The Scoop

City of Tower Hamlets?

Darryl Chamberlain | Wednesday 18 May, 2011 12:00

You’d think £72m of cuts would be the most pressing thing on Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman ‘s mind.

But he’s found a scheme which he can cheer the locals up with – bidding for city status.

Yesterday’s announcement sees the east London borough line up alongside Blackpool, Reading and Middlesbrough to be named a city for next year’s Queen’s diamond jubilee.

I don’t know about you, but isn’t there something odd about London boroughs wanting to become cities in their own right? Greenwich tried it once, claiming to be “to London what Versailles is to Paris”, while Croydon has tried it a number of times.

As everyone knows, there are two cities in London. The square mile, with its Lord Mayor’s Show, its own police force, and archaic elections; and Westminster, first awarded city status in 1541. Both sit right in the middle of London, and both areas hold huge importance to both the capital and the rest of the UK.

So why would Tower Hamlets want to join them? According to Rahman…

“We are unique in that we have a thriving business and shopping district in Canary Wharf, an innovative arts scene, a first-rate university on our doorstep in Queen Mary, and a vibrant community spirit, which has embraced different groups of people throughout our history.

“The royal wedding celebrations which I attended were testament to the genuine community spirit that exists in the borough and there is a real appetite to build on this pride and let everyone know what an amazing place Tower Hamlets is.”

Bow-based blogger Diamond Geezer isn’t impressed.

“Unique, huh? There are dozens of towns across Britain with good shops, buzzing galleries, a top university and lovely residents. The only thing that makes Tower Hamlets special is that our retail centre specialises in international banking deals, otherwise we might as well be Leicester.”

Tower Hamlets is, and always has been, a collection of communities rather than one unified “city” with a centre and suburbs.

Even the borough’s name alludes to this. In the 17th century, the “Tower Hamlets” were the parishes under the control of the Tower of London, stretching into Hackney and Shoreditch. When the old boroughs of Bethnal Green, Poplar and Stepney were merged in the 1960s, the name was dusted down and applied to the new council.

As Diamond Geezer says: “We’re Hamlets, Lutfur, not a City.”

The bid will be submitted by 27 May, and residents will find out by next year whether they have been elevated to the status of city slickers.

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