London’s suburbs, which Sir John Betjeman famously called “the home of the gnome” half a century ago, have become the hunting ground of the SUV. These hulking death machines dominate the streets and their presence is a blight on our neighbourhoods. 

This is not something we collectively agreed to; it’s the product of personal choice, inadequate regulation and cheap finance. 

In 1973 the poet laureate was conflicted in his disdain for the loss of the countryside to suburban expansion, while also celebrating the value of the commonplace to the “ordinary citizen”. Betjeman could never have anticipated the arrival of the Personal Contract Purchase.

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