Dear Londoners — it’s Andrew here
As Hannah enjoys a well-deserved birthday break, I’m here to share some thoughts. With the sun shining and the chill of winter fading, I feel like a bear waking from hibernation, drawn to the inviting call of a beer garden. However, as we embrace this lovely season, let’s not forget the Londoners who have fled the turmoil of our crime-ridden capital for Dubai, only to find themselves caught in the midst of a global conflict.
The school wars are spreading
For the second consecutive week, Met police officers are on high alert, and schools across London are cancelling detentions and after-school activities. The reason? A new wave of posts on social media platforms like TikTok and Snapchat is attempting to organize street fights between students from different schools.
If you’re not a parent or don’t have connections to school-aged children in central London, here’s a brief overview of the situation. Over the past fortnight, a series of images have emerged, promoting ‘wars’ between various schools in London. These posters, styled in the traditional red and blue colours of California street gangs, the Bloods and the Crips, have identified specific schools in areas like Hackney, Islington, Camden, Redbridge, Newham, Harrow, Ealing, Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets, Croydon, Bromley, and Greenwich as ‘sides’.
Some posts even specify weapons to use and encourage students to “be violent” to “earn points,” while others simply instruct “no weapons, just fight.”
In response, the Met has increased their presence, issued dispersal orders in south and east London, and ramped up patrols outside the schools mentioned in the posts. Meanwhile, schools and colleges have alerted parents about the situation.
However, as far as The Londoner can ascertain, no actual fights have occurred as a result of these posts, making the notion of a genuine civil war among students across the capital seem rather unlikely.
Moreover, if these posts were merely a viral prank among schoolchildren, we would expect to see more evidence of this trend online. Notably, these ‘school wars’ are not confined to London; schools in Bristol, Birmingham, and Northampton have also been implicated.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has described the content as “deeply concerning” and mentioned that TikTok executives are addressing the issue. When we searched for an account linked to the original posts, TikTok displayed a warning that the search term “might be associated with behavior or content that violates our guidelines.” However, the misspelled term ‘school warrs’ still yields some troubling results.
So, is this a lone individual attempting to incite panic in London? A new, twisted form of AI-generated content? Or something entirely different? We aim to uncover more in the coming weeks, so please reach out if you have any information or have been affected by these posts.
City Hall has a new plan to save London’s bus network
City Hall has initiated a new multimillion-pound initiative to encourage Londoners to return to the capital’s bus network. But will this be sufficient to revive the struggling bus services?
Earlier this month, The Londoner explored how the once-celebrated bus network has seen a 25% decline in passengers over the past decade. This ongoing crisis has posed significant challenges for Transport for London (TfL), forcing officials to reduce routes across the city to cut costs and compensate for lost fare revenue. Many attribute this decline to long-term factors such as the decline of in-person shopping and the rise of Lime biking, alongside record-low speeds on London roads.
In our previous piece, we expressed concerns that TfL’s proposed solutions—aimed at making their offerings as appealing as possible—might overlook a fundamental trade-off. For instance, attempting to alleviate congestion on London roads to improve bus travel times would inherently require reducing the number of cars on the road.
It seems our concerns were well-founded. Last week, Mayor Sadiq Khan unveiled City Hall’s budget plan for 2026/2027, which included an additional £20 million for “fares innovation” on TfL’s bus network, funded by a £142.6 million windfall from an unexpected increase in business rates and council tax revenue.
What does “fares innovation” entail, you might wonder? The City Hall announcement was somewhat vague, but the mayor provided hints during his speech to the London Assembly. Examples he mentioned included a trial where Tube fares were reduced on Fridays, free travel during the first week of the Superloop network, and the “hopper fare” allowing unlimited bus journeys for £1.75 within an hour of tapping in.
Regardless of the specifics, it’s clear that these plans will be a top priority for the mayor’s office. Transport watchdog London TravelWatch estimates that bus journeys need to increase by 40% by 2041 if the mayor hopes to achieve his goal of 80% of journeys in the capital being made by walking, cycling, or public transport.
While discussing the new budget, several other announcements raised eyebrows at The Londoner, including a new unit at the Met dedicated to tackling phone theft, backed by £4.5 million from the mayor, an additional £250 million for TfL, and a £20 million AI taskforce (the necessity of which remains somewhat unclear). We’ll be keeping a close watch for further updates.
The disappearing eviction
In the realm of panic, local papers recently reported that the cafes at Hampstead Heath—whose ongoing battle with the City of London was covered by The Londoner last month—were facing a final eviction on Tuesday.
However, it appears that some of this local news coverage may have been slightly premature. We spoke with Patrick Matthews of Hoxton Beach, the operator managing the cafes on the Heath and Queens Park at the center of the dispute. He informed The Londoner that, to their knowledge, no evictions were currently taking place.
The confusion that spread among supporters and local journalists stemmed from the City of London’s statement that they reserved the right to deploy bailiffs if tenants did not vacate voluntarily. This doesn’t necessarily mean they will; forcibly removing kitchen staff and cafe owners in the middle of preparing food doesn’t exactly make for a positive headline.
Matthews also mentioned that their legal challenge against the City of London is set to be filed on Friday, which would make any attempted eviction more susceptible to a preventative injunction. Expect things to heat up on the Heath soon.
Quick hits
Do any of our readers work, or have previously worked, at the Barbican? Please reach out to Andrew at [email protected].
In case you missed it…
Our Saturday read featured an in-depth look at the tragic death of Brian Mitchell, who fell onto the tracks at Stratford underground station in 2023 and was run over seven times before anyone noticed. Was automation a factor in his death?
We also reported on the mass eviction of traders at Ridley Road market by their tax haven-based landlord, despite assurances of protection from Hackney council. Additionally, we returned to the chaotic situation at the Loughborough Estate, where an authoritarian management organization is accused of fraud, misusing millions in council funds, and endangering tenants with a potential chemical explosion. The Londoner was at the forefront of this unfolding drama.
In one of the most bizarre housing disputes in the capital, tenants of a block of flats in East London are at odds with their freeholder—the People’s Republic of China. We met with them for our Wednesday read.
Wining and dining
With countless options and a constant stream of new openings, choosing where to eat and drink in the capital can be overwhelming. To simplify things, we’ll provide our insider guide to the city’s best spots each week.
One perfect meal: The number of Mexican restaurants in the capital seems to be growing by the day. Once, it was a challenge to find a place with authentic corn tortillas; now, they’re everywhere. Yet few establishments serve up genuine, straightforward Mexican tacos as well as Sonora Taqueria in Stoke Newington. This restaurant began as a beloved food truck in Netil Market, Hackney, run by Michelle Salazar de la Rocha and Sam Napier before they opened their brick-and-mortar location in 2023.
It’s a narrow eatery, perfect for perching on a bar stool before moving on, but the food is exceptional. The adobada, a grilled pork taco marinated in spicy-sweet achiote paste and topped with grilled pineapple, is a standout. For vegetarians, the nopales—grilled cactus leaf—are a must-try. The tangy leaves have a delightful texture, perfectly complementing the accompanying pico de gallo and crumbly cheese.
Oh, and if you’re interested in our piece about the surge of bars contributing to Dalston’s Latin revival, you can find it right here.
One perfect drink: Finding a pub to watch football isn’t hard, but the challenge often lies in finding a place with the right atmosphere and seating. That’s why I recently discovered The Hanbury, a tastefully wood-paneled pub in Islington, lined with books and featuring a discreet array of screens. I walked in with a friend just five minutes before Arsenal kicked off against Chelsea (the less said about that match, the better) and managed to snag a comfy seat right in front of the action. The sound was loud enough to follow the game without overpowering conversation—truly a rare find. If sports aren’t your thing, it’s still worth a visit for their real ales and the excellent range of classic British pub food on offer.
Our favourite read
Revealed: Thames Water’s environmental and financial disaster — Will Dunn, New Statesman
In light of the recent flooding that inundated Islington’s streets, it’s an opportune moment to examine the inner workings of Thames Water. Based on Will Dunn’s article for The New Statesman, the situation is far from rosy. The company is losing money to US investors at “payday loan” rates, and its troubling tendency to leak raw sewage into waterways shows little sign of improvement.
To Do List
Don’t miss Tracey Emin’s new exhibition, A Second Life, which opened at Tate Modern this past weekend and runs until 31 August. It’s a raw and emotional collection of paintings, sculptures, and installations from the renowned artist, featuring both classic pieces like “My Bed” and previously unseen works. Spring is upon us! Or at least, it feels that way. What do they say about this season and fools? Anyway, while the weather is pleasant, consider visiting Kensington Gardens for an intriguing free event organized by Royal Parks: a guided walk exploring the world of tree lichens and their return to central London after decades of absence. The walks will take place at 2pm on 4 and 13 March, as well as 11 April.
From the archive
Did you enjoy our recent weekend read on Barrie Stonehill, the charming socialite who vanished from Chelsea’s clubs and out of the life of writer Melissa Blease? Here’s a quick glimpse into the world he inhabited: some rare colour video footage of King’s Road in the late 1960s—a moment and place renowned for its style. Just brace yourself for the abundance of v-neck shirts.