Trams, Trolleys and Streetcars

So it's a number of factors:

1. Generally very poor investment into the North of England, especially the North West after the manufacturing and coal industries died off.

2. The jet age package holidays making flights to Spain and Portugal cheap decimated the tourist industry.

3. Missed opportunity to turn it into a free city for gambling when the UK's first super casino went to Manchester instead of Blackpool last minute. I do mean last minute, because all the journalists who were in Blackpool for the announcement had to rush down the Motorway to get to Manchester.