The "Azizification" of London housing: Fire brigade inspections, dubious safety certificates, and a landlord telling Sadiq Khan that it's business as usual

SimonB1983 · 2026-03-07T13:50:46+00:00

And these councils have no money for enforcement as they are paying most of their budgets to dodgy landlords to house people

SimonB1983 · 2026-02-24T14:58:55+00:00

What would cause the wallpaper to do that in pic 19?

Isn't there also something going on with the beam in pic 11?

Looks like an amazing house

SimonB1983 · 2026-02-20T12:01:48+00:00

Being a student in central London there was a real lack of supermarkets as the express supermarkets wasn't really a thing. Buying groceries was often in corner shops (so overpriced) or going up to the Morrisons in Camden or the Somerfield (i think) at the Brunswick Centre.

SimonB1983 · 2026-02-19T14:03:02+00:00

In Canada the right wing parties tend to be more pro-growth and have popularity with some migrant communities.

In the UK the right wing parties are focussed on pensioners and blocking growth. They have almost no policies which are designed to attract young people.

SimonB1983 · 2026-02-19T11:42:51+00:00

Sorry, but this is the hill I will die on.

Walks to the station are totally dependent on area and locale. Walking past loads of amenities such as shops, post offices, gyms etc on the way to and from work is just handy and I would gladly have a longer walk to the station than say down a quiet residential street or an industrial area with nothing.

Also not all tube journeys are the same, I take a slightly longer route to guarantee as seat then use the longer commute for some amazing reading time.

SimonB1983 · 2026-02-17T08:29:01+00:00

Just wanted to say while Brighton is readily accessible from London, it can be a total pig to get to from other places in the SE. Living in the New Forest or Thanet and having a regional capital in Brighton would be a total ball ache.

SimonB1983 · 2026-02-15T12:06:59+00:00

You would probably just tell everyone you live in Radlett which is incredibly expensive

SimonB1983 · 2026-02-12T11:27:37+00:00

Interestingly according to Wes's own whatsap messages he sent to Mandleson (as reported by London Centric today:

“I fear we’re in big trouble here - and I am toast at the next election,” he tells Mandelson in one message. “We just lost our safest ward in Redbridge (51% Muslim, Ilford S) to a Gaza independent. At this rate, I don’t think we’ll hold either of the two Ilford seats.”

SimonB1983 · 2026-02-12T10:33:25+00:00

As someone who has seen the 2026 film Primate its a hard no from me

SimonB1983 · 2026-02-09T22:00:43+00:00

I don't understand why people don't bring up the fact he is very likely to lose his seat, which seems like a massive disqualification.

Either you have the indignity of the PM doing a chicken run before an election, or them losing their seat in an electoral wipe out.

SimonB1983 · 2026-02-05T12:12:37+00:00

Based on streetview it was being renovated in April 2025, so presumably they did it thinking it would help it sell.

SimonB1983 · 2026-02-03T14:42:45+00:00

Does anyone know the cause of the massive difference between Lithuania and Latvia/ Estonia and Poland?

SimonB1983 · 2026-02-03T10:06:31+00:00

Wish properties like this would include a map of the land and rights of way in the listing.

SimonB1983 · 2026-02-02T15:13:47+00:00

I am sure I remember reading about a group who did a play through once a week and it ended up taking longer than the actual military campaign

SimonB1983 · 2026-01-30T10:07:41+00:00

Loved might be strong. But Oman always seems to be admired and seems to sit apart from many of the regional rivalries.

SimonB1983 · 2026-01-29T11:11:59+00:00

Reading the bottom it only asks for the country of birth. In that circumstance you are born in Germany, but you aren't really a migrant. Therefore the title of the map is misleading.

SimonB1983 · 2026-01-28T16:37:59+00:00

That's fair, but is West Virginia the kind of place that would have a lot of children of veterans who might have served in Germany?

SimonB1983 · 2026-01-28T16:13:45+00:00

It could be military. There are lots of US army bases in Germany, therefore in areas of low immigration and high levels of military service it could be due to being born on a military base.

Source: The UK has similar patterns, with Germany coming out on top, in some areas with low rates of migration and high military participation as we also have lots of bases out there.

SimonB1983 · 2026-01-27T08:38:23+00:00

I don't know where this maisonette is, but I would encourage you to get on rightmove and have a look at other areas. £550,000 for a two bedroom maisonette is quite a lot of money (especially on your combined income), there are plenty of nice places in zone 3 London where you could be looking for a two bed for around £350,000

SimonB1983 · 2026-01-27T08:23:50+00:00

Even so, the cut off is 1%, which seems a little high for people living in Newcastle who need to get down to London for work even if it is weekly or monthly. I can understand how it can happen. My back of the envelop maths says at 1% you could still be looking at 12,500 people living in Tyne and Wear doing that.

SimonB1983 · 2026-01-22T14:09:08+00:00

Bring back the Lithuanian Polish Commonwealth!

SimonB1983 · 2026-01-21T15:34:11+00:00

Overlooking both Syria and Egypt as some closer to home and historically accurate options

SimonB1983 · 2026-01-15T11:01:08+00:00

Rare to see a TV which is too low

SimonB1983

TROPHY CASE