Fortress London: The definitive book about Levelling Up and why it matters

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The author combines reflections on his own personal experiences of leaving Yorkshire to become a journalist in London with interviews with politicians and an array of economic and social data. It is ironic that Labour voting London has grown richer and healthier under Conservative rule, whereas the increasingly Tory-inclined North has become sicker and poorer. The dock was covered with arrowslits in case of an attack on the castle from the River; there was also a portcullis at the entrance to control who entered.

And with Parliament up for a shockingly costly refurbishment, it is a topical suggestion that could be taken further.

Edward extended the south side of the Tower of London onto land that had previously been submerged by the River Thames. The support for Brexit and Boris Johnson among those who would benefit little from either, is now less of a mystery to me and I shall no longer be quite so fast to condemn those who did vote for them. It is in this chapter that Bright identifies and explains that the problem of London being a ‘Fortress’,inaccessible to the rest of the country, is more than just a geographical issue, but an issue that is compounded education inequality. It will explain why regional inequality has fallen off the Left’s radar, even as the Right pays lip service to it, and it will draw on international comparisons to show where we have gone wrong and, crucially, how we can fix it.

Hence Bright’s suggestion is not overly new, but an adoption of previous ideas into a practical use, and platforming geographical situation as a demographic to consider. Prepare to be shocked by stories of the unfortunate prisoners who were tortured within the walls of the Tower of London.After the Second World War, damage caused during the Blitz was repaired, and the castle reopened to the public. Articles deal with the situations and experiences of people and places struggling to negotiate the opportunities, constraints and risks within contemporary society. Although the Constable was still responsible for maintaining the castle and its garrison, from an early stage he had a subordinate to help with this duty: the Lieutenant of the Tower. The work lasted through the reign of Henry III and into that of Edward I, interrupted occasionally by civil unrest.

The author goes on to persuasively argue that the physical proximity of lobby journalists encourages a form of collusion with Westminster politicians. There were several phases of expansion, mainly under kings Richard I, Henry III, and Edward I in the 12th and 13th centuries. He intones that it is right to celebrate the generally progressive attitude of Londoners towards race, sexuality and religion.Sam Bright’s clear-eyed intervention will convince you that regional inequality is the problem — and that now is the time for change. Balancing the demands of a democratic society for open and accessible government with the need for constructing physical barriers and establishing security perimeters around government facilities is a complicated task. The castle, which had not been used as a royal residence for some time, was usually left in the charge of a Constable, a post held at this time by Geoffrey de Mandeville. The 13th-century Beauchamp Tower marks the first large-scale use of brick as a building material in Britain, since the 5th-century departure of the Romans.

The upper floor contained a grand hall in the west and residential chamber in the east – both originally open to the roof and surrounded by a gallery built into the wall – and St John's Chapel in the south-east. In addition, he is clearly more adept with interviewing politicians than he is at marshalling the relevant economic and social data.Sam Bright's clear-eyed intervention will convince you that regional inequality is the problem - and that now is the time for change. Although only seven per cent of students are educated by private schools, their graduates account for 29 per cent of MPs, 57 per cent of peers, 44 per cent of newspaper columnists and 29 per cent of BBC executives. This difficulty of location is caused by the concentration of industries such as the arts, media, politics, law, finance and more within London.