It’s easy to read the divisions that run through modern England as ultimately coming down to a binary between those who live in London and those who don’t. On average, people in the capital and its commuter belt earn more money, have better public transport and receive more state investment.
The problem is what these averages leave out. London is the most unequal region in the country. Take Tower Hamlets, the hefty borough next door to the City of London. This is a place of jarring disparities: it has the highest child poverty rate in Britain and more than 23,000 families are on the waiting list for housing. Some of the wealthiest people in Britain also work here, in the headquarters of HSBC and JP Morgan. The area can feel like the outer ring of the capital’s future, where luxury towers are rising at a rapid speed.
