Sunday, January 16, 2011

Choosing Leicester's Mayor

A sow yesterday

As the prospect of an elected mayor is already causing discord within the Leicester Labour Party, there is a strong case for returning to the traditional way of deciding who should fill the post.

In their The Lore of the Land, Westwood and Simpson write:
An odd story formerly current was that the mayor of Leicester was chosen by a sow. According to an article in the St James's Magazine in 1762, aspiring candidates would each sit with a hat full of beans in his lap and the new mayor would be the one from whose hat the sow ate first.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The Conservatives ought to try this next time they need a new leader, then they might get someone who is up to it.