Evening Standard Comment: The young are back — and so is London

Reports of London’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. As the pandemic struck and people left the capital, there were fears that the young — the lifeblood of our city — might not return. But the latest figures suggest these fears were misplaced.

Covid-19 did wreak a terrible toll on London. Deaths rose, largely in those over-75, entire swathes of our economy were forcibly shut and many migrants returned home. But a new report from analysts at City Hall suggests the capital is back on the upswing.

Young people are flooding back, not only to get to the workplace but also drawn by the myriad reasons they moved to the city in the first place. The nightlife, the food and the general sense of opportunity.

Of course, as Covid restrictions ease further and the economy grows, returning Londoners have driven the reappearance of some of the city’s pre-pandemic problems. Issues around transport and the high cost of living, particularly around renting, continue to act as a headwind on our city’s development. But we should rejoice that the capital’s population is growing once again. So-called “managed decline” is just not London’s style.