Live a bit far south of the promised land these days, in N. Yorks, so we have the Yorkshire Post once a week. On at least three occasions recently they`ve referred to "the North East`s largest city" and guess what - they`re talking about Sunderland!!
Population wise i believe it is. Although, and I say this with no bias (as I'm neither Geordie or Mackem) Sunderland is miles behind Newcastle in terms of the state of each city. All the money seems to go to Newcastle and I do think Sunderland needs a lot doing to it and should be given funding to help it catch up. Personally, I love both cities though. It's the people that make it.
I would have got it wrong then. I thought Newcastle had the bigger population but Sunderland maybe a bigger area. I agree with the rest.