Leicester among best 10 cities in the UK according to new survey

Leicester has been named one of the top 10 cities in the UK to live and work in, according to a new study by economists at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

The survey looked at the quality of life and the economic performance of the country's big urban areas with more than 250,000 inhabitants.

The city has ranked ninth in a list of the top 19 cities to live in across the UK – ahead of Glasgow, London and Manchester.

Leicester is also the top city in the East Midlands, according to the survey, beating Coventry, Nottingham and Derby.

Jon Ashworth, MP for Leicester South and a former Treasury advisor, said: "Leicester remains a brilliant city to live in, with a good quality of life and in recent years it has got better.

"That's been helped by Leicester City winning the Premier League, as well as the great boost to the economy that the discovery of Richard III gave us.

"But I think it's the people that make Leicester such a great city to live in. We're diverse but we recognise that as our strength."

The report, entitled 2015: Good Growth for Cities, looked at a broad range of factors including working hours, the cost of transport, housing costs, work-life balance and air quality.

Also released this week is the Royal Bank of Scotland Student Living Index, which lists Leicester in the top 15 of its most cost-effective cities for students. The survey of 2,500 students across the UK placed Leicester at 13th in the 25 cities examined.