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The City of London which is not part of London (2016)

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Re: The City of London which is not part of London (2016)

#33
post #8

I used to live in the City of London at the top end of Chancery Lane. I could therefore be in a different city (City of Westminster) by crossing the street to the west and leave the city entirely by crossing to the north (London Borough of Camden).

I used to live pretty close to the eastern end of the City in Aldgate/Whitechapel. It was pretty cool to go running and cycling around the City during the pandemic lockdowns, with almost no people or cars around.

Same with central London: I remember cycling though a completely deserted Leicester Square one day and hearing nothing but birds chirping in the trees!

Re: The City of London which is not part of London (2016)

#35

I’m probably being overly pedantic but it’s not a secret

I'd go with something more like "secretive" than explicitly "secret". It's a weird & immensely powerful place in the UK, with some abstruse governing structures, hidden entirely in plain sight.

Re: The City of London which is not part of London (2016)

#36

Also some pretty interesting tax and voting rules there ... Corporations get a vote, pretty much meaning they run the place. https://www.thecollector.com/what-makes-the-city-of-london-u... There's a good book called "treasure islands" all about tax havens... The city definitely features.

[deleted]

Re: The City of London which is not part of London (2016)

#37

Also some pretty interesting tax and voting rules there ... Corporations get a vote, pretty much meaning they run the place. https://www.thecollector.com/what-makes-the-city-of-london-u... There's a good book called "treasure islands" all about tax havens... The city definitely features.

[deleted]

Re: The City of London which is not part of London (2016)

#38
"In fact, the City of London is so independent that it has its own flag, crest, police force, ceremonial armed forces, and a mayor who has a special title, the Right Honorable, the Lord Mayor of London. Oddly enough, if the monarch wants to enter the City of London, she first must ask the Lord Mayor for permission"

Are there some books that comprehensively cover several aspects around the City of London?

The City of London appeared quite often in Lee Kwan Yu's memoirs

Re: The City of London which is not part of London (2016)

#39

I’m probably being overly pedantic but it’s not a secret

Yup. I stopped reading when I got to the bit where they explained that the "secret city" was the City of London. That's tabloid crap.

But it’s such an unexpected power structure in a modern democracy some people don’t really believe it even when told.
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