 The city is home to 261 @,@ 546 ( mid @-@ 2014 est . ) people , making it the 30th most populous built @-@ up area in the United Kingdom and the second @-@ largest city in the South West , after Bristol . It is governed locally by Plymouth City Council and is represented nationally by three MPs . Plymouth 's economy remains strongly influenced by shipbuilding and seafaring including ferry links to Brittany ( Roscoff and St Malo ) and Spain ( Santander ) , but has tended toward a service @-@ based economy since the 1990s . It has the largest operational naval base in Western Europe – HMNB Devonport and is home to Plymouth University . 
