I live in Upminster – there was once a pearly king of Upminster, and the image on the front page of this weblog shows part of his costume, including the windmill at the left. Upminster, Hornchurch, Romford and Rainham have been the London Borough of Havering since 1965, although my address says Essex. A vociferous core of locals are convinced we actually are in Essex. Not so Andrew Rosindell, the Romford MP, who must know we are in London, as he wants and has always wanted (he was born after 1965) the borough to become part of Essex. Excellent article on Rosindell and Havering by diamond geezer. The occasion is Rosindell leaving the Conservative Party and joining Reform, where he hopes Nigel Farage will help him.

diamond geezer nicely sets out how London would change without Havering:

A huge lump would be chopped off London’s eastern edge, reducing the area of the capital by 7%. The easternmost point in London would become the Dartford Creek flood barrier rather than a muddy field far beyond the M25. London would be five miles narrower than before. One-sixth of London’s Green Belt would vanish overnight.

London would lose 260,000 residents, reducing its population by just 3%. It’d become a younger city, a more left wing city and a less white city. A greater proportion of its residents would rent. It might also become a happier city because the moaners had left.
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