London Today

London's charmed life has faced challenges in the past but has always overcome them. Even after the plagues, the Great Fire of London and the Blitz bombings, the city carried on. Spiralling property prices and the uncertainty stemming from Brexit are small fry in comparison. In 2017 London was victim to terrorist attacks in locations including London Bridge and Westminster, resulting in an increased police presence. The economy remains buoyant, despite the weak pound, and major investments have been made in public transport.

Going Up & Up & Up

As London races to the end of the 10s, it is a city in transition. What was once a place within human reach has soared ever upwards. Until recently vertical growth was contained to the City of London and Canary Wharf in the Docklands. At present some 435 buildings of over 20 storeys are in the pipeline – double the amount of just two years before – and most are in East London, the Greenwich Peninsula and the South Bank. Only time will tell how the city responds. Keeping pace with the rising skyline are property prices, which continue to increase at eye-watering rates. Indeed, London is now the world’s most expensive city in which to buy a property, with the average price of a one-bedroom apartment now a whopping £1.1 million in des res (for 'desirable residence’) Kensington and Chelsea. Conditions for poorer Londoners, meanwhile, were brought into sharp focus by a 2017 fire in West London's Grenfell Tower, which killed at least 79 people, mainly council tenants.

Out the Door

Arguably the topic of the moment is Brexit, the UK’s departure from the EU, which was approved by the electorate in a June 2016 referendum and is scheduled to take effect in April 2019. The referendum was approved by a 52% to 48% margin nationwide, revealing a divide between London (which voted to remain by 60% to 40%) and many other parts of the country.

Negotiations are likely to be protracted, and there are important issues to consider, the economy and Britain’s role on the world stage among them. Many Londoners worry about the city losing its edge on multiculturalism (270 nationalities speaking some 300 different languages). Will the 'new European’ labourers, dentists and financiers, many of whom came here with their families when the EU welcomed 10 new member-nations in 2004, be forced to return to a place that is no longer home? Will all those wonderful pop-up restaurants and markets serving everything from Taiwanese pork bao to vegan falafel continue to, well, pop up if foreign influence declines? In the global capital that London has become, that’s a growing concern.

All Change

The 'leave’ vote in the Brexit referendum appeared to surprise both camps. Theresa May replaced David Cameron as prime minister and, after less than a year in office, called a snap election that looked likely to deliver a parliament dominated by the Conservatives. But an unexpectedly strong Labour performance resulted in a hung parliament, with no overall majority, leaving May a weakened figure.

Brexit's wheels are now turning, but many of its changes will take a long time to solidify and the effect on visitors in the next few years will probably – currency fluctuations aside – be limited.

Closer to home, the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, left office after two terms to join May’s Cabinet as foreign secretary. Less than impressed by Boris (he’s always been one of those first-name politicians) in his second term, the capital rejected his party’s candidate, Zac Goldsmith, in favour of Sadiq Khan, a Labour MP who was born in Tooting in South London to a working-class British Pakistani family and is a practising Muslim, making him the world’s first elected leader of that faith in any Western city. His performance after just a year in office has been well-received overall, notably his response to the 2017 terrorist attacks in London and Manchester.

Way to Go

Some of the best news coming out of London involves transport. Crossrail, now officially named the Elizabeth Line, an ambitious and somewhat controversial over- and underground transport system that will stretch for 73 miles east and west and through central London, links London Liverpool St and Shenfield to the east. The Paddington to Heathrow branch in the west opens in May 2018. The new line will increase central London rail capacity by 10% and bring an extra 1.5 million people to within 45 minutes of central London. Even better news is the start of the so-called Night Tube, with the Victoria and Jubilee lines, plus most of the Piccadilly, Central and Northern lines, running all night at the weekend. The Overground and the District, Metropolitan, Circle and Hammersmith and City lines as well as the DLR are all expected to follow suit in the next few years.

Best on Film

Passport to Pimlico (1949) Whimsical comedy about a London neighbourhood declaring independence.

Withnail & I (1986) Cult black comedy about two unemployed actors in 1969 Camden.

Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) Eponymous bachelorette seeks and (spoiler!) finds love, with London as a gorgeous backdrop.

Skyfall (2012) Sam Mendes' masterful contribution to the James Bond franchise.

Hampstead (2017) An American widow finds unexpected love with a man living wild on Hampstead Heath.

Best in Print

Oliver Twist (Charles Dickens; 1837) Unforgettable characters and a vivid depiction of Victorian London, seen through the eyes of a hapless orphan.

Sour Sweet (Timothy Mo; 1982) Vivid and moving portrayal of a Hong Kong Chinese family moving to London in the 1960s.

London Fields (Martin Amis; 1989) Gripping, dark postmodern study of London lowlife.

London (Edward Rutherfurd; 1997) Sweeping drama that brings London's epic history vividly to life.

White Teeth (Zadie Smith; 2000) Poignant multiethnic romp in postmillennial Willesden.

Honour (Elif Shafak, 2012) How traditional practices destroy the lives of Turkish immigrants in 1970s East London.