The Peter McCormack Show #151 - Laila Cunningham - The Post-British City: How Globalisation Hollowed Out London
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Feb 25, 2026 Laila Cunningham, a political commentator and London mayoral candidate focused on housing, immigration and deregulation. She talks about London's demographic shifts and cultural identity. She critiques housing regulation and planning delays. She explores how globalisation, debt and technology shape the city and argues for AI-driven productivity and tougher immigration/work visa rules.
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Deflationary Tech Vs Debt Inflation
- Technology is deflationary but debt-driven monetary policy and inflation transfer gains to debt holders, preventing broad living-standard improvements.
- Peter McCormack explains printing money erodes the distribution of productivity benefits, strengthening elites holding assets.
Concrete Ramp Planning Absurdity
- Laila shares a builder compliance story where an unnecessary concrete wheelchair ramp had to be built to sign off a new house, later removable by the owner.
- She uses this to illustrate how perverse safety rules inflate costs and slow housebuilding.
Regulation Captured Housing Market
- Excessive regulation and cheap debt create a captured economy that protects incumbents and prevents small developers and innovators from building housing.
- Cunningham notes five-year planning delays, bat surveys, and monopoly outcomes where only firms that absorb costs survive.