Top all-time · #4092
Jim Waterson
Personal blog · londoncentric.mediapoliticswriting
Jim Waterson writes London Centric, a personal blog at londoncentric.media about politics and writing. Since 2024, 19 different Hacker News readers have linked it 29 times, most often “Asif Aziz: The billionaire and the tax evading gift shops”. It is still writing: the last post was on 2026-11-01, and you can follow it by feed.
Too few sampled comments (10) to say how often HN recommends it.?
Why HN links it
HN readers cite Jim Waterson's London Centric newsletter as a source on London topics such as property developers, pub closures, planning rules and Underground mobile coverage. Comments mostly link it as a source.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 10 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
Proper local journalism about who really runs London - and what's actually going on in the city.
Most-linked posts?
- Asif Aziz: The billionaire and the tax evading gift shops3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2025-07-25
- AI artwork in London axed after being misinterpreted2 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2025-11-20
- "Hate brings views": Confessions of a London fake news TikToker2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2026-02-10
- /p/why-exactly-is-londons-phone-signal2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2025-01-27
- "Don't want no Samsung": London's phone thieves get picky2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2025-11-18
- How a post on Reddit accidentally kickstarted the revival of Angus Steakhouse2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2024-11-11
What Hacker News says?
If you read The Guardian or even The Economist or other UK sources you see there is a drumbeat of concern about "bad businesses" which range from http://wormwoodiana.blogspot.com/2025/04/do-charity-bookshop... which legally evade taxes and https://www.londoncentric.media/p/asf-aziz-london-candy-shop... which illegally evade taxes not to mention https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/dec/26/more-than-90... and http…
Comment linking /p/asf-aziz-london-candy-shops-gift-shop-unpaid-tax
on “How well does the money laundering control system work?”Submitted Inside the Transport for London cyberattack as a story · 101 points
HN discussionI don't think this is right. Secondary cities in Britain are consistently more positive about development than London. I give the example in the piece of Leeds voting to expand its airport and how this was blocked by the UK government. In London it is the UK government trying to force that city to expand Heathrow after London itself rejected it. The best data I can suggest to try and convince yourself of this is fro…
Comment linking /p/why-exactly-is-londons-phone-signal
on “Why Northern England is poor”Submitted Asif Aziz: The billionaire and the tax evading gift shops as a story · 32 points
HN discussionThe artist's impression in the original source on the 'fox infestation' (1) may provide a sense of scale. 1: https://www.londoncentric.media/p/why-lime-bikes-beep
Comment linking /p/why-lime-bikes-beep
on “Google battling 'fox infestation' on roof of £1B London office”Submitted London Transport Explained in Nine Graphs as a story · 26 points
HN discussionHave a third! https://www.londoncentric.media/p/picturehouse-central-cinem...
Comment linking /p/picturehouse-central-cinema-london-asif-aziz-restrictions
on “The billionaire developer closing London's pubs”Submitted Kitchen foil and Algerian markets: When your phone is stolen in London as a story · 15 points
HN discussionThere is a real problem here to be solved. Whenever I speak to someone who's planning to vote Reform (UK hard-right party) their views are primarily shaped by seeing AI slop videos on TikTok/Instagram, showing immigrants doing crimes etc etc Reform will probably win the next election because of this, unless we find a way to make platforms manage the situation. Interesting example: https://www.londoncentric.media/p/l…
Comment linking /p/london-tiktok-fake-news-creator-hate-immigrants
on “The 'papers, please' era of the internet will decimate your privacy”Submitted Snail farmer of London, mafia friends, and a £20M vendetta against the taxman as a story · 11 points
HN discussionThe negativity is about ai being actually shit. this was a professional artist using ai for a christmas mural. https://www.londoncentric.media/p/ai-artwork-london-kingston... I went to see the awful charade claiming to be art, I stood on Kingston bridge and looked upon that pile of shit art work. check out the photo of the dog paddling in the water with a fucking chickens beak. Hilarious!! Human heads not even joine…
Comment linking /p/ai-artwork-london-kingston-upon-thames-axed
on “The negativity around generative AI is weird”Submitted "Don't want no Samsung": London's phone thieves get picky as a story · 8 points
HN discussionSource: https://www.londoncentric.media/p/london-phone-thieves-prefe... ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45968768 )
Comment linking /p/london-phone-thieves-prefer-android-iphone-l
on “Thieves are returning Android phones because they 'don't want no Samsung'”Submitted AI artwork in London axed after being misinterpreted as a story · 4 points
HN discussionThis article is something of a PR-piece for Criterion Capital, who are generally not a good influence in London "The Prince Charles Cinema near Leicester Square claims Aziz is trying to “bully” it out of its building, while his business has also played a key role in the closure of the world’s first YMCA branch near Tottenham Court Road." https://www.londoncentric.media/p/asif-aziz-delta-point-croy... "Why does a pro…
Comment linking /p/asf-aziz-london-candy-shops-gift-shop-unpaid-tax
on “I stayed in a $40 capsule hotel (London)”Submitted London's phones thieves are burying stolen devices in flowerbeds as a story · 4 points
HN discussionDont make me laugh here is an example of that so called Stunning visual Mind blowing ai art on Kingston Bridge, here in good old UK, the size of a tennis court; It was horrendous developed by renown ai artist Mat Collishaw In recent years Collishaw has increasingly focussed on creating art with AI, including an exhibition that has been on display elsewhere in the same development. here have a look: https://www.londo…
Comment linking /p/ai-artwork-london-kingston-upon-thames-axed
on “Top mind blowing ChatGPT images prompts”Submitted US-style tipping culture came to London as a story · 3 points
HN discussionLike many of London's woes, that's because of planning, councils have to approve infrastructure and block it: https://www.londoncentric.media/p/why-exactly-is-londons-pho... I'd say it's developing-world tier, but a lot of the developing world has really good 5G signal these days.
Comment linking /p/why-exactly-is-londons-phone-signal
on “How London cracked mobile phone coverage on the Underground”Submitted Londoners are sick of viral videos telling lies about their city as a story · 3 points
HN discussionSubmitted Harry Potter and the unpaid tax bill as a story · 3 points
HN discussionSubmitted How a post on Reddit accidentally kickstarted the revival of Angus Steakhouse as a story · 3 points
HN discussionSubmitted Driverless taxis are coming to London's streets in the spring as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted What a French lunch discount card tells us about London fare dodging as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted We tried London's first driverless bus as a story · 1 points
HN discussionSubmitted The teenage millionaire hacker from Tower Hamlets who took down TfL as a story · 1 points
HN discussionSubmitted "Hate brings views": Confessions of a London fake news TikToker as a story · 1 points
HN discussionSubmitted How a post on Reddit accidentally kickstarted the revival of Angus Steakhouse as a story · 1 points
HN discussion
