I’m probably being overly pedantic but it’s not a secret
Well, it's not now!
p.s. the first rule of London is we don't talk about London...
The City of London which is not part of London (2016)
61–70 of 126 posts
Re: The City of London which is not part of London (2016)
#62> The secret City of London which is not part of London
The City is part of London under any normal person's interpretation of that word. Being as charitable as possible, it is true that the ceremonial county of Greater London does not contain the City. But the Greater London administrative area does.
It's also not "secret". Many people aren't aware of it, but that's through ignorance on their part rather than secrecy on the part of the City. The City plasters its logo all over the place: on all street signs in the City, on police uniforms, on statues, etc. Even the bollards in the City bear the colors of the City's flag. It's impossible not to notice that the City is different from the rest of London.
So that's two mistakes in the headline alone.
> The mayor of Greater London has nothing to do with the original City of London, which still has separate governing bodies and a mayor.
This is wrong. The Mayor of London has authority over the City of London, through the Greater London Authority (although some power is delegated to the Corporation, in the same way it is to borough councils).
There is indeed also a mayor of the City (confusingly called the Lord Mayor of London), but that mayorship is largely ceremonial in nature.
> Oddly enough, if the monarch wants to enter the City of London, she first must ask the Lord Mayor for permission.
This is just an urban myth, no such permission is required. In fact, the sovereign has precedence over the Lord Mayor (in the context of formal events and such like).
Re: The City of London which is not part of London (2016)
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
The article title includes "the secret City of London." Without clarification, it's left to readers to decide what that means. It could mean its government actively maintains a cloak of secrecy, it could just mean that it's not well known, say, to Americans, or it could mean something in between. The latter pole--that it's not well known, say, to Americans--has been established in this thread. What I'm trying to do i…
The UK financial services sector is involved in money laundering. That does not have much to do with its location in the City of London. The City of London Corporation is essentially just a local authority and does not have the kind of governing powers that would enable it to play a major role in money laundering. For example, it does not regulate financial transactions or pass laws (except the largely inconsequentia…
Yes quite correct. The Corporation is a local council, it collects the bins and operates one primary school.
There's always this misconception that it's some sort of lawless wild west. If it was, I assure you every company in the world would be based there!
Re: The City of London which is not part of London (2016)
#64CGP Grey has a delightful video explaining this: "The Secret City inside of London Revealed" (2012) https://youtu.be/LrObZ_HZZUc Highly recommended.
I am pretty sure that the CGP Grey video was the core inspiration for this article. Nearly every image in the article was featured in the YouTube video, which predates the article by ~4 years.
Re: The City of London which is not part of London (2016)
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
The article title includes "the secret City of London." Without clarification, it's left to readers to decide what that means. It could mean its government actively maintains a cloak of secrecy, it could just mean that it's not well known, say, to Americans, or it could mean something in between. The latter pole--that it's not well known, say, to Americans--has been established in this thread. What I'm trying to do i…
The UK financial services sector is involved in money laundering. That does not have much to do with its location in the City of London. The City of London Corporation is essentially just a local authority and does not have the kind of governing powers that would enable it to play a major role in money laundering. For example, it does not regulate financial transactions or pass laws (except the largely inconsequentia…
Where is the UK financial services sector concentrated?
Re: The City of London which is not part of London (2016)
#66> The secret City of London which is not part of London The City is part of London under any normal person's interpretation of that word. Being as charitable as possible, it is true that the ceremonial county of Greater London does not contain the City. But the Greater London administrative area does. It's also not "secret". Many people aren't aware of it, but that's through ignorance on their part rather than secrec…
Greater London is made up of 32 London Boroughs and the City of London that provide the vast majority of municipal services. Each has a mayor or Lord Mayor. The powers and responsibilities of London Boroughs, and the local authority responsibilities of the City of London Corporation are set out in statute law, not delegated by the Mayor of London.
The Mayor of London is responsible for public transport, Fire and Rescue Services, major highways, some major town planning issues across the 32 London Boroughs and the City of London, and policing across the 32 London Boroughs. The Mayor of London has no general authority over any of the 33.
Re: The City of London which is not part of London (2016)
#67I’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.
Secretive? As in run by Committees that meet in public with agendas and minutes published on the City's website in accordance with the Local Government Act 1972.
Re: The City of London which is not part of London (2016)
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
The UK financial services sector is involved in money laundering. That does not have much to do with its location in the City of London. The City of London Corporation is essentially just a local authority and does not have the kind of governing powers that would enable it to play a major role in money laundering. For example, it does not regulate financial transactions or pass laws (except the largely inconsequentia…
Yes quite correct. The Corporation is a local council, it collects the bins and operates one primary school. There's always this misconception that it's some sort of lawless wild west. If it was, I assure you every company in the world would be based there!
> The Corporation is a local council, it collects the bins and operates one primary school.
Is that all it runs?
> There's always this misconception that it's some sort of lawless wild west.
I don't view it that way.
> I assure you every company in the world would be based there!
How many financial companies in the world are based there?
Re: The City of London which is not part of London (2016)
#69CGP Grey has a delightful video explaining this: "The Secret City inside of London Revealed" (2012) https://youtu.be/LrObZ_HZZUc Highly recommended.
CPG Grey's videos re the City are a bit of fun that he slapped together in two or three days, not documentaries.
Re: The City of London which is not part of London (2016)
#70Also 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.
City of London Ward Lists consist of c19,000 individuals, who have one vote each.
Corporations voting = urban myth