What is it with the British Isles and their "job specialization" in arbitraging / milking the economy of continental Europe? From the financial rent seeking of London, to the tax and privacy regulatory arbitrages of Ireland the same pattern of exploiting arbitrarily erected information walls to evade scrutiny and accountability. Of course this is a tango that takes three to dance...
London is an exercise in marketing, to see how far peoples suspension of disbelief can be stretched whilst being a net drain on a country it isn't even strictly part of, and a drain the world as a whole. It is amazing to see how Brits outside of (hell, even in) London live, the British countryside has some of the poorest areas in western Europe. Evidence marketing is effective!
All rich countries have impovrished areas that have been left behind.
> It is amazing to see how Brits outside of (hell, even in) London live,
The same can be said for California, New York, Florida, Dublin, Paris, Barcelona, etc.