On London Extra: Almost eight

My multi-contributor journalism website is on the eve of its next birthday. Plus the Rachel Reeves big speech, new crime stats, the Mayor on the Holocaust and more

Now and again I imagine I could be rich and famous if I blew my own trumpet more. Usually, I talk myself out of it, but today I'm going to give it a go.

OnLondon,co.uk, to give it its full title, was born in a more basic form on 1 February 2017 - that's eight years ago tomorrow as this edition of On London Extra flies your way.

Throughout that time, I have run the entire operation single-handedly from a room in my house in Hackney and been pleased to publish some of the best and most knowledgeable writers about London there are.

All of On London's content is free. The website carries no advertising. It has no external funding or financial backers. Apart from carrying the odd bit of "supported content" (not advertorial) and me doing the odd bit of moonlighting to keep the bank account in the black, all of its turnover has come from its hundreds of individual supporters.

I am proud to have kept On London going and growing for eight years. But more than that, I am grateful to paid subscribers and others for backing me. All my income from this personal Substack helps to keep my micro media empire afloat.

And speaking of growth...


RACHEL'S INVISIBLE LONDON

Watching Wednesday's big growth speech by Lewisham's own Rachel Reeves was, at least initially, as interesting to me for its structure as for its content.

After setting out her broad vision for planning reform and greater productivity, she highlighted investment "right across the country", mentioning Northumberland, Suffolk, North Wales, the South West, East Anglia and Yorkshire.

She went on to applaud north of England metro mayors by names, detailing plans for rail upgrades and more housing, and promising to "review" the Treasury's Green Book guidance for appraising projects seeking public investment to see "how it is being used to provide objective, transparent advice on public investment across the country, including outside London and the South East".

In this, she was acceding to a longstanding claim that the Green Book discriminates against the North. Others disagree, but maybe Reeves isn't one of them.