Blog

At the Employment and Skills Convention earlier this year, I listened to Sir Robin Wales, Mayor of the London Borough of Newham, speak of the Olympics taking place in the East End.  This gave me mixed feelings.  While this certainly had a ring to it, I couldn't get around the geographical inaccuracy of the statement.  As Ed Glinart pointed out in his admirable East End Chronicles, the East End really relates to the traditional neighbourhoods in Tower Hamlets - Bethnal Green, Whitechapel, Poplar, Wapping, Stepney.  OK, there are some ill defined edges around Hackney but surely anything beyond the River Lea is Essex. In the same speech, Sir Robin compounded my gripe by claiming ownership of East Enders, pointing out the new postcode for the Olympic Park (E20) is that of Albert Square.  As Hackney folk will know, Albert Square was modelled on Fassett Square in Dalston, although the TV programme is like nowhere I know on earth, so perhaps a new postcode is the right place for it.

This is not just being pedantic,as local identity is important.  When I worked in Hackney, many of the locals in Shoreditch  still had nostalgia for the days of the Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, and although I haven't come across many residents hankering for the days of the Metropolitan Borough of Stoke Newington in my home neighbourhood, I don't think anybody in N16 seriously considers themselves East Enders. East London is historically a transient are with a long attested history of in and out migration. A brief look at  Office of National Statistics (ONS) data shows that these trends are continuing, but with a significant difference in that the last ten years have seen a major increase in population.  This is associated with the improvement in economic opportunities and availability of new private housing.  Of course this not without its challenges in terms of increased inequalities, but is a significant change to the days when inner London was seen as area of depopulation.

Given these dislocations, reaffirming local identity is even more important. I am pretty certain that you can link this to good mental health, as the evidence shows that people'e good mental health and wellbeing is at least partly linked to good community cohesion.  This in term means a common understanding of neighbourhood and history.  As Sir Robin is a Scotsman called Wales, serving an English Borough, he should appreciate the need for clarity.