| In normal times, London runs on a sprawling network of trains and buses that bring in millions of commuters to work and spend. Asking those people to work from home ripped the heart out of the economy, leaving the U.K. capital more like a ghost town than a thriving metropolis. The city is now emerging from a year of lockdowns with deeper scars than much of the rest of the U.K. Many restaurants, theaters and shops remain shuttered, and the migrant workers that staffed them fled to their birth countries in the tens of thousands. Even when most of the rules expire in June, new border restrictions since the U.K. left the European Union will make it harder for many to return. As a result, the city's business model focused on population density is in upheaval, and many of London's strengths have turned to weaknesses. The property market indicates many people are selling out of urban areas to find more space in the suburbs and countryside, anticipating the death of the five-day-a-week commute. Half of businesses plan to allow remote work to continue in some form, the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry says.  A pedestrian walks through an almost deserted Piccadilly Circus in central London. Photographer: TOLGA AKMEN/AFP It's a big change for the U.K. too, which depends on London for a quarter of its economic output. The capital suffered almost a third of the drop in payrolls nationwide in the past year, and that raises questions about whether the city can power the country's recovery. To make matters worse, the financial district—the crown jewels of the British economy—is suffering after Brexit ended the automatic right of banks to do business on the continent. More than 440 financial firms have moved some operations to the EU, resulting in about 7,400 job relocations and a 900 billion-pound ($1.2 trillion) shift of assets. As Andrew Carter, chief executive of the Centre for Cities research group put it, "If London struggles and I were the national government, I'd be deeply worried."—Lizzy Burden | 
Post a Comment