detergents and shampoo, such as ''[[Timotei]]'' and ''[[Sunsilk]]'', as well as ''[[Comfort (fabric softener)|Comfort]]'' and ''Persil Liquid''. [[Cammell Laird]] at Birkenhead build ships, including two [[UGM-27 Polaris|Polaris]] [[Resolution-class submarine]]s in the 1960s; on [[Twelve Quays]] off the [[A554 road|A554]] is [[Faiveley Transport]] UK (railway electrical components). [[Survitec Group|RFD Beaufort]] (known as Beaufort Air-Sea Equipment in the 1980s) make [[G-suit]]s for [[fighter aircraft]] and [[Lifeboat (shipboard)|liferaft]]s. [[Eastham Oil Terminal|Eastham Refinery]] off junction 6 of the M53, at [[Eastham, Merseyside|Eastham]] in Wirral, just north of Hooton Park (in Cheshire), is owned by [[Nynas]].

[[File:National Girobank (Alliance and Leicester) HQ - geograph.org.uk - 105597 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Former head office of the [[Girobank]] in Bootle; it closed in 2003; it was taken over by [[Alliance & Leicester]] in 1990; it was established in Bootle in the late 1960s with help from Hugh Baird; it was the first financial institution in Europe to be fully computerised from the start]]
[[Pontins]] is in [[Ainsdale]], Sefton. HMRC at [[St John's House, Bootle|St John's House]] on the A5057 in Bootle, is the national office for dealing with tax for [[individual savings account]]s (ISAs) and other savings schemes, charities ([[Gift Aid]]), [[non-resident trust]]s, and [[Domicile (law)|domicile]] status; opposite is [[Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council|Sefton Council]]'s Magdalen House. Nearby to the west on the A5057, the [[Health and Safety Executive|HSE]] and [[Office for Nuclear Regulation]] have their head office at [[Redgrave Court]], near the main site of [[Hugh Baird College]]. The [[Inland Revenue]] had its main office at [[The Triad, Bootle|The Triad]] in Bootle, next to the [[New Strand Shopping Centre|Strand Shopping Centre]], and the site is still run by HMRC. [[Unipart Dorman]] make LED traffic lights near [[Meols Cop railway station]] in [[Blowick]], east of Southport; to the north at [[Crossens]], [[Railex]] make [[filing cabinet]]s.

===Cumbria===
{{Main|Cumbria#Economy}}

[[Royal Navy]] submarines and ships are made by [[BAE Systems Submarine Solutions]] in [[Barrow-in-Furness]]. The coast of [[Cumbria]] is known as Britain's Energy Coast due to the large amounts of energy being produced along the coast of the county; [[Sellafield]] is a power station which is located in West Cumbria and is a major contributor to the "Energy Coast" also, [[Barrow-in-Furness]] is major town in contributing to the "Energy Coast" with a power station ([[Roosecote Power Station]]), Gas Terminals ([[Rampside Gas Terminal]]) and an offshore wind farm ([[Walney Wind Farm]]) which is approximately 14&nbsp;km (8.6 miles) west of the town's coastline with some of the largest wind turbines on Earth. On the [[Westlakes Science & Technology Park]] off the A595 south of Whitehaven, is the [[Nuclear Decommissioning Authority]] (in Herdus House).

The [[British Cattle Movement Service]] is at Workington next to [[Tata Steel Europe|Tata Steel Projects]], near a site of the [[National Nuclear Laboratory]] on Derwent Howe Ind Est. [[Iggesund Paperboard]] is south of Workington, off the [[A596 road|A596]]; next door is [[Eastman Chemical Company|Eastman Chemical]]. [[Amcor|Amcor Flexibles Cumbria]] (former Alcan before 2009) in the south of Workington prints [[Potato chip|crisp packets]] and confectionery wrappers, for distribution around the UK's factories.

The [[Lake District]] is popular with holiday makers. The [[Nuclear Decommissioning Authority]] is near Whitehaven. [[Lakeland (company)|Lakeland]], who make kitchenware, are in Windermere. [[Stobart Group]] is in [[Carlisle, Cumbria|Carlisle]]. [[M-Sport]], the [[Rallying|rally team]] at [[Dovenby Hall]], and [[Jennings Brewery]] are in [[Cockermouth]]. [[James Cropper (company)|James Cropper]], Europe's leading manufacturer of coloured paper, is in [[Burneside]], north of Kendal, on the [[River Kent]] near the [[A591 road|A591]]. Pirelli have their main UK tyre plant (for prestige cars) on the B5299 in south Carlisle; to the south in [[Cummersdale]] next to the [[River Caldew]], [[Stead McAlpin]] have a large textile site, formerly owned by [[John Lewis Partnership|John Lewis]]. [[BSW Timber]], the UK's largest [[sawmill]]ing company, has a large site north of Carlisle at [[Cargo, Cumbria|Cargo]] in [[Kingmoor]], next to [[Carlisle Kingmoor TMD]] on the WCML. [[BillerudKorsnäs]] had a paper mill at [[Beetham]] on the A6 next to the [[River Bela]] in the south of the county. [[Sealy Corporation|Sealy]] UK make beds and mattresses on the B5031 next to [[Aspatria railway station]] in north Cumbria, west of Carlisle; next door [[First Milk (company)|First Milk]] make [[Lake District Cheddar]]. Further east along the A596, [[Innovia Films]] (former British Rayophane) have a large site at [[Wigton]]. GSK Ulverston, built in 1949 as Glaxo to produce penicillin with a new plant to be built, makes [[cephalosporin]] antibiotics including [[cefuroxime]] and [[ceftazidime]].

==Education==
{{Main list|Lists of schools in England#North West of England}}

===Secondary education===
Secondary schools are mostly comprehensive, but Trafford retains a wholly selective school system, and there are some other [[grammar school]]s in Lancashire, Wirral, Liverpool and Cumbria.

There are around 345,000 at secondary school in the region, the third highest in England, after [[South East England]] and [[Greater London]]. This is around three times as much as there are in [[North East England]]. For school [[truancy]] the most persistent truants are in Manchester with a rate of 7.3%, followed by [[Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley|Knowsley]] with 6.9%, and [[Borough of Blackpool|Blackpool]] with 6.6%. The lowest truancy rate is in [[South Ribble]] with 2.4% followed by [[Ribble Valley]] with 2.9% (both in Lancashire).

At A level in 2010, Trafford performed the best and, again like its results at GCSE, is one of the best areas in England. The lowest performing area is, again, Knowsley but followed by Rochdale. Knowsley has had some dreadful results at A-level; [[Halewood Academy]], its last school sixth-form, closed in 2016; there is now no school-based A-level provision in Knowsley, it is provided by the [[Knowsley Community College]]. For traditional counties, Lancashire gets excellent results at A-level, being one of the best in England. Areas also performing above the England average, in order of results, are Blackpool, Warrington, Wigan, Cheshire West and Chester, Bury, Cumbria, Wirral, and Stockport. Blackpool performs not particularly well at GCSE, yet produces much better results at A level—even better than [[Cheshire West and Chester]], and the third-best in the region.{{citation needed|date=May 2011}}
[[File:Winstanley College - geograph.org.uk - 19340.jpg|thumb|right|Winstanley College]]
[[File:Clitheroe Royal Grammar School (Lower School) - geograph.org.uk - 71877.jpg|thumb|right|Clitheroe Royal Grammar School]]
[[File:Sir john deane college.jpg|thumb|right|Sir John Deane's College]]

; Top ten state schools in the North West (2015 A level results)
# [[Altrincham Grammar School for Girls]] (1223)
# [[Altrincham Grammar School for Boys]]
# The [[Liverpool Blue Coat School|Blue Coat School]], Liverpool
# [[Lancaster Girls' Grammar School]]
# [[The Blue Coat School, Oldham|The Blue Coat CofE School]], Oldham
# [[Wirral Grammar School for Girls]]
# [[Wirral Grammar School for Boys]]
# [[Loreto Grammar School]], Altrincham
# [[West Kirby Grammar School]]
# [[Clitheroe Royal Grammar School]]{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}

The areas that have school children most likely to attend university are Trafford and Cheshire, followed by Wirral, Sefton, Stockport and Bury. Four of these areas are or were part of Cheshire.{{Citation needed|date=October 2010}}

===Colleges===
[[File:Carmel College, St Helens - geograph.org.uk - 123861.jpg|thumb|right|Carmel College]]
[[File:Blackburn - DSC03767.JPG|thumb|right|Blackburn College]]
[[File:North Trafford College of Further Education - geograph.org.uk - 47852.jpg|thumb|right|Trafford College]]
[[File:City College Didsbury.jpg|thumb|right|Manchester City College, [[Didsbury]]]]

*[[Aquinas College, Stockport|Aquinas College]], Stockport
*[[Ashton Sixth Form College]], Ashton-under-Lyne
*[[Barrow 6th form|Barrow-in-Furness Sixth Form College]], Barrow-in-Furness
*[[Blackburn College (Blackburn with Darwen)|Blackburn College]], Blackburn
*[[Blackpool and The Fylde College]], Blackpool
*[[Blackpool Sixth Form College]], Blackpool
*[[Bolton College]], Bolton
*[[Bolton Sixth Form College]], Bolton
*[[Burnley College]], Burnley
*[[Bury College]], Bury
*[[Carlisle College]], Carlisle
*[[Carmel College (St Helens)|Carmel College]], St Helens
*[[Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form College]], Cheadle
*[[Furness College, Barrow-in-Furness|Furness College]], Barrow-in-Furness
*[[Hazel Grove High School]] Sixth Form, Stockport
*[[Holy Cross College (UK)]], Bury
*[[Hopwood Hall College]], Rochdale
*[[Hugh Baird College]], Bootle
*Kendal College, Kendal
*[[King George V College]], Southport
*[[Lancaster and Morecambe College]], Lancaster
*[[Liverpool Community College]], Liverpool
*[[Loreto College, Manchester|Loreto College]], Manchester
*[[Macclesfield College]], Macclesfield
*[[The Manchester College]], Manchester
*[[Mid Cheshire College]], Northwich
*[[The Oldham College]], Oldham
*[[Oldham Sixth Form College]], Oldham
*[[Preston College]], Preston
*[[Priestley College]], Warrington
*[[Rainford College]], St Helens
*[[Riverside College, Widnes|Riverside College]], Widnes 
*[[Runshaw College]], Leyland
*[[Salford City College]], Salford
*[[South Cheshire College]], Crewe
*[[Southport College]], Southport
*[[Sir John Deane's College]], Northwich
*[[Stockport College]], Stockport
*[[St Helens College]], St Helens
*[[St John Rigby College (Wigan)|St John Rigby College]], Wigan
*[[St. Mary's College, Blackburn|St. Mary's College]], Blackburn
*St. Wilfrids C of E Sixth Form College, Blackburn
*[[Thomas Whitham Sixth Form]], Burnley
*[[Trafford College]], Trafford
*[[West Cheshire College]], Ellesmere Port
*[[Wigan and Leigh College]], Wigan
*[[Winstanley College]], Wigan
*[[Xaverian College]], Manchester

The two main higher education colleges in the region are [[Blackburn College (Blackburn with Darwen)|Blackburn College]] and [[Blackpool and The Fylde College]]. There are forty three FE colleges. The regional LSC was in central Manchester; this is now the SFA and the YPLA.

===Universities===
[[File:Victoria Building Liverpool 2013.jpg|[[Victoria Building, University of Liverpool]]|thumb]]
[[File:Hollings Campus aka The Toast Rack - geograph.org.uk - 3765.jpg|thumb|right|Manchester Metropolitan University's Hollings Campus – the ''[[Toast Rack (building)|Toast Rack]]'']]

The universities in the North West are listed below:
*[[University of Manchester]], Manchester – The [[List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment|largest single-site university in the UK]] with 36,907 students
*[[Manchester Metropolitan University]], Manchester – Also one of the country's largest universities with 40,420 students – second-largest university in the region
*[[University of Central Lancashire|UCLAN]], Preston – The University of Central Lancashire in Preston, 28,850 students – third-largest university in the region
*[[Liverpool John Moores University]], Liverpool – 24,085 students
*[[University of Liverpool]], Liverpool – 20,765 students
*[[University of Salford]], Salford – 20,185 students
*[[Lancaster University]], Lancaster – 17,415 students
*[[The University of Law]], Chester, Manchester
*[[Edge Hill University]], Ormskirk – 15,645 students
*[[University of Chester]], Chester and Warrington – 15,095 students
*[[University of Bolton]], Bolton – 8,540 students
*[[Liverpool Hope University]], Liverpool – 8,205 students
*[[University of Cumbria]] – The region's newest university located across Cumbria, parts of Lancashire and London, and formerly known as the [[Cumbria Institute of the Arts]]

Over 60% of university students in the region are native to the region. The region with the next-highest number of students in the North-West is [[Yorkshire and the Humber]], so approximately 80% of university students in the area are from the north of England. The region's students have the highest proportion of students from so-called low-participation neighbourhoods.{{Citation needed|date=October 2010}}

==Local media==
[[File:BBC New Broadcasting House, Manchester.jpg|250px]] The BBC's former North West England headquarters on [[Wilmslow Road|Oxford Road]]
; TV
*[[Liverpool TV]] is a local television station serving Liverpool City Region and surrounding areas. The station is owned and operated by [[Local Television Limited]] and is required to broadcast 35 hours a week of first-run local programming.
*[[That's Manchester]] is a local television station serving Greater Manchester. It is owned and operated by [[That's TV]] and broadcasts on Freeview channel 7 from studios at The Flint Glass Works in the Ancoats suburb of Manchester.
*Regional news programmes for the Isle of Man, North West England and south of Cumbria – ''[[BBC North West Tonight|North West Tonight]]'' ([[BBC North West]]) and ''[[Granada Reports]]'' ([[ITV Granada]]), both based in [[Salford Quays]] since Autumn 2011 and Spring 2013 respectively. 
*Regional news programmes for the north of Cumbria – ''[[BBC Look North (North East and Cumbria)|Look North]]'' ([[BBC North East and Cumbria]]) based in [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]] and ''[[Lookaround]]'' ([[ITV Tyne Tees & Border]]) based in [[Gateshead]].
*Regional news programmes for the [[West Craven]] area of Lancashire, historically in the [[West Riding of Yorkshire]] – ''[[BBC Look North (Yorkshire and North Midlands)|Look North]]'' and ''[[ITV News Calendar]]'' both based in [[Leeds]]. Both are broadcast from the [[Skipton]] transmitter which is part of the [[Emley Moor]] transmitter group.
**N.B. Digital TV comes from [[Winter Hill transmitting station|Winter Hill]] for the south of the region, and [[Caldbeck transmitting station|Caldbeck]] for Cumbria. [[Digital switchover dates in the United Kingdom|Digital switchover]] took place in mid-2009 for Cumbria and late-2009 for the south of the region.

; Radio
*[[BBC Local Radio]] services for the region include BBC Radios [[BBC Radio Manchester|Manchester]], [[BBC Radio Merseyside|Merseyside]], [[BBC Radio Lancashire|Lancashire]], [[BBC Radio Cumbria|Cumbria]] and [[BBC Radio Stoke|Stoke]] (covering south of [[Cheshire]]). 
*National radio comes from [[Holme Moss]] (for Merseyside, Greater Manchester, and Cheshire) and [[Sandale transmitting station|Sandale]] for Cumbria. There is a main MW transmitter for the region (and England), over the border in [[Kirklees]], at [[Moorside Edge transmitting station|Moorside Edge]].
*Commercial radio stations include:
**[[Heart North West]] (broadcast to Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside via a regional service – formerly 105.4 Century FM and Real Radio – and to [[Barrow-in-Furness]], [[Morecambe]] and [[Lancaster, Lancashire|Lancaster]], formerly [[Heart North Lancashire and Cumbria|The Bay]]. 
**The [[Hits Radio]] network is based at [[Castlefield]], Manchester; its stations include [[Hits Radio Manchester]], [[Hits Radio Lancashire]] (Preston) and [[Hits Radio Liverpool]], with the Castlefield studios also providing the majority of programmes for [[Hits Radio UK]]. 
**[[Capital Manchester and Lancashire]] (created from the former Galaxy Manchester and [[2BR]], the latter having earlier absorbed [[106.5 Central Radio]] and [[The Bee (radio station)|The Bee]]), and [[Capital Liverpool]] (former Juice FM), with the Wirral and Cheshire served as part of [[Capital North West and North Wales]].
**[[Smooth North West]] (regional service) and [[Smooth Lake District]] ([[Kendal]])
**[[Greatest Hits Radio North West]] broadcasts to [[Greatest Hits Radio Liverpool & The North West|Merseyside]], [[The Revolution (radio station)|Oldham and Rochdale]], [[Tower FM|Bolton and Bury]], [[104.9 Imagine FM|Stockport]], [[Wish FM|Wigan and St. Helens]], [[Radio Wave 96.5|Blackpool]] and [[Wire FM|Warrington and Runcorn]] on FM, and to Liverpool, Manchester and central Lancashire via DAB and formerly AM. A localised version for Cumbria launched on DAB in 2021, then in April 2023, CFM was rebranded as [[Greatest Hits Radio Cumbria & South West Scotland]] while the DAB feed now carries Hits Radio. Some programmes for the [[Greatest Hits Radio]] network are broadcast from Castlefield or [[St John's Beacon]], Liverpool. 
**[[Dee 106.3|Chester's Dee Radio]] (Chester) and sibling [[Silk 106.9|Cheshire's Silk 106.9]] (Macclesfield)

The UK's [[Time from NPL (MSF)|Time signal]] comes from [[Anthorn Radio Station]] on the north-west Cumbrian coast, where there are three [[atomic clock]]s.

[[File:MediaCity-UK (Feb 2010).jpg|right|thumb|[[MediaCityUK]] being built at Salford Quays]]
[[File:Liverpool Echo building 13 March 2013 004 stitch.jpg|[[Liverpool Echo]] building|thumb]]
; Newspapers
{{Main list|List of newspapers in the United Kingdom}}
*''[[Blackpool Gazette]]'', Blackpool
*''[[The Bolton News|Bolton News]]'', Bolton
*''Bury Times'', Bury
*''[[Lancashire Post]]'', Preston
*''[[Lancashire Telegraph]]'', Blackburn
*''[[Liverpool Echo]]'', Liverpool
*''[[Manchester Evening News]]'', Manchester
*''[[News and Star]]'', Carlisle
*''[[The Mail (Cumbria)|The Mail]]'', Barrow-in-Furness
*''Southport Visiter'', Southport
*''The Reporter'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sthelensreporter.co.uk/ |title=St Helens Today: News, Sport, Jobs, Property, Cars, Entertainments & More |website=Sthelensreporter.co.uk |access-date=17 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513203631/http://www.sthelensreporter.co.uk/ |archive-date=13 May 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> St Helens
*''The Star'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/ |title=St Helens Star – News, Sport, Saints Rugby League, Property for sale, rent in St Helens, Merseyside |website=Sthelensstar.co.uk |access-date=17 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521183324/http://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/ |archive-date=21 May 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> St Helens
*''[[Westmorland Gazette]]'', Kendal
*''[[Wigan Evening Post]]'', Wigan

[[File:Express Building Manchester.jpg|thumb|right|1939 Sir [[Owen Williams (engineer)|Owen Williams]] [[Daily Express Building, Manchester]] ]]
Guardian Media Group have a printing site at Trafford Park Printers off the A5081 (M60 junction 9) between the Bridgewater Canal and the [[A576 road|A576]] roundabout which prints the ''Guardian'' (it is owned 50% with the Telegraph and 50% by [[Guardian Print Centre]]); it printed the ''Telegraph'' until 2008, and is known also as GPC Manchester. From 2008, the ''Telegraph'' has been printed at the [[Newsprinters]] huge site at Knowsley. Newsprinters have a site near Dairy Crest at Knowsley, and prints the ''Times'', ''Telegraph'' and ''Sun'' titles, near the B5202.

[[Broughton Printers]], owned by Northern & Shell, print the ''[[Daily Express|Express]]'' and ''[[Daily Star (British newspaper)|Star]]'' at [[Fulwood, Lancashire|Fulwood]] on the B6241 south of the M55/M6 junction, on the same site as the ''Lancashire Evening Post''.

; Magazines
Prinovis in Liverpool (Speke) prints ''[[OK!]]'', the ''[[The Sun (United Kingdom)|Sun on Sunday]]'' magazine (''Fabulous''), and [[The Sunday Times Magazine|the ''Sunday Times'' magazine]].

==Town and city twinnings==
{| border="1" style="border-collapse:collapse; width:85%;"
|- style="background:#ffffec;"
| [[Ashton-under-Lyne]] || [[Chaumont, Haute-Marne|Chaumont]], France
|-
| [[Blackburn]] || [[Altena]], Germany <br />[[Péronne, Somme|Péronne]], France
|- style="background:#ffffec;"
| [[Blackpool]] || [[Bottrop]], Germany
|-
| [[Bolton]] || [[Le Mans]], France <br />[[Paderborn]], Germany
|- style="background:#ffffec;"
| [[Burnley]] || [[Vitry Sur Seine]], France
|-
| [[Bury, Greater Manchester|Bury]] || [[Angoulême]], France <br />[[Datong]], China <br />[[Tulle]], France <br />[[Schorndorf]], Germany <br />[[Woodbury, New Jersey|Woodbury]], New Jersey, US
|- style="background:#ffffec;"
| [[City of Carlisle|Carlisle]] || [[Flensburg]], Germany <br />[[Słupsk]], Poland
|-
| [[Carnforth]] || [[Sailly-sur-la-Lys]], France
|- style="background:#ffffec;"
| [[Chadderton]] || [[Geesthacht]], Germany
|-
| [[Chester]] || [[Sens]], France <br />[[Lörrach]], Germany <br />[[Senigallia]], Italy
|- style="background:#ffffec;"
| [[Chorley]] || [[Székesfehérvár]], Hungary
|-
| [[Dalton-in-Furness]] || [[Dalton, Pennsylvania|Dalton]], Pennsylvania, US
|- style="background:#ffffec;"
| [[Denton, Greater Manchester|Denton]] || [[Montigny-le-Bretonneux]], France
|-
| [[Droylsden]] || [[Villemomble]], France
|- style="background:#ffffec;"
| [[Dukinfield]] || [[Champagnole]], France
|-
| [[Ellesmere Port]] || [[Reutlingen]], Germany
|- style="background:#ffffec;"
| [[Failsworth]] || [[Landsberg am Lech]], Germany
|-
| [[Fleetwood]] || [[Fleetwood, Pennsylvania|Fleetwood]], Pennsylvania, US
|- style="background:#ffffec;"
| [[Halton (borough)|Halton]] || [[Leiria]], Portugal <br />[[Marzahn-Hellersdorf]], Germany <br />[[Tongling]], China <br />[[Ústí nad Labem]], Czech Republic
|-
| [[Heywood, Greater Manchester|Heywood]] || [[Peine]], Germany
|- style="background:#ffffec;"
| [[Kendal]] || [[Killarney]], Ireland <br />[[Rinteln]], Germany
|-
| [[Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley|Knowsley]] || [[Moers]], Germany
|- style="background:#ffffec;"
| [[Lancaster, England|Lancaster]] || [[Aalborg]], Denmark <br />[[Rendsburg]], Germany
|-
| [[Liverpool]] || [[Cologne]], Germany <br />[[Rio de Janeiro]], Brazil <br />[[Dublin]], Ireland <br />[[Odesa]], Ukraine <br />Shanghai, China
|- style="background:#ffffec;"
| [[Longdendale]] || [[Ruppichteroth]], Germany
|-
| [[Manchester]] || [[Amsterdam]], Netherlands <br />[[Chemnitz]], Germany <br />[[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]], Spain <br />[[Faisalabad]], Pakistan <br />Los Angeles, California, US<br />[[Puerto Cabezas]], Nicaragua <br />[[Rehovot]], Israel <br />[[Saint Petersburg]], Russia <br />[[Wuhan]], China
|- style="background:#ffffec;"
| [[Mossley]] || [[Hem, Nord|Hem]], France
|-
| [[Oldham]] || [[Kranj]], Slovenia
|- style="background:#ffffec;"
| [[Oswaldtwistle]] || [[Falkenberg]], Sweden
|-
| [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]] || [[Almelo]], Netherlands <br />[[Kalisz]], Poland <br />[[Nîmes]], France <br />[[Recklinghausen]], Germany
|- style="background:#ffffec;"
| [[Rochdale]] || [[Bielefeld]], Germany <br />[[Lviv]], Ukraine <br />[[Sahiwal]], Pakistan <br />[[Tourcoing]], France
|-
| [[Salford, Greater Manchester|Salford]] || [[Clermont-Ferrand]], France <br />[[Lunen]], Germany <br />[[Narbonne]], France <br />[[Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis|Saint-Ouen]], France
|- style="background:#ffffec;"
| [[Sedbergh]] || [[Zreče|Zreĉe]], Slovenia
|-
| [[Metropolitan Borough of Sefton|Sefton]] || [[Gdańsk]], Poland <br />[[Mons, Belgium|Mons]], Belgium <br />
|- style="background:#ffffec;"
| [[Stalybridge]] || [[Armentières]], France
|-
| [[Stockport]] || [[Béziers]], France <br />[[Heilbronn]], Germany
|- style="background:#ffffec;"
| [[St Helens, Merseyside|St. Helens]] || [[Stuttgart]], Germany <br /> [[Chalon-sur-Saône]], France
|-
| [[Tameside]] || [[Bengbu]], China <br />[[Mutare]], Zimbabwe
|- style="background:#ffffec;"
| [[Ulverston]] || [[Albert, Somme|Albert]], France
|-
| [[Warrington]] || [[Hilden]], Germany <br />[[Lake County, Illinois|Lake County]], Illinois, US <br />[[Náchod]], Czech Republic
|- style="background:#ffffec;"
| [[Whitehaven]] || [[Kozloduy]], Bulgaria
|-
| [[Wigan]] || [[Angers]], France
|- style="background:#ffffec;"
| [[Workington]] || [[Selm]], Germany <br />[[Val-de-Reuil]], France
|-
| [[Wrea Green]] || [[St Bris le Vineux]], France
|}

==Sport==
[[File:2011 Grand National cropped.jpg|thumb|[[Grand National]], Aintree Racecourse]]

The modern [[Darts|dart board]] was invented in 1896 by Lancashire carpenter [[Brian Gamlin]] from Bury, aged 44. [[Oulton Park]], in central Cheshire, is the home of the [[British Touring Car Championship]] in June. The [[International Netball Federation]] is situated in Manchester, home to the [[National Squash Centre]] and the [[National Cycling Centre]] ([[Manchester Velodrome]] and [[British Cycling]]) at [[Sportcity]]. The first greyhound racing in the UK was in July 1926 in Manchester at the purpose-built oval [[Belle Vue Stadium]]. The [[National Football Museum]] is in Manchester.

===Football===
The following football clubs are based in the North West, and compete in the [[Premier League]] or [[Football League]] (the top four division of the [[English football league system]]) into the [[2024–25 in English football|2024-25]] season. The [[National League (division)|National League]] is also included.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Team !! Location!! League 2024–25
|-
| [[Everton F.C.|Everton]] || [[Liverpool]], Merseyside || data-sort-value="1"|Premier League
|-
| [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] || [[Liverpool]], Merseyside || data-sort-value="1"|Premier League
|-
| [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]]|| [[Manchester]], Greater Manchester || data-sort-value="1"|Premier League
|-
| [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]]|| [[Manchester]], Greater Manchester || data-sort-value="1"|Premier League
|-
| [[Burnley F.C|Burnley]] || [[Burnley]], Lancashire || data-sort-value="1" |Championship
|-
| [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]] || [[Blackburn]], Lancashire || data-sort-value="2" |Championship
|-
| [[Preston North End F.C.|Preston North End]] || [[Preston, Lancashire]] ||data-sort-value="2"| Championship
|-
| [[Blackpool F.C.|Blackpool]]|| [[Blackpool]], Lancashire|| data-sort-value="2" |League One
|-
| [[Bolton Wanderers F.C.|Bolton Wanderers]]|| [[Bolton]], Greater Manchester|| data-sort-value="4" |League One
|-
| [[Wigan Athletic F.C.|Wigan Athletic]]|| [[Wigan]], Greater Manchester|| data-sort-value="3" |League One
|-
| [[Stockport County F.C.|Stockport County]] || [[Stockport]], Greater Manchester || data-sort-value="4" |League One
|-
| [[Accrington Stanley F.C.|Accrington Stanley]] || [[Accrington]], Lancashire || data-sort-value="3" |League Two
|-
| [[Barrow A.F.C.|Barrow]] || [[Barrow-in-Furness]], Cumbria || data-sort-value="4"|League Two
|-
| [[Carlisle United F.C.|Carlisle United]] || [[Carlisle]], Cumbria || data-sort-value="4" |League Two
|-
| [[Crewe Alexandra F.C.|Crewe Alexandra]]|| [[Crewe]], Cheshire|| data-sort-value="3" |League Two
|-
| [[Fleetwood Town F.C.|Fleetwood Town]] || [[Fleetwood]], Lancashire || data-sort-value="3" |League Two
|-
| [[Morecambe F.C.|Morecambe]]|| [[Morecambe]], Lancashire|| data-sort-value="4" |League Two
|-
| [[Salford City F.C.|Salford City]] || [[Salford]], Greater Manchester || data-sort-value="4"|League Two
|-
| [[Tranmere Rovers F.C.|Tranmere Rovers]] || [[Birkenhead]], Merseyside || data-sort-value="4"|League Two
|-
| [[Rochdale A.F.C.|Rochdale]]|| [[Rochdale]], Greater Manchester|| data-sort-value="3" |National League
|}

Teams in the North West have won 64 out of 124 [[English football champions|English football League titles]] (just over 50%), more than any other region, with Manchester United having won more than any other team.

===Rugby League===
The following rugby league clubs are based in the North West, and compete in the [[Super League]] or the [[RFL Championship|Championships]] (the top three division of the [[British rugby league system]]) as of [[2021 in rugby league|2021]].

====Super League teams====
*[[Leigh Centurions]] (Leigh, Greater Manchester)
*[[Salford Red Devils|Salford City Reds]] (Salford, Greater Manchester)
*[[St Helens R.F.C.|St. Helens]] (St Helens, Mersyside)
*[[Warrington Wolves]] (Warrington, Cheshire)
*[[Wigan Warriors]] (Wigan, Greater Manchester)

====Championship teams====
*[[Swinton Lions]] (Swinton, Greater Manchester)
*[[Oldham Roughyeds]] (Oldham, Greater Manchester)
*[[Whitehaven R.L.F.C.|Whitehaven]] (Whitehaven, Cumbria)
*[[Widnes Vikings]] (Widnes, Cheshire)

====League 1 teams====
*[[Barrow Raiders]] (Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria)
*[[Rochdale Hornets]] (Rochdale, Greater Manchester)
*[[Workington Town]] (Workington, Cumbria)

===Swimming===
[[British Swimming]] have one of its three Intensive Training Centres at the [[Grand Central Stockport|Grand Central Pools]] in Stockport.

===Golf===
[[Royal Birkdale Golf Club]] is at Southport and there is the [[Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club]]. [[Royal Liverpool Golf Club]] is at Hoylake.

==See also==
{{Portal|North West England|England|United Kingdom|Europe}}
*[[Cumbric language]]
*[[Envirolink Northwest]]
*[[List of schools in the North West of England]]
*[[Northwest Development Agency]]
*[[Outline of England]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Wikivoyage inline|North West England}}

{{Clear}}
{{NW England}}
{{English regions}}
{{United Kingdom topics}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:North West England| ]]
[[Category:Northern England|.]]
[[Category:Regions of England]]
[[Category:NUTS 1 statistical regions of England]]
[[Category:NUTS 1 statistical regions of the European Union]]