Values: London full of cultured hedonists

Londoners are hedonistic risk-takers keen to learn from other cultures and concerned about the environment, according to a report by the independent think tank, Demos.

The study, Values Added, was commissioned by the London Planning Advisory Committee and the London Arts Board, and has revealed that Britain is moving away from "Little Englander" values and that the capital is leading that shift. It found that compared with the British as a whole, Londoners are more tolerant of traditionally frowned upon activities such as drug taking, and 37 per cent of them believe that "people should not be prosecuted for possessing small amounts of heroin, compared with 21 per cent in the country as a whole".