True London

Inclusion and belonging in Newham

Sun, 05 Apr 2026 15:18:34 GMT

Sunder is the director of British Future, a think tank concerned with the big issues of integration, identity, ethnicity and culture. It has just published a highly illuminating report about how best to keep on bringing people together in the high-diversity east London borough of Newham. Read it here.

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Antisemitism and other hatreds in the city - and how to stop them

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 17:31:34 GMT

Daniel Sugarman is the deputy editor of Jewish News. He's written eloquently about the impacts of antisemitic attacks on Jewish communities, including the one at the start of this week that saw the torching of ambulances owned and operated - for the benefit of people of all faiths and none - by a Jewish charity. This took place in the car park of a synagogue in Golders Green, an area where many Jewish Londoners live.

Jewish News also recently ran a powerful editorial in response to extraordinary and virulent attacks by right-wing politicians on an entirely legal and tranquil open iftar that took place in Trafalgar Square, defending the right of Muslims to celebrate their faith in public spaces (as many other religions do in Trafalgar Square).

We spoke about all of the above along with the double standards and ulterior motives found among politicians and campaigners on both Right and Left in their attitudes to Jews and antisemitism, especially in the current, anxious climate. Daniel also set out his concerns about the laws relating to protest marches.

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Any progress on the housing emergency?

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 18:00:48 GMT

Last year saw some big initiatives designed to get housing supply in the capital going again, including lowering the Mayor's affordable threshold, easing some planning requirements, a new Social And Affordable Homes Programme allocation and the recommendation of two sites for London New Towns. More recently, we've seen a move towards "rent convergence" for social housing landlords (see my explainer here). But there were also many factors working against more building. Has there been any useful progress since then? Dan Reast of Centre for London is admirably well-informed.

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Should the Met be just for London?

Sat, 31 Jan 2026 10:15:44 GMT

Nick regards the present accountability arrangements for policing in the capital as a mess, leaving London's Mayors having to accept a lot of responsibility for policing and crime while having few powers to go with it. The Home Secretary has just announced plans for reorganising and reforming police services nationally. Will they result in a better settlement for London?

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Lewis Baston on the 2026 borough elections

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 20:48:03 GMT

Lewis is one of the most respected elections analysts in the country and On London is delighted to frequently publish his work. This year's borough elections are very likely to produce a very different set of results from those of 2022 or 2018, with Labour losing lots of seats. But the Conservatives might too, especially in some suburban boroughs where Reform UK poses a threat. And to which alternatives might voters who desert Labour turn?

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Rescuing Westminster housing estates. With Jonathan Rosenberg

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 11:06:00 GMT

Jonathon was in the thick of community defiance of the notorious Dame Shirley's Porter and her Conservative council administration

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Is the Met improving? With Marina Ahmad

Thu, 27 Nov 2025 07:07:00 GMT

Marina Ahmad is the London Assembly member for Lambeth & Southwark and currently chairs that body's police and crime committee at a time when the Metropolitan Police Commissioner is striving to improve the professionalism and culture of the service.

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Skills for a good growth city, with Muniya Barua

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Muniya Barua is deputy chief executive of BusinessLDN, an organisation that represents many of the capital's biggest employers. She knows what she is talking about.

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Does Labour care about London?

Mon, 20 Oct 2025 20:09:29 GMT

Despite its numerous problems in government, Labour remains the most popular party in London. But is it taking the capital for granted? Is it even joining in with anti-London populism in order to win favour elsewhere in the country? And is it going to regret it?

The brilliant Christabel, director of research at Labour Together, has answers to all of those questions.

She also writes for OnLondon.co.uk.

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Is the Fair Funding Review fair to London? With Tony Travers

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 08:53:11 GMT

Professor Tony Travers of the London School of Economics is the best person you could possibly have to explain the fairness or otherwise of the government's plans for changing how it contributes to the funding of local government. We also dipped into the government Pride in Place funding programme and consider whether that will do much for the Uk capital, which is rich in many ways yet also has very high poverty rates.

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Cllr Hina Bokhari AM: Lib Dems hopes, Sadiq, Trump & racism's return

Sun, 28 Sep 2025 19:22:18 GMT

Previously a school teacher like her dad, Hina Bokhari has been a Liberal Democrat Merton councillor since 2018, the first Muslim woman to win a seat in that borough. She was elected to the London Assembly in 2021.

In our conversation she reflects on her party's recent conference, its attitude to London and hopes for making gains at next year's borough elections and speaks with feeling about the recent increase in racist incidents and flag intimidation.

She also speaks up for the Labour Mayor following Donald Trump's latest insulting behaviour and recalls her father being a teacher and mentor to the young Sir Sadiq.

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Jenevieve Treadwell on the Green Party's prospects

Sun, 07 Sep 2025 23:00:00 GMT

The Green Party's new national leader is a confident, charismatic, self-styled "eco populist" who has a seat on the London Assembly. Will his elevation help his party's electoral prospects n the capital or hinder them?

An LSE Policy Fellow and expert number cruncher, Jenevieve Treadwell looks at the challenges the party faces with holding its broad electoral coalition together and making it bigger. Green supporters in Lambeth and Hackney might be enthused by Polanski's radicalism. But what about those in Richmond?

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Transport hot topics with Elly Baker AM

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 23:00:00 GMT

As well as being a Labour AM, Elly Baker is the current chair of the London Assembly's transport committee. In this podcast she talks about the decline of London's bus service, antisocial cycling and the transport committee's recent intervention over fare dodging - an issue that has been exploited by right-wing politicians as part of a larger negative narrative about the capital. And with London Underground strikes imminent, she draws on her experience working for trade unions to offer some thoughts about relations between the Tube unions and management.

For more top coverage of the UK capital city, read OnLondon.co.uk.

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By-election update with Lewis Baston

Sun, 31 Aug 2025 23:00:00 GMT

Lewis Baston is one of the most respected elections analysts in the country and his coverage of London's is unrivalled. He wrote for On London about a by-election in Cranford ward in the borough of Hounslow held on 21 August 2025 and an other held a week later, on 28 August 2025, in the very different West Hampstead ward in the borough of Camden. In this podcast, he elaborates on what the outcomes tell us about the capital's voters and its shifting political landscape.

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