London is no longer an English city

[Leafyhouse]

Said by John Cleese (he of Monty Python fame), recently. Link to story is here:

www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-48451384

What do other people think? I do see London's diversity as being its great strength, but maybe it's just because I live in the London bubble - and maybe the view from the rest of the country is utter horror that the capital seems to be becoming increasingly disconnected from the country. Both economically and culturally. Hence the Brexit vote - Remain in a sea of Leave.

What's the view from others?

Yup lots of thinly veiled racism on here.

London is awesome. John Cleese hasnt done anything good for about 30 years, and the posters who deride London on here are just losers who wouldn't make it here

I’m not sure it’s particularly thinly veiled. One thing that genuinely surprises me about MN is the extent of racism. This thread being a case in point. It’s definitely worse here than other forums I’ve been on. Or perhaps the others are just better moderated.

Explains Brexit. Though not why this thread is the Brexit forum.

The English couldn’t loath any other nation more than they loath themselves.

It totally explains brexit. All the leave supporting posters claiming that it wasn't about immigtation get shown up here.

As do the ones who complain about being called thick and racist. Stupid is as stupid does

I think that’s bollocks as well.

London has never been "quintessentially English" FFS. It's been a city of immigrants from Roman times and particularly from the Middle Ages was heaving with various foreign immigrants.

Potol,
It is not about being white.
It is about being British, or in the case of London "feeling" like an English city.
I am in London at the moment and most languages I hear around me are not English.
Whether or not this is a good thing or a bad thing is another matter. That is not the argument here.
Nor is it about skin colour.
Clearly you can be British or English and be black, brown or white skinned.
But still London seems cosmopolitan (and I am not saying that is a bad thing) but it does not feel like an English city.

But London has always had many languages spoken. And English is very much the lingua franca of London. Honestly, I may speak two other languages to my kids but English is still mine and their first language and the language we will speak with other people around. So on the Tube if you hear me speaking to them I am not speaking English but if you asked me directions I would speak to you in English as would my kids. I suspect MUCH of London falls into that category.
But the reality is that for those objecting to London not being an English city it is not enough to move there, live there and speak English fluently (does it matter what language we speak privately?!). Many of us, often ex-colonials will always be considered ‘immigrants’ because...well, we are not white.
As I said imagine a London that is Asian, Black/Africa , Chinese etc. All speaking different languages at home but all speaking English with crisp RP outside of it. (I am exaggerating this scenario deliberately). Would it be London to many of the posters on this thread?? Nope I reckon not.

I am in London at the moment and most languages I hear around me are not English.

Where in London are you?

Cities that are ports or have docks like London always have a cosmopolitan feel (quite apart from the capital city aspect). Napoli is the same, Marseilles, Liverpool. Bristol, Liverpool and London had a minority ethnic population from the 18th c onwards.

As I said imagine a London that is Asian, Black/Africa , Chinese etc. All speaking different languages at home but all speaking English with crisp RP outside of it. (I am exaggerating this scenario deliberately). Would it be London to many of the posters on this thread?? Nope I reckon not.

I'm with you 100%! All this coy shilly-shallying around about "languages" and "accents" with careful nods and winks

I live in the rural midlands and have an office near Manchester and one in London. I am a remainer and I love London, but I think most Londoners have absolutely no clue what several years of austerity have done to the rest of the country. It is easy to dismiss brexit voting provinces as racist, but why not vote for brexit when you have absolutely no opportunity for you and your children where you live.

Those Londoners who love taking their children to museums might want to reflect on the fate our our lovely discovery centre locally. We had a science museum near us, with interactive exhibits for children, based around the history of mining in the area. A great place to take your children. It was closed three years ago as the council had no funding to keep it open and has since been bulldozed and the land sold off to developers. Gone forever. Another example of the effects of austerity on the regions that no one in London seems to care about.

London has its own issues with austerity, don't think that it hasn't happened here too.

The national museums are in the capital city and they get visitor numbers they wouldn't in any other city.

It is easy to dismiss brexit voting provinces as racist, but why not vote for brexit when you have absolutely no opportunity for you and your children where you live.

Because it will make everything worse. Austerity is the very worst reason to vote for Brexit. They’re basically voting for more austerity.

{The national museums are in the capital city and they get visitor numbers they wouldn't in any other city.}

Which is slightly 'moot' as many museums are free entry, so visitor numbers have more impact on the coffee shop and 'souvenirs' rather than the number of feet walking in.

Nah they certainly wouldn't get the samw volume. Its the proximity of them to each other which boosts the numbers.

One one of the big issues of some of the museums that have closed was visitor numbers, the DLI museum in durham managed 40,000 a year or 107 people a day, there were days where actual footfall was 0.

When I asked my leave voting friends why they voted the way they did the most common answer was they wanted things to change. Brexit may have been a very poor choice but they voted for it because the status quo round here is honestly pretty shitty for a lot of people. The minimum wage is the wage, most schools are underperforming, there is little public transport, and libraries etc all closed. London really is a different country.

London is essentially a city state, I don’t disagree with that.

But anyone who voted for positive change from Brexit was hopelessly naive slash deceived.

There was a belief things couldn’t get worse - but of course they could. If you nuke trade and the economy that can only negatively impact public services and benefits etc.

Misti, I am in central London.

I spent most of the last 30 years in Liverpool and it certainly does feel like an English city.

Voting for things to change, without knowing what the change would be, not really a good idea.

You clearly have no idea what it feels like to be ignored and desperate Zipee.

You clearly have no idea what it feels like to be ignored and desperate Zipee.

I don't either. Maybe I should ask people fleeing a war zone - say Syria ?

I think there is a case for some perspective.

You clearly have no idea what it feels like to be ignored and desperate

are we back to pretending that it is all poor people who are desperate to brexit again? ffs.

So people who are relying on food banks shouldn’t feel desperate because they don’t live in Syria? Fucking ridiculous.

" Ignored and desperate" .

Nonsense. Plenty of poverty in London too

Voting for people who believe that an even more extreme form of the economic system that has caused the regional inequality was still stupid.

Like I've always said, brexit was all things to all men. No one is going to be happy