London is booming again – and no, it’s not just about the spivs

The rest of the UK shouldn't bash London's prosperity, says Matthew Lynn. It should aspire to be more like the capital.

Overpaid 'banksters', crooked oligarchs, oily estate agents catering to both groups, and a smattering of celebrities and political lobbyists.This caricature of London has become widely accepted in recent years. Populist politicians from the Liberal Democrat business secretary Vince Cable to Ukip leader Nigel Farage have made a career out of bashing the capital. The Scottish Nationalists have played the same tune. With its mansion tax proposals, the Labour Party seems willing to go down the same road, held back only by the fact that it wins plenty of seats in the city.

In short, London is often viewed as owing its prosperity to little more than the City, with its bailed out bankers and non-domiciled billionaires, all of whom are sucking the life out of the rest of the UK economy.

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Matthew Lynn

Matthew Lynn is a columnist for Bloomberg, and writes weekly commentary syndicated in papers such as the Daily Telegraph, Die Welt, the Sydney Morning Herald, the South China Morning Post and the Miami Herald. He is also an associate editor of Spectator Business, and a regular contributor to The Spectator. Before that, he worked for the business section of the Sunday Times for ten years. 

He has written books on finance and financial topics, including Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis and The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031. Matthew is also the author of the Death Force series of military thrillers and the founder of Lume Books, an independent publisher.