Fortress London: The definitive book about Levelling Up and why it matters

Product Information

The author goes on to persuasively argue that the physical proximity of lobby journalists encourages a form of collusion with Westminster politicians. When considering the response of the British Government to the Covid-19 Pandemic, Bright builds on criticism of others that policy and response were too centralised, causing decisions to be ineffective as a result. John succeeded Richard as king in 1199, but his rule proved unpopular with many of his barons, who in response moved against him. Without enhancing their resistance to attack, government facilities in central London will remain particularly prone to two types of suicide improvised explosive devices (IEDs) previously employed by Al-Qaeda operators: the vehicle-borne suicide IED and the aerial-borne suicide IED.

In the 13th century, during Henry III's reign, the chapel was decorated with such ornamentation as a gold-painted cross, and stained glass windows that depicted the Virgin Mary and the Holy Trinity. Among the stands peddling surveillance drones, bomb-disposal robots, and portable forensics labs are endless varieties of bollards and fencing, available with any number of different “toppings”—from electrified wires and sensor detection systems, to good old lacerating razor wire. It is almost impossible to reach the heights of any profession without joining the grey hoards queuing for the next tube. Caen stone was imported from northern France to provide details in the Tower's facing, although little of the original material survives as it was replaced with Portland stone in the 17th and 18th centuries. The US embassy in Baghdad had just been completed in the form of a city-sized complex of concrete bunkers set behind layers of imposing walls, while the Bush administration’s Standard Embassy Design program seemed intent on populating the world with a grim family of prefab sheds.Bright regularly refers to Hatherley’s ‘Red Metropolis’ to identify the former Labour Leader and his direction of leadership as too London focused, and alienating. Following a series of high-profile attacks on US embassies elsewhere in the world—including lethal bombings in 1983 outside the Beirut mission, and then in 1998 at embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, during which 220 embassy workers were killed and thousands more injured—US Congress ruled that all embassies must be set back from the street behind a 100-foot “seclusion zone,” and be built within a self-contained site of at least four and a half acres.

Third, he would create four overarching regional governments in England- the North, the Midlands, the South West and the South East. It is well known that all national newspapers and broadcasters are headquartered in London which circumscribes their gaze. Whilst the proposal for a roving parliament might seem an outlandish suggestion, it illustrates the benefits of greater devolution in England, with regional assemblies or parliaments with the similar powers to those of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.Besides draining the filthy moat, where possible, Wellington adapted the fortress for modern warfare and a more professional army. Fortress London argues that to address Britain's manifold problems, we need first to end the hegemony of its capital. The innermost ward encloses an area immediately south of the White Tower, stretching to what was once the edge of the River Thames.

He is just one of the millions of people clinging on to the coattails of the capital, sucked in by the prospect of opportunities that the rest of the United Kingdom does not enjoy. The political agenda is then forged in a closed system explaining why pundits have been so shocked by recent political events. The castle, which had not been used as a royal residence for some time, was usually left in the charge of a Constable, a post held at this time by Geoffrey de Mandeville.The Waterloo Block, a former barracks in the castellated Gothic Revival style with Domestic Tudor details, [44] was built on the site and remains to this day, housing the Crown Jewels on the ground floor. Fortress London: Why we need to save the country from its capital by Sam Bright portrays in writing, fact and figures the daily life that populations outside of London face in their education, health, employment, opportunities, politics, leisure and more, but simultaneously makes a robust case of solidarity with those who aren’t the middle class and super rich in London. Globalisation and the decoupling of Labour from its former heartlands mean that people increasingly feel neglected and abandoned. These communities in London are often painted with the same scathing brush by outsiders yet face similar struggles of poverty, inequality and dis-advantage to people living in parts of the country beyond the middle class “fortress”. To access your ebook(s) after purchasing, you can download the free Glose app or read instantly on your browser by logging into Glose.