UK finance industry launches campaign to counter 'no-go hellscape' claims about London
Claims that London is a "no-go hellscape" are gaining traction, and the U.K. financial services industry has had enough.
Worried that the rhetoric, also pushed by right-wing Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, will hurt investment in the City of London, a group launched Wednesday in the Square Mile wants to take the narrative back.
In recent years, right-wing media pundits and campaigners have claimed that the English capital is a “no-go” zone due to apparently rampant crime. Farage said earlier this year that “London is broken. London is lawless," in response to disorder which took place in an area of South London at the end of March.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has accused U.S. President Donald Trump’s MAGA supporters and Russia of spreading misinformation about the capital city on social media, despite figures showing crime has significantly fallen under his watch.
Khan has pushed an alternative trend, known as "Londonmaxxing," to highlight positive aspects of the city.
Recent analysis by the Greater London Association shows negative perceptions about London have risen by 150–200 percent over the past two years. The City of London — the financial center of Britain — fears it will ultimately bear the brunt of any false narrative if investors decide to take their business to another economic powerhouse they view as safer.
At an event Wednesday evening, the Lady Mayor of the City of London, Susan Langley, will launch a “Team UK campaign,” made up of 200 British companies and industry associations, to sell London to the world as a safe place to invest.
Influential businesses and trade bodies — including UK Finance and TheCityUK — will act in an ambassadorial role for London, spreading “positive, fact-led messages” internationally, telling colleagues abroad that rankings show London remains the world's most desirable city to live, work, and visit, homicides are at their lowest level in a decade, and the capital’s rates of violent crime are lower than many of its global peers.
Disinformation about London "matters because what starts online doesn’t stay online. It seeps into boardrooms and companies,” Langley said in a statement ahead of the event.
“Every positive investment decision in the U.K. creates a ripple effect far beyond just one company and creates real jobs. That’s why speaking up together for Britain is important.”
The push will “challenge misleading narratives” and “stand up to disinformation” about the capital in an effort to prevent investors being spooked by the online messaging.
