Is there anyone actually surprised that the population of London is within a squeak of exceeding its pre-pandemic levels, according to the Centre for Cities. That is, just over 10 million. And the reason is down to the simple reality that an awful lot of the people who come to the UK gravitate — surprise! —to London. The capital takes in more than a third of incomers, some 35 per cent, possibly more. And so the more immigration goes up, the more the London population rises. It really is that basic.
There are other factors too, not least employers taking an increasingly dim view of the Covid illusion that we should all work from home, including an awful lot of the civil service and, more terrifyingly, workers in air traffic control. So those who opted for the pandemic idyll of a country retreat plus Zoom are now either having to commute via Southern Rail (will you get in on time for work, or won’t you?) or return to the rental rat race.
