Barometer: Who can use the word ‘royal’?

What a hole

The World Health Organisation added processed meats to its list of ‘known’ carcinogens. A few of the other things which have been claimed to be linked to cancer in the past fortnight:

A hole built into the wall of a NatWest bank branch in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, became an unlikely tourist destination with five-star reviews on TripAdvisor. Some other surprising attractions:

— The Bude tunnel is a 230-yard Perspex tunnel linking a supermarket to its car park in Bude, Cornwall. It started to gain five-star reviews when it was decorated with Christmas lights.

— Streets of bungalows in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, became a destination for Chinese tourists, with one telling reporters that the village brought you ‘closer to the simplicity of your original self’. A more likely explanation is that tourists on coach trips had been dumped there rather than pay an extra £53 to visit Blenheim Palace.

Duty bound

There were calls for the Chancellor to reform stamp duty in the Budget. How has the number of property transactions across the UK changed over the past 15 years, as stamp duty has been increased?

2006/07 – 1.7m
2008/09 – 793,000
2010/11 – 877,000
2012/13 – 928,000
2014/15 – 1.20m
2016/17 – 1.15m
2018/19 – 1.19m
Source: HMRC

Facts of life

The Strategic Review of Health Inequalities in England blamed ‘austerity’ for a fall in the rate at which life expectancy is growing. Some other countries which have seen a fall in the rate of increase in life expectancy between 2006-11 and 2011-16:

US – 90%
UK – 76%
Spain – 37%
Germany – 36%
Portugal – 32%
Sweden – 31%
Source: ONS

Royal treatment

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex agreed not to use the ‘Sussex Royal’ brand, in spite of having trademarked it. Outside the UK, restrictions on using ‘royal’ as a brand name do not apply. Some products which use it:

— Schwarzkopf Igora Royal hair colour

— Royal Langnickel artist’s brushes

— Royal Canin dog food

— Royal Chai premium instant tea

— Royal Henna powder hair dye