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To me, the City itself is London's dirty little secret. The City is not like the rest of London, in terms of political governance. It is a very old enclave, gov
by s_q_b 10y ago
To me, the City itself is London's dirty little secret. The City is not like the rest of London, in terms of political governance. It is a very old enclave, governed by the City of London Corporation.
The City is an ancient creation, centered on the old Roman city. It has a government that far precedes that of modern Britain. It has its own constitution, council, and chief executive (mayor).
Over many centuries, the power of the City has been tested many times. Even the Magna Carta specifically excludes reforms to the City in stating "the City of London shall have/enjoy its ancient liberties."
In addition to self-government, those "ancient liberties" include a certain amount of regulatory independence, especially in the financial sector. The City embraces finance, with the government having an explicit mission to promote it.
As a result, the City is an endlessly useful haven for all sorts of companies and individuals to escape financial scrutiny, right in the heart of modern day Britain.
- MagnumOpus 10y agoThe City gets exactly the same amount of scrutiny by financial supervisors, FCA etc as the rest of the nation. The city is special in a political sense in that the resident companies rather than resident citizens are the majority of the voters and steer the borough-level politics - but like any other county council, the CoLC doesn't set regulation, determine taxation, supervise banks or anything of that sort. That is all done by parliament, and applies for the City same as for the rest of the country.
- TheOtherHobbes 10y agoAlbeit with some interesting side-channels. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_remembrancer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_remembrancer Parliament doesn't enforce regulation either. That's the job of the Financial Conduct Authority. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_Conduct_Authority https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_Conduct_Authority ...Which might be considered to be operating with quite a light touch, just as its FSA predecessor did.
- s_q_b 10y agoIn modern times, the City has also used a cluster of other special legal constructs in and around Britain as cut-outs. The City maintains close ties with both the Crown dependency of Jersey, and the British Virgin Islands, which are well-known places to conduct business off the books.
- shubb 10y agoAm I right in thinking thought, that the bulk of UK financial policing is done by the City police, who are responsible to the cooperation, the same way the Met police are responsible to the London Mayor? Police tend to police in the interests of the guy who signs their cheques.
- Malic 10y agoIf anyone cares to know more about the City of London, CGP Grey did a nice two-parter video describing its history, its privileges and how to become mayor if you care to. The (Secret) City of London, Part 1: History https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrObZ_HZZUc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrObZ_HZZUc The (Secret) City of London, Part 2: Government https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1ROpIKZe-c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1ROpIKZe-c
- peteretep 10y ago> the City is an endlessly > useful haven for all sorts > of companies and individuals > to escape financial scrutiny Can you cite a single meaningful difference in the financial regulations a company in The City vs one in Southwark faces?