in fact...

- In 1958, the Royal Navy had 645 vessels. Today, it has less than 100.

- 74% of London's workers think about trying to find a new job every day, compared to 11% of workers in the southwest.

- There are 345 local councillors in Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Sheffield, and only one of them is a Conservative (in Manchester).

- In 2007, the average price of a chewing gum cost 3p to buy, but 10p to remove from the pavement.

- Last year there were 731 crimes per 100,000 people in Glasgow, compared to 631 in New York.

(Prospect magazine, June 2008).