Why Boris Johnson wants to clip London’s wings
Who really runs the capital?
HAMMERSMITH BRIDGE has been closed to all traffic for the past nine months. The fine Victorian structure in west London is cracking and could collapse at any moment; the borough that owns the bridge cannot afford to fix it. In a rational world, the government would shell out for repairs, says Tony Travers of the London School of Economics. But Hammersmith Bridge happens to connect one wealthy part of London with another part, and the government is loth to be seen spending money for their benefit.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Why London’s bridge is falling down”
Britain May 8th 2021
- Why Boris Johnson wants to clip London’s wings
- The pandemic has caused a shortage of cadavers
- A fish fight between Britain and France
- Quietly, B&M has become one of Britain’s most successful retailers
- Breathing life into Britain’s life-sciences industry
- The Treasury may use ticket pricing to discourage working from home
From the May 8th 2021 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Britain
Many Britons are waiting 12 hours at A&E
The crisis in emergency care has deep roots
Is British justice too secretive?
Controversy rages over what happened both before and after a horrendous mass stabbing
Britain’s oldest newspaper is a treasure trove of trivia
Why historians love the London Gazette
The rise of the Net-Zero Dad
Middle-aged men care less about the problem. But they love the solution
Backing Heathrow expansion suggests Labour is serious about boosting growth
It is the surest sign yet that the government is up for the fight