Debbie Jackson, Executive Director of Growth, Planning and Housing, City of Westminster, shares her best thing about London - diversity, acceptance, tolerance and inclusion.

I’m proud to have been born and brought up in Yorkshire, yet I consider myself a Londoner, and the fact I can do so makes our city so special.

At a time when many are reflecting on where they live, where they work and the relationship between the two, I choose to live in London primarily for its diversity in all senses of the word — from the people to the experience to the extraordinary fabric of the city. I love that my son doesn’t just ‘visit’ this diversity but lives it every day of the week — it’s part of who he is in a way that wasn’t available to me. But diversity is nothing without acceptance, tolerance and inclusion. 

In London, all are welcome and can and do express themselves, whether through words, music, art, food, style, worship or celebration. I live for travel, but I love to return to my home, London.