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Taxi drivers caused chaos at London's City Hall after Boris Johnson called them 'Luddites'

Oscar Williams-Grut   

Taxi drivers caused chaos at London's City Hall after Boris Johnson called them 'Luddites'
Tech3 min read

Mayor's Question Time was suspended and moved to a separate room in London's City Hall on Wednesday after black cab drivers protesting Uber were angered by Boris Johnson calling them "Luddites."

A "Luddite" is a negative word for a person who fears technology. The word originates from a historical movement, inspired by Ned Ludd, in which a group of English textile workers in the 19th century protested against new labour-economising technology which would see most of them losing their jobs. 

Cabbies turned up en mass outside City Hall in London today to protest Uber.

Black cab drivers hate Uber, which seriously undercuts them on price. Black cab drivers must learn the entire London road system by memory in a test called "The Knowledge" and charge a premium for this.

They also went into City Hall for Mayor's Question Time:

Where they filled the chamber and hung protest banners. Cabbies feel TfL and City Hall are being too lenient on Uber.

But it all kicked off when Mayor Boris Johnson reportedly called them "luddites".

 

 

Cabbies reportedly then tried to storm City Hall and a security official was knocked out.

The police turned up.

 

Mayor's Question Time had to be moved to a different room that Lib Dem London Assembly member Stephen Knight calls the "basement bunker."

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