THE ECONOMIST: Pro-finance, pro-immigration and hungry for investment, London and its politicians have developed an ideology of their own
ONCE the world’s largest port, London’s docklands had become so desolate by the 1980s that Stanley Kubrick used them as a backdrop for his Vietnam war film “Full Metal Jacket”. Thanks to government investment and private enterprise, the area is now a shimmering success story. Canary Wharf, a skyscraper cluster, hosts bankers from around the world. City Airport, opened in 1987, is the easy option for business travel to the continent. The Docklands Light Railway and an extension of the Tube have connected the area to the heart of the capital. The once-derided Millennium Dome is now the busiest music venue in the world.
The docklands are a monument to what could be called Londonism. Since the creation of the capital’s mayoralty in 2000, a distinct ideology has congealed around that office. Some of it is recognisably right-wing: it embraces high finance, even during the banker-bashing furore. Some of it is conventionally left-wing: Londonism calls for state spending on infrastructure and a liberal line on immigration. Essentially, it is a commitment to relentless growth and openness. The city long ago made the transition from mere capital to global hub. Now it has a political philosophy to match.
The two men who have held the mayoralty so far—who are also the main candidates for the mayoral election next year—have been Londonists. Labour’s “Red” Ken Livingstone, who ran the city until 2008, was actually pragmatic about capitalism. He approved private developments and enjoyed surprisingly good relations with the City. At the same time, he used his bully pulpit to ask Whitehall for infrastructure money and an open immigration policy. » | © The Economist | Thursday, February 03, 2011
