I’ve escaped London for a pre-Christmas minibreak, to visit the beautiful Austrian capital of Vienna. For some reason, visiting a liberal city that was once the centre of the world, but is now just the capital of a small and angry country, reminded me of an interview I did months ago about London getting the ‘ump about Brexit.
So, here it is. James O’Malley is a journalist and occasional CityMetric contributor, who last appeared on Skylines episode 48. In a fit of rage in June 2016, he founded a petition calling for London to become an independent state. It was mostly a joke - but, as it turns out, a terrifyingly high number of people rather liked the idea, and he accidentally started a secessionist movement that he’s not entirely sure he agrees with.
James tells me about his abortive political career, Brexit, city states - and whether he sold out.
","author_name":"The New Statesman"}