Earlier this month, in a corruscating piece of writing, Ian Dunt, author and columnist for The i Paper, tried to explain the phenomenon of right-wing politicians – including Croydon South MP Chris Philp – and commentators who have taken to criticising the capital city, bemoaning its dirty streets, high prices and the state of public transport.
“His audience was not Londoners. It was people outside of London. The message was that the capital is crime ridden, collapsing, morally decaying,” Dunt wrote.
Dunt’s article (which is on Substack and can be read in full by clicking here) seeks to articulate how the Brexit hard-right of British politics, the people who said that they would “take back control”, but somehow opened the way for even more immigration, are now fuming, and how a successful capital city, and multi-cultural cities such as Birmingham, Liverpool and Glasgow, too, thoroughly undermine their argument.
“On the face of it, London is a strange target to pick, because it is so preposterously successful. It generates close to a quarter of the UK’s entire economic output. Along with the south-east, it is the only region of the UK with a net fiscal surplus.
Philp fury: ‘Oi. You! What have you been using this food delivery bicycle for, may I ask?’
“It remains the most economically productive region in the UK, with output per hour 28.5% higher than the national average. Its key sectors, which help provide all this growth, do so on the basis of immigrant labour. Each migrant worker contributes £46,000 in Gross Value Added to London’s economy per year.
“London is also a success on a deeper and more important level. It is a triumph of multiculturalism.”
Ian Dunt is our guest on our latest Andrew Fisher Interview podcast, where he discusses the somewhat sinister attacks on London, and its Mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan, and quite what lies behind it all.
And yes, there’s a few gags at the expense of Chris Philp and his slightly demented anti-immigrant videos.
- Click here to listen to our previous Andrew Fisher Interview, with economics professor Jo Michell
- And click here to listen to The Andrew Fisher Interview with John McDonnell MP
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