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The City is fascinating in the UK context, it really is more like a different country. It's strangely archaic being more of the 1200s than the 21st century. It
by anexprogrammer 10y ago
The City is fascinating in the UK context, it really is more like a different country. It's strangely archaic being more of the 1200s than the 21st century. It can alter its own constitution, still permits business voting long abolished in the rest of the UK, and avoided much of the modernisation and reform elsewhere.
There's now only about 10,000 residents - most of whom are in a single estate - the Barbican. Business votes now far exceed individuals.
That doesn't touch on freemen, livery companies, and all the other archaic complexity.
Secret City covers a lot of it, but the film is as much about the financial crisis.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_London https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_London
- fludlight 10y agoIn what elections do businesses vote? Local or national? Could one set up a thousand shell companies and get a thousand votes?
- vidarh 10y agoElections for the Common Council of the City of London Corporation. So local only. Votes are provided based on corporation size, so just setting up shell companies won't work.
- twic 10y agoIt's not quite that businesses get to vote. Businesses get to nominate some number of their employees as electors. I was an elector for a former company of mine. I could have voted however i liked, had i not quit the company before an election came along.
- osullivj 10y agoAll good points. Also, the City of London has it's own police force, quite separate from the Metropolitan Police (the Met) who cover the other 31 boroughs of London.