Barometer | 5 May 2016

London’s other mayor

How many people could name the capital’s other mayor, the Lord Mayor of London? The office, officially renamed the Lord Mayor of the City of London in 2006 to avoid confusion with the Mayor of Greater London, was instituted in 1189 and has been an elected office since 1215 — albeit only by the votes of representatives of livery companies. The current holder, elected last Michaelmas, is Jeffrey Evans, fourth Baron Mountevans, a shipbroker. The mayoralty was Evans’s second election victory last year; in July he won the election to replace the third Viscount Tenby as a crossbench hereditary peer.

Top tips

The government said it would consult on legislation to prevent diners being duped by extra service charges. In which cities do diners tip the most, per £100 spent?

Source: OpenTable

Endangered species

Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus in America held its last performance with elephants, ending over a century of using them in its shows. How many circus animals still perform in Britain?
— 6 reindeer and 6 snakes
— 4 zebras and 4 tigers
— 3 camels
— 2 lions
— 1 ankole (an African breed of cattle),
— 1 fox and 1 raccoon
Britain’s last performing elephant was retired in 2011.
Source: House of Commons Library

Top of the leagues

Other remarkable things about Leicester:
— 28% of the population is made up of ‘Asians’ or ‘British Asians’, higher than any other district in England and Wales.
— Leicester has the highest percentage of residents born in India and also the highest percentage born in Zimbabwe.
— 51% of children have tooth decay, the highest in England and Wales.
— 41% of children reached the expected level of attainment in the Early Years Foundation Stage, the lowest in England.
— Leicester has 289 tennis courts, the most in any city except London, Sheffield and Ipswich.