To debate or not to debate

Is Boris Johnson wise to shun TV debates?
— Prior to the 2015 Labour leadership election, TV debates had not been part of party leadership debates, and have only been part of general elections since 2010.
— The first election to feature a TV debate was the 1960 US presidential election, when JFK and Nixon met for four debates. The first, staged by CBS, went out on TV and radio, when radio audiences favoured Nixon and TV audiences favoured Kennedy. Nixon had just left hospital, and had applied a product to cover up his five o’clock shadow. Under the TV lights it began to melt, making it look as if he was dribbling. Six per cent of the electorate said the TV debates had played a role in making up their mind, and Nixon went on to lose by 0.2 per cent.

Emergency calls

How many 999 calls turn out to be genuine emergencies? Some FoI requests to police forces asked this question for the year 2010/11. They showed that out of
7.6 million 999 calls that year, 1.9 million (only 25%) were genuine emergencies. There was a wide variation between police forces. Those with the biggest problem with non-emergency calls were:

Genuine emergencies
Suffolk
11%
Leicestershire
12%
Lancashire, Wiltshire
14%
Hampshire
15%

Met
18%

By contrast, 65% of 999 calls to Derbyshire police were deemed genuine emergencies.

FTSE donations

Environmental activists threatened to protest against BP’s sponsorship at the British Museum. How much do FTSE 100 companies donate to charity, as a total?

Pre-tax profits / Sum to charity
2009
£108bn / £1.8bn
2010
£161bn / £2.4bn
2011
£209bn / £2.3bn
2012
£162bn / £2.4bn
2013
£138bn / £2.5bn

2014
£132bn / £2.0bn
2015
£76bn / £2.0bn

2016
£82bn / £1.9bn

Glasto glamping

Tickets for the first Glastonbury festival, in 1970, cost £1 (which included free milk). How much could you spend this year?

Package with bell tent for four
£2,499
Yurt for two
£2,699-£4,399
Safari tent with covered porch
£5,299
Railway carriage
£5,999

Airstream caravan
£8,499
Tenthouse suite for ten
£24,999