[Hackney] might still have some of the highest unemployment in London, and occupy third place on the list of the most deprived districts in England, but the cavalry is arriving in the form of the sons and daughters of the middle-classes, young and single professional people and creative types […]

“Hey, do you remember this place before all the middle class artists moved in?”

“Oh yeah, it was terrible, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, I don’t think my humble working class vocabulary can actually express exactly how much gratitude there is in my heart for all of the middle class artists who moved into the area to save us.”

“I’m welling up, just thinking about it.”

“Yeah, I know. Somehow it doesn’t seem to matter so much now that there are no prospects and the whole infrastructure of the borough is crumbling, because when I walk home I can see middle class artists getting out of their shiny cars and walk into their loft developments or watch them eat in hugely expensive restaurants.”

“We never had that before, did we?”