Bridge House Estate

The Financial Times Calls The City Of London Council Undemocratic: This Local Authority Will Remain That Way Until Westminster Passes Legislation To Abolish Its Business Vote

The City operates an idiosyncratic system of “corporate democracy”. At best it is flawed, at worst a recipe for abuse. A connected problem is the scant choice of candidates. For every councillor position, there are just 1.3 candidates on average, radically fewer than in London’s 32 local boroughs. The aldermanic voting system is particularly open to manipulation. An old acquaintance and former Lord Mayor once told me that one explanation for the City’s sometimes reactionary instincts is a “shadow hanging over the whole structure” of the corporation’s supposedly democratic governance, Freemasonry. Close to a third of councillors are declared masons, including the chairs of nearly all the major committees. Three-quarters of Lord Mayors over the past century have been masons.

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The City of London Council, Its Funding Of The Church of England In The Square Mile & Fraud

The company Trust For London Trustees, whose directors have included City of London councillors Peter Estlin. Ian Luder, Alison Gowman, Edward Lord, Rehana Ameer and Sophie Fernande, appears to have been at the centre of Martin Sargeant’s multi-million pound Church of England fraud. Given the blown capital budget at the City council and the funnelling of funds by this local authority to anglican projects that may otherwise have suffered cash shortages as a result of Sargeant’s fraud, all these matters and the individuals implicated in them merit thorough investigation.

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Square Mile Community Infrastructure Levy Should Fund Public Realm Improvements Rather Than Going To Developers’ Lobby Group The City Property Association

The City’s Community Infrastructure Levy Neighbourhood Fund money going to developers’ lobby group the City Property Association – £100,000 over two years awarded in September 2021 – looks bad enough on its own. Given the entangled relationships between the City Property Association and related Westminster Property Association and London Property Alliance – all headed by Charles Begley – and the City of London council (especially its planning committee), it becomes even more problematic. We have detailed the ongoing relationships between those who have led the planning committee including Alastair Moss, Shravan Joshi and Chris Hayward and the Charles Begley led property lobby operations in various posts. These relationships go right to the top of the council.

Read more "Square Mile Community Infrastructure Levy Should Fund Public Realm Improvements Rather Than Going To Developers’ Lobby Group The City Property Association"