Hammersmith Bridge is a symbol of our dysfunctional times. The money is there, the joined-up thinking isn’t | Simon Jenkins

London’s roads are horrendous, with constant roadworks and creaking infrastructure. And the emblem of all that spans the River Thames

London’s Hammersmith Bridge is a metaphor for all that is wrong with British government. Closed to motor traffic and inert for seven years, it is a victim of the anarchy that seeps into every tier of public administration. The bridge sits today on a sublime bend in the Thames, guarded by what looks like Checkpoint Charlie in iron curtain Berlin. With Albert Bridge also now closed, 37,000 extra vehicles seeking to cross the river have brought south London close to perpetual gridlock. No one cares.

London may be the richest, smartest, coolest place in Britain. Yet it is run like a high street vape shop. Its buses are ever slower, homeless people are ever more prevalent, waiting times in hospitals ever longer. No one can decide if they want an HS2 terminus or a Heathrow runway. A robotic Whitehall algorithm has just declared, ludicrously, that the borough of Kensington’s “housing target” must be 5,107 homes a year, up from a previous target of 1,381.

Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist

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