‘Ushers and butlers’ … how fawning politicians welcomed world’s rich (UK Guardian)
Saturday 23 January 2016 20.04 GMT
Boris Johnson has led cheerleading for the global super-wealthy as they buy up the capital’s best housing, says damning report
Politicians are acting as “ushers and butlers” to the world’s wealthy, allowing the seemingly unstoppable construction of mansions, mega-basements and luxury apartments in London at the expense of housing for the poor and middle classes.
These are the claims made by researchers from Goldsmiths, Sheffield and York universities following a two-year study of the capital’s super-rich neighbourhoods. They conclude that London has become one of a handful of international havens for the very wealthy, thanks to central and local government kowtowing to their demands.
The deference of the UK government has facilitated the construction and extension of mega-mansions for the several hundred thousand ultra-high net worth individuals, with assets of at least £21m, and the 80 billionaires who now live in London. This has driven up house prices, leaving the “majority of precarious white collar and manual service class workers unable to afford a mortgage”.
The researchers write: “The real wealth and power of global capital is expressed in the compliance of politicians who have come to act as ushers and butlers to the wealthy, often in the service of foreign sovereign and high net private wealth [individuals] … The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has been a notable cheerleader for the super-rich in this regard.”
Link: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jan/23/london-fawning-politicians-welcome-rich
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