Less than ten years earlier, the City of London had been riding high. It was the prized jewel in New Labour’s economic crown. It was Britain’s ticket to global significance. It was the standard the deregulators of Wall Street aspired to, the location of choice for fast-moving, high-end global finance. All the more shattering was the shock of 2008. The City became a site of crisis and failure.1 Tens of thousands lost their jobs.
