It’s absolutely miles cleaner and safer than at any time that I’ve lived here and I’ve lived here since 1988.
In fact, as I said earlier, the big issue is that London has lost some of its character as a result of being a bit of a sanitised version of what it was. Soho is a great example of that.
Where I live (which is within walking distance of both the RAH and the Hammy O) the biggest assault on my sensibilities is the number of French and American people living around me. Oh, and the Italians. God they’re loud …
I read something on twitter this week from someone who lived in London saying how irritating it was to be constantly told what London is ‘actually like’ by people who visit once a year to see Phantom and spend the rest of their time immersed in right wing bollox and I totally agree. The past few weeks have seen an incessant stream of nonsense about graffiti on the tube. It’s so much cleaner than it ever has been it’s unreal. And I take videos of people ‘cleaning off graffiti’ with one wipe of the sponge with a pinch of salt.
All big cities have crime. Nothing to do with our mayor.