London seems to be a right cesspit.

This country is really changing and not for the better. I do feel for our grandchildren.

I am London born and bred, I despair.

The tube trains are filthy as are the stations, I am always aware of not having my phone in my hand near roads (kids on e-scooters/bikes on the rob). I would never get on the tube on my own (haven’t been on a London bus for over 50 years)

My handbag is worn beneath my coat when wearing one.

The only saving grace are the black cabbies, jolly, helpful and polite as always (would never use an Uber or mini cab in town)

On Saturday it was full of tourists, which is good for the economy, I guess they are still eager to spend their £££’s over here.

I used to take my grandchildren to London for the occasional trip out during school breaks but not any more. I find London an intimidating place to be these days. Indiscriminate attacks on people including young children and thefts sky rocketing but nobody seems bothered by it. Where are the City and Met police and Sadiq Khan?

I’m London born and bred and remember how each area had a clear identity. We have not lived in London for 10 years.
However, I went with a friend for the day, a couple of weeks ago. We obviously are two older ladies, but both of us felt completely safe on the tube, walking around Islington and other inner city areas. Maybe because we are street wise and look confident.
It’s interesting to look at stats for crime in different regions and to note that London isn’t top of the list.

I keep my phone put away when in London.
When we were in London this summer, my husband went out for an early morning walk and witnessed a bag snatch.
You have to be very careful in London these days.

I go regularly to London to see exhibitions.. we either get a bus from Victoria or walk through Borough Market and along the Thames. We have never had any unpleasant experiences.. and of course the Galleries are amazing..

TBH I think you need to careful everywhere nowadays .

I regularly spend the day in London,meeting up with my nursing friends of 58years.We have a meal and chat to catch up.

Last week I went shopping on my own after the meal and was horrified at the rough sleepers.There have always been areas where they were,but they are everywhere now.Victoria Street they were head to tail.One outside a Restaurant grappling with a security guard,his underwear and trousers were off.I was constantly being asked for “small change”.

I am always careful on the underground,keep my bag held tightly in front of me.

Came home feeling down about what London has become.

If you look carefully at the figures that J52 has posted just above, you can see that London its not the top crime spot at all. In fact it's below Greater Manchester.

So why has the O/P singled out London? its clear, looking at the stats, its round the whole country

Surely we should be discussing it as a whole? I think more police, but it's a very complex issue. As for any worse, I dont know, have you got year on year stats?

My husband was born in the West End of London and I remember his parents saying how awful it had become and this was back in the 50/60s. They had the sense to move away. On the odd occasion I have been to London I hate it though most cities are crime hubs.

I'm London born and bred too, though we moved away just before lockdown. I think events as mentioned above are awful, but thankfully rare in the bigger picture.
Of course, you need to be careful, especially at night, but I went to a show a few weeks weeks ago, then back on the tube to a friend's in Barnet and didn't feel scared.
The policing sometimes comes in for criticism, but I'm not sure how such events can be avoided when it's often a grudge or gang thing.

Our son and DIL live and work in London.
They tend to stay clear of central.
It is going down dramatically.
I hate to say it but Boris was a good Lord Mayor.

I hate to say it but Boris was a good Lord Mayor.
I don't think Boris lived in the Mansion House. He was Mayor, not Lord Mayor.
However, I've said before, (and been laughed at by those who lived 100+ miles away from the capital) that the mood that was better when Boris was mayor. You are right there Sago.

There is an awful lot of London. Some parts worse than others. I have two daughters who live and work there and often visit to see them, where they are there are so many green spaces it almost feels rural in parts, and most of their neighbours are friendly.
Plus there are many social initiatives to keep the area clean and tidy, sometimes a road is closed off for the day so kids can play out and parents bring out toys for them all to play with.
But like any large city or town there will be criminality.
I can assure you that there are far worse levels of criminality in some other European cities.
But of course rising knife crime is down to socio economic factors and a lack of policing within communities.

We love London which we visit regularly. We visit exhibitions, the many places of interest especially around Borough Market. The home of Dickens in Doughty Street, the Foundlings Museum nearby etc etc etc. Then there are shops like John Lewis or Peter Jones in Sloane Square from which you can investigate the many places in Chelsea which are full of history as you wander down to the river etc etc etc.Go on buses,tubes and Mainline trains. The South Kensington museums, the parks, Piccadilly etc etc etc. of course the news will highlight various awful incidents but that is not all of London. Personally I would be more concerned bout going to Croydon these days.

I’ve lived in London all my life and I’m happy to travel on buses and the tube. I don’t feel unsafe and I’m sorry but there rough sleepers and nasty happens in any city or town London is not an exception. I guess it’s what you’re used to and I’m used to London.

Croydon is in London 🤔

^
So why has the O/P singled out London? its clear, looking at the stats, its round the whole country^

I singled it out Wyllow3 because of the shocking news I’d just heard about an eight year old girl being shot this morning.

When news such as this fails to generate shock and outrage we have lost our soul.

I am like tanith I will travel by bus or tube wherever I fancy in London. I moved here from Scotland in the mid 60's. I do not leave all my goodies in my bag in case it is stolen, I distribute cards etc in pockets but I would do that anywhere.

Goodness, GrannyGravy13, I live in outer London and would never think twice about taking buses (which I use all the time) or the tube on my own. I have done so for many years. I don’t find the trains of stations noticeably dirty, either.

However I do loathe how some people (I don’t hesitate to use the ‘chav’ word in this context) choose to leave their smelly, greasy fast food debris, and their empty drinks bottles/cans on trains and buses. I don’t see it every day, but it still makes me 😡.

From the Telegraph just now:

“An eight-year-old girl has been seriously wounded after being shot in west London.

The child was injured alongside a 34-year-old man following a double shooting in Kensington just after 5:30pm on Sunday afternoon.

Scotland Yard has launched an urgent investigation and is appealing for witnesses or anybody who was in the area at the time to come forward.

The girl was rushed to hospital where she was understood to be in a stable condition. Police said they were awaiting an update from medics on the condition of the man.”

I lived on the edge of London before we moved, in a nice leafy area near a couple of the Royal parks. I haven't been up to the centre of London since before Covid, I do miss it to a certain extent we enjoyed going to museums and galleries, London is such a first class city in many respects. My son works up there three days a week now, both he and partner both thought in the aftermath of Covid it had become very depleted and somewhat sad looking. I loved my time working up there, it always had such a buzz. It's like many cities though, here in Europe, Paris for example and showcase cities in the US, San Francisco and New York all in a right state I hear. Some real no go areas in many cities everywhere, San Francisco in particular due to what's been allowed to proliferate with regard to open drug use and tent cities, it's hardly surprising.

Gang warfare in London has prevailed for quite a while now, certain ethnic groups having carved up their own turf. Not just here look at Sweden, Malmo in particular, once upon a time that was such a safe country, I read somewhere that it now has the worst gun crime in Europe, all that has been imported, I remember when the first accession foreign nationals arrived from mainland Europe a while back and, I think some Poles caught up in a crossfire where one was fatally wounded just going about their daily lives, one mother back home commented "it's like the wild west there" Yes! unfortunately it is! and for mono cultures that may come as a rude awakening. Some little girl sitting in a restaurant a short while ago, injured in gunfire and bloody machetes wielded about openly, children murdered in revenge killings or mistaken identity killings, no wonder many people run for the hills and get the hell out of urban areas in all major cities, who wants to live alongside all of that.

I always thought the London Underground was pretty filthy until I went on the NY Subway utterly horrible worse than ours by far.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

^
So why has the O/P singled out London? its clear, looking at the stats, its round the whole country^

I singled it out Wyllow3 because of the shocking news I’d just heard about an eight year old girl being shot this morning.

When news such as this fails to generate shock and outrage we have lost our soul.

But why does that make London singled out "a right cesspit?" We had 6 shot and injured in my city in August and it doesn't make it a "right cesspit", it was one sick individual. Of course every incident is shocking and one too many.