Ben Judah: This is London

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According to Ben Judah, Brexit was mainly the result of bad migration policies. In his book ‘This is London’, he shows the reasons why. His epic account of contemporary London is motivated by a desire to show the city in its true (new) colors: as a megacity of global migrants, some of them rich, most of them poor, few of them happy with their fate.

While he voted remain, he understands why so many people have voted for Brexit. The ideal of free movement of people has led to many problems. According to Judah, the EU is not working in its current form.

In Judah’s latest book ‘This is London’, we hear stories we have never heard before and meet the people we would not have seen otherwise. This is an account of the city’s variety and its divisions. Judah shows us the capital of the UK through the eyes of its beggars, bankers, coppers, gangsters, careres, sex workers and witch-doctors.

During this programme Ben Judah reflects on what the developments he describes in his book explain us about Brexit, and what Europe should learn from this.

Cody Hochstenbach is postdoctoral researcher in Urban Geography at the University of Amsterdam. He specializes in social and spatial inequality, and the politics of housing. In 2017 he defended his PhD dissertation “Inequality in the gentrifying European city”.

This programme will be moderated by Tim Wagemakers.

About Ben Judah

Ben Judah (1988) was born in London. He has travelled extensively in Russia, Central Asia and the Levant. His writing has featured widely, including the New York Times, The Evening Standard, The Financial Times, and Standpoint. His first book, Fragile Empire (2013) was a study of Vladimir Putin’s Russia. In his latest book ‘This is London’ he provides a remarkable study of the modern city.  In 2016, Ben was chosen as one of Forbes Magazine’s 30 under 30 in European Media. He is a contributing writer for Politico Europe.