Hillsborough was both tragic and disgraceful, and the Sun is not sold in Liverpool to this day as a result (no shop will willingly stock it, and even if they did none would be sold, and the chance of them being stolen and destroyed or the shop boycotted would be high). However, there is an element of truth in the general point that still existed before Hillsborough. Manchester certainly has a more dynamic attitude than Liverpool.
But things like the Baltic Triangle are an example of that dynamic attitude coming to Liverpool, brought there by younger people who want to live in urban areas and make them nice places to be, but perhaps can't afford Manchester, as it is really getting quite expensive, even for quite poor quality housing in rough areas. While I doubt you'll find someone in their 20s in Liverpool who is willing to buy the Sun "newspaper" (and good on them, it's junk* and nobody should buy it anywhere, regardless of Hillsborough), there is a much more upbeat and dynamic attitude to be found among them than in many older Scousers.
It's a great development and it deserves to do well.
(And yes, I'm now a Bletchleyite, but for those not familiar I grew up in the Liverpool area until age 18, so I'm quite familiar with it, other than the drinking scene which I've only experienced once on a stag do).
* I have a problem with newspapers who seek to push political views on those who are often inadequately educated to understand the issues themselves. That's what the Sun does and why it's much more harmful than the similarly junk Mail/Express - because those two are generally just bought by people who already have right wing political views and just want to live in an echo chamber - they don't seek to influence people like the Sun does.
My family had a newsagents shop from 1938 to 2007 on Smithdown Road, Liverpool.
We never stopped selling the Sun in the wake of Hillsborough.
The boycott seemed very pointless because people would often buy other papers from the same company (News International - now News Group).
If they were that offended why did they continue to buy the likes of the News of the World, Times and Sunday Times? All from the same company.
I think due to where our shop was located - very much in "student land" and on the edge of the leafier suburbs there was not the same emotional backlash against the Sun.
It was never a big seller in our shop before Hillsborough same could be said for the other "red tops" as they were referred to. The Sun and Star were always at the rubbish end of the newspaper spectrum.
Our sales were mainly Times, Telegraph, Guardian - with Daily Mail and Express probably being the most popular two papers in our area.
However, this continuing animosity against he Sun is really rather ridiculous now as the paper did apologise. It is rather like some of those in Liverpool who still can't stand the Germans because of the Blitz. I recall some old guy about 20 years ago threatening to throw his war time medals into the Mersey because a German navy ship make a courtesy call.
Too many people in Liverpool hold grudges - that is why so many negative images of Liverpool have been created. - They can't move on.
We need to gentrify to bring in new blood - believe me and dilute the gene pool!
Perhaps I see things slightly differently as though born and raised here much of my ancestry is from families that originated in Cornwall and Somerset and moved here via Wales and Lancashire between the early 1900s and 1930s. So perhaps I am an outsider - I know I think like one!
