London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, recently told the Evening Standard that he has seen no evidence of Andy Burnham being anti-London. But as Zoe Williams points out, this is all about feelings, not facts.
The Left's Anti-London Sentiment
Some feel the prime minister disfavours the capital because he often mentions that neoliberalism hasn't delivered a fair deal for the north of England. This implies that someone else's deal has been unfair in the other direction, and that would be the south, which must be London. The institution of No 10 North and the use of 'Whitehall' and 'Westminster' as terms connoting 'faceless' or 'out of touch' give strong anti-London vibes, since these places are indisputably in London.
This leftwing shorthand describes a shallow, mammon-worshipping society, lurching blindly from one shiny prize to the next, empty of proper feeling for others or for nature. 'London' pretty well covers it.
The Right's 'Metropolitan Elite'
That vibe was repurposed by the British right wing a decade ago to become the 'metropolitan elite'. In 2016, this version of the typical Londoner had all the same characteristics as before – they're in a bubble, they're rolling in gold, they neither understand nor care about the conditions of the common man – but with the appended trait of liberalism, or wokeratiness.
By a process so transparently syllogistic and stupid that it was hard to discuss without howling like a wolf, expressing any attitude that might distinguish you from Enoch Powell placed you squarely in the 'metropolitan liberal elite' and rendered you dispensable, inauthentic. There were many other markers of privilege – coffee shops, public transport infrastructure, tofu, the Guardian! – so you were checkmated everywhere you went. This wasn't really about living in London, or even any big city: you could get your passport to the metropole from drinking matcha, believing in universal human rights, or knowing how to board public transport.
The Global Right's 'Stabby Wasteland'
This is distinct from what the global right wing hates about Londoners: that we're savages who won't stop killing each other. Gary Younge, a former Guardian staffer, came back from the US in 2016 with an account of a dinner with Republicans who asked how he could feel safe living in London, now that the Muslims had elected 'their' mayor and the rest of us weren't even allowed guns.
It is now a commonplace to hear the capital described as a 'stabby wasteland' where grinding poverty interlaces with intractable race wars, the global nidus of civilisational decay. There's some overlap with the British right, insofar as London is where multiculturalism is supposed to have failed. But there are no liberal elitists in the global right's concept of 'Londonistan'; it would be too rough and dangerous for luxury-softened paws. No data or firsthand testimonials can dispel this myth.
Does Burnham Actually Hate London?
None of this answers definitively whether the prime minister hates London, since there are signals in the other direction. His plan to give regional mayors a slice of their tax take would work better for Khan than almost anyone, what with London's feverish mammon-love.
Williams meets some detractors halfway and accepts that Londoners definitely lack something in gentleness and humility. To everyone else, she channels Millwall: no one likes us, we don't care. Multiculturalism in action, in a single London heart.
