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
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