This essay updates the once vibrant political economy literature on Manchester and argues that good governance, as well as good fortune, underpinned an uneven but strong urban‐regional renaissance from the late 1980s through the economic boom period leading up to the financial crisis. After establishing the case for making this claim, it goes on to consider the extent to which Manchester and its broader city‐region has proven resilient in the face of recession and is likely to be affected by the fall‐out that will result from UK government attempts to manage the second phase of the crisis through swingeing public expenditure cuts and fundamental policy realignment. It concludes by anticipating whether a radically changed economic and political environment is likely to lead to the continuation, collapse or recalibration of Manchester’s unique and emergent city‐regional governance arrangements.