thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-14--My Pride Anthems: Kim Woodburn

My Pride Anthems: Kim Woodburn

The coronavirus pandemic has changed everything, and that includes how we’re all celebrating Pride in 2020.
With huge public gatherings out of the question, we’re asking a range of LGBTQ celebrities and allies for their personal Pride anthems, to help us all get into the Pride spirit from lockdown.
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Bringing a bit of camp to the proceedings in the latest instalment of our My Pride Anthems series is the queen of clean herself, Kim Woodburn.
Kim made a name for herself on the Channel 4 series How Clean Is Your House?, but has become a camp favourite in recent years thanks in no small part to her explosive appearance on Celebrity Big Brother, not to mention Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne’s spot-on impersonations.
"I don't go out of my way to be camp, you know?" Kim insists Joe McCormick
“I don’t know, my love,” Kim says when asked why she thinks she has been so embraced by the LGBTQ community in recent years. “People say ‘you’re so funny Kim’ or ‘you’re a bit camp’ – well I am a bit camp! But I don’t go out of my way to be camp, you know? I’m not doing it deliberately.
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“But what can I do about being camp...? Probably get on with it, I suppose. Can’t change now!”
Kim’s manager sent her music choices over ahead of time – but as the interview went on, it appeared one song had been sneaked onto the list without her agreement. See if you can guess which one...
Dolly Parton – 9 To 5
“9 To 5 is typical of the life most of us have. ‘What a way to make a living’, and bosses are ‘all taking and no giving’. I think in many facets of your working life, that’s what you come across, certainly when you’re starting out. And even now!
“If you get a decent boss, you get a decent boss, lovely. If you get an absolute pig, you think ‘oh my god, I’m going to strangle him, I can’t say a word, I need the money, I’d better shut up’.
“And I think Dolly Parton is wonderful. What I like about her is what I like about anybody, she’s different. I like people that don’t copy anybody else. Dolly Parton is Dolly Parton, her voice is extremely distinctive, she writes her own songs, and you’d know it was her from the first word she sang.”
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ABBA - Dancing Queen
“I like most of ABBA’s songs, but I had to name one. But Dancing Queen, we’ve all [experienced that]… I know when I was a young woman, you’d go to the club, you’d dance, you’d hope one of the boys was looking at you, thinking you were lovely, hoping you’d click off with one, ‘oooh I like him, does he like me?’... and I can assure you they did, darling. Gracious, lovie. I mean they’re getting two for one, aren’t they, dear? [Dancing Queen] reminds me of my young days. We’ve all been dancing queens.
“I’ve seen kids of 10 dancing to ABBA’s songs, and I’ve seen people in old folks’ homes at 80 dancing to them. There’s no age you can put on it, and you can listen to it in another 50 years time, there’s just something about them. They’re very different.
“And if I’m doing any housework, I put a bit of ABBA on and bang away through it. There’s something about that music, it grabs you, doesn’t it? You put it on while you’re doing the dishes and you just feel cheerful with them, it’s just lovely.”
The Weather Girls – It’s Raining Men
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“I love it. And do you know what I like most of all? You know, you get rather tired of gorgeous young things in their g-strings singing with bodies to die for. They’re gorgeous, the girls, and there are times I love to look at them. But I loved the way they employed great big ladies to sing this song – I thought ‘good on ya!’. Fat, thin or bald you want a man, and I thought it was wonderful.
“We are so figure-conscious now… and it is nice to see the youngsters and their lovely bodies, but they’re not the only ones that are passionate, you know? All ages are passionate. But young people seem to think they invented sex. Well, they didn’t, dear. I did.”
Cher – Believe
“No, I didn’t pick that. I like Cher very, very much but that’s a miserable bloody song. That wasn’t me, my love.
“I do think Cher is incredible, but [does impression of Cher singing Believe], you’d cut your throat at the end of that, dear. No, I don’t like that. [We then suggest she choose another Cher song instead] Name me a few, my lovely?”
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Cher – If I Could Turn Back Time
“Well, now. Yes. You know… I can tell you, if I could turn back time, there is so much I would never have done. But the youth… you make mistakes, you make bad decisions, you do things, ‘oh if only I hadn’t met this person’, ‘if only I hadn’t married the first husband’ in my case, what a waste of years. Wasted years, wasted. And I look back now and think, ‘I should have seen through him’. But I was in love, he was good-looking, I was… oh god.
“Someone handsome or gorgeous comes along and that is a big step in your door, but you shouldn’t do it, but we’re all gonna keep doing it, long after I’m dead, we’re going to see a gorgeous-looking man and think ‘I don’t care if he’s horrible, he’s gorgeous’.
“And I think if you say to people that are older ‘are there things you’ve done that you wish you hadn’t?’, oh my god yeah. And I think we all do things we shouldn’t, that we regret. I’ve had marvellous luck and I’ve had some rotten luck, but haven’t we all? And the rotten luck is you making wrong choices, usually. So I’m grateful, but if I could turn back time there are many things I wouldn’t have done. Because I’m a human being!”
Gloria Gaynor – I Will Survive
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“Well, I survived. I survived, I had a very, very sad childhood, as many people have. Very, very sad. And I survived, and it was very difficult, because I was on my own, and I just had nowhere to go, and that’s how I got into living-in jobs cleaning, I had to get a roof over my head.
“So I survived, it was very difficult at times, I was terribly poor, oh god! But you know, I did it. And it’s hard, I wouldn’t wish it on a young woman today, although many of them are going through what I went through. And I survived, but oooh, I’m glad I don’t have to do it now. It was bloody awful!
“Many tears, many sadnesses, many ‘oh, I wish I’d had decent parents’, but I didn’t. So you get on with it. And always know this – I wasn’t the worst done to person, and that’s how I survived.
“And when I listen to I Will Survive, I feel proud, it brings back proud memories of when I did survive… and I wouldn’t want to do it again, it was awfully difficult, awfully sad and I was awfully lonely. But I still survived!”
Judy Collins – Send In The Clowns
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“I’ll tell you why I included this. I heard this song years ago – and she sang it beautifully, Judy Collins. It reminds me of my husband, Peter.
“I’ve been married 41 years, and I knew him four years before, so 45 in total. And we met, we got married, paid our mortgage… and I became extremely famous extremely quickly, but it never changed anything.
“And that song says to me, ‘isn’t it rich? Aren’t we a pair? You with your feet in the ground, me in mid-air’, it reminds me, the singer is saying, I have been so successful, I’m way up there, but you’ve still got your feet on the ground – but nothing’s changed Pete and I. I wouldn’t let it. I was famous, with a few bob, and I loved my husband as much as I’ve always loved him.
“It’s no different to when I was a cleaner in a house, I’ve just got more money on telly. But I’m still doing the job for work… if you call presenting work, when actually it’s a doddle. But I think I’ve been awfully lucky – but it would never go to my head. Who they bloody hell do I think I am? Bloody hell! Not in a million years. Never.”
Kim’s range of merchandise is available to buy now on her official website.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-14--Adele And George The Poet Call For Justice On Third Anniversary Of Grenfell Tower Tragedy

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Adele and George The Poet are among the stars calling for justice for those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, on the third anniversary of the tragedy.
Sunday marks three years since a fire broke out in the west London tower block, killing 72 people and leaving hundreds more homeless.
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On the morning of the anniversary, Adele – who was pictured at the scene of the fire that night to help those in need, and has repeatedly used her platform to speak about Grenfell Tower – shared an Instagram post paying tribute to those who lost their lives.
“Today, Sunday, is 3 years since #Grenfell,” she wrote. “72 lives will be forever in our hearts.”
Adele and George The Poet are leading the calls for justice for the survivors of the Grenfell tragedy Jim Smeal/Ray Tang/Shutterstock/Airpix
The Hello singer also urged her followers to tune into a live-stream on Grenfell United’s YouTube page on Sunday night “to show that we’re still united for change and justice”.
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Spoken-word performer George The Poet also shared a short tweet, paying tribute to those who died in the fire, and writing that justice is “still pending”.
RIP to all who lost their lives in the Grenfell tragedy. Justice is still pending — George The Poet (@GeorgeThePoet) June 14, 2020
Tributes have been posted by a number of other celebrities, as well as the official Twitter pages for SBTV and Radio 1Xtra, with the latter also sharing their plans to “commemorate those who lost their lives and shine a light on those still affected” on air that morning.
Forever in our hearts #grenfell 💚 May we never forget the 72 innocent & beautiful lives lost that day. May they R.I.P 🌹 & our love to all those who have been affected by it 💚 pic.twitter.com/1tIE2kYvJL — SB.TV (@SBTVonline) June 14, 2020
Remembering Grenfell 3 years on 💚@RayBLK_ - Paradise @itsNadiaJae is playing our Grenfell sessions this morning to commemorate those who lost their lives and shine a light on those still affected. ➡ https://t.co/9fqi2e8urN pic.twitter.com/JuoIyjhjof — BBC Radio 1Xtra (@1Xtra) June 14, 2020
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today marks 3 years since The Grenfell Tower fire. Currently in Britain, 257 tower blocks, housing about 56,000 people are still to be made safe. Please take some time today to donate to the organisations that are trying to protect lives... — Jack Garratt (@JackGarratt) June 14, 2020
...I’ve dontated to The Grenfell Foundation - you can read more about what they’re doing here- https://t.co/3o8Ti0OEwW pic.twitter.com/24xUe7tZx4 — Jack Garratt (@JackGarratt) June 14, 2020
We will never forget!! Justice for Grenfell... 3 years later and people are still waiting!! #Grenfell #Justice4Grenfell pic.twitter.com/A92rJBIQtZ — Judi Love (@1Judilove) June 14, 2020
Whilst I’m on. UK peeps. Did you know 23,000 homes are still covered in the same flammable cladding that took down grenfell. Homes are not safe. Let’s write to our MP’s and demand a detailed timeline for the removal. It’s easy, put in your postcode at https://t.co/8cp0igxNJk pic.twitter.com/3ZjWD29tYj — Kate Nash (@katenash) June 13, 2020
London mayor Sadiq Khan paid own tribute on Sunday morning, again calling for justice.
He said: “The Grenfell Tower fire was a national tragedy in which 72 innocent Londoners lost their lives. Three years on, my thoughts and prayers are with the families and Grenfell community as they grieve and remember their loved ones.
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“We owe it to the people who died, their loved ones and those who survived to ensure that nothing like it ever happens again.
“We are marking this anniversary in very different circumstances to last year, and although we are apart, I know we are united in our call for justice for Grenfell.”
Today marks the third anniversary of the horrific Grenfell Tower fire.
Like millions of Londoners, my thoughts are with the bereaved, next of kin, survivors, residents and wider community as they grieve for their loved ones, and continue to seek justice.https://t.co/hp6zfG62eP — Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) June 14, 2020
He continued: “I know the bereaved, survivors, residents and wider community are understandably frustrated at the lack of meaningful change and they are fearful that a similar tragedy could happen again. I too share their concerns.
“While struggling with their own personal grief and recovery, they have continued to campaign for building safety and are demanding change to keep others safe in their homes.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-14--Man, 28, Arrested On Suspicion Of Urinating Next To PC Keith Palmer Memorial

Boris Johnson slammed the “racist thuggery” witnessed at the protests on Saturday evening, writing on Twitter: “Racist thuggery has no place on our streets. Anyone attacking the police will be met with full force of the law.
“These marches and protests have been subverted by violence and breach current guidelines.
“Racism has no part in the UK and we must work together to make that a reality.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-14--More Than 100 People Arrested At Far-Right Protest In London

More than 100 people were arrested at a far-right protest in London on Saturday, which was condemned by Boris Johnson as “racist thuggery”.
Six police officers suffered minor injuries in violent clashes as several hundred demonstrators, mostly white men, attended the protest organised by far-right groups which claimed they wanted to protect statues such as Winston Churchill from vandalism.
But the demonstration turned violent after hundreds of self-proclaimed “statue defenders” took over areas near the Houses of Parliament and Trafalgar Square and hurled missiles, smoke grenades, glass bottles and flares at police officers.
Many of those present were drinking, and there were a number of clashes with police in riot gear as crowds chanting “Tommy Robinson” and “England” surged towards lines of officers.
A 5pm curfew had been imposed by the Metropolitan Police, but outbursts of violence continued into the early evening with the last few remaining protesters removed from Parliament Square at around 6.45pm.
By 9pm, more than 100 people had been arrested during the protest for offences including breach of the peace, violent disorder, assault on officers, possession of an offensive weapon, possession of class A drugs, and drunk and disorder.
The prime minister slammed the “racist thuggery” witnessed at the protests on Saturday evening.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-14--Joe Wicks Speaks Candidly About How His Father's Heroin Addiction Has Affected His Life

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Fitness expert Joe Wicks has spoken candidly about how his life has been changed by his father’s addiction to heroin.
Joe – known to many as The Body Coach – was this week’s guest on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, where he reflected on his childhood, including his dad’s struggles with substance abuse.
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Speaking to presenter Lauren Laverne, he explained: “Because of my dad’s life, I didn’t go near [drugs]. I was scared of it and I got into exercise and fitness and so his mistake changed my life.
“I just don’t regret anything I’ve gone through or anything I have been through with my mum and dad, I’m just proud of who I am.”
Joe Wicks Ian West - PA Images via Getty Images
Joe said that during his childhood, he “cracked on” with things, and never felt especially unhappy because “it was all I knew”.
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However, he did add that he found things more difficult when he became a teenager, recalling: “He’s had times when he’s relapsed but today he is clean and that’s the most important thing, but when I was a teenager I found it difficult.
“I didn’t understand, I was angry but now as an adult I understand. I have got more empathy.”
“I only ever said [I hated him] once,” he added, stating he said it to a schoolmate and not to his dad directly. “I have never really admitted that to my dad, but it was just a reaction and I felt so bad because I didn’t hate my dad, I hated what drugs were doing to him and doing to my family.
“It was an angry thought and I suppose I let it out and I felt instantly bad and I remember just thinking, ‘What a horrible thing to say about your dad’.”
Since the UK entered lockdown, Joe has become a go-to for many thanks to the “PE lessons” on his YouTube every day.
The popularity of his daily videos means hundreds of thousands of pounds have been raised in ad revenue, which Joe has been donating to charities aimed at helping the NHS.
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Desert Island Discs airs on Sunday mornings at 11am on BBC Radio 4, and is available on demand on BBC Sounds.
Need friendly, confidential advice on drugs?


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-14--David Walliams And Matt Lucas Apologise Over Little Britain Blackface

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Last week, the BBC and BritBox made the decision to take down the pair’s old shows from their streaming platforms, a week after Netflix took the same action.
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A BBC rep said at the time: “There’s a lot of historical programming available on BBC iPlayer which we regularly review. Times have changed since Little Britain first aired, so it is not currently available on BBC iPlayer.”
While David and Matt have remained silent on the decision for the last few days, they issued near-identical statements apologising for “playing characters of other races” on Saturday night.
Matt Lucas and David Walliams pictured last year Dave J Hogan via Getty Images
David tweeted: “Matt and I have both spoken publicly in recent years of our regret that we played characters of other races. Once again we want to make it clear that it was wrong & we are very sorry.”
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Matt then shared a message with the same sentiment on his own Twitter page.
Matt & I have both spoken publicly in recent years of our regret that we played characters of other races. Once again we want to make it clear that it was wrong & we are very sorry. — David Walliams (@davidwalliams) June 13, 2020
David and I have both spoken publicly in recent years of our regret that we played characters of other races. Once again we want to make it clear that it was wrong and we are very sorry. — realmattlucas (@RealMattLucas) June 13, 2020
In Little Britain, David used blackface to play Desiree DeVere, while Matt also used blackface to play Pastor Jesse King.
The sketch comedy ran for four series in the UK, also landing an American spin-off, Little Britain USA.
Last year, after a long break, Matt and David reunited for a new Little Britain special centred around Brexit on Radio 4, which led to much speculation about a possible new series.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-14--Queer But Not Here: This Is What Happens When Pride Gets Cancelled

A smorgasbord of colour, dancing, music and celebration, Pride events draw together LGBTQ+ communities across the country.
But this Pride Month, coronavirus has stopped the party, and the impact has been felt far beyond the high streets that would have hosted parades.
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So what will happen to the performers, businesses, community groups and queer folk who rely on Pride? In particular, how will it affect those in regions which don’t have as much LGBTQ representation year-round? And will they make it to Pride 2021 – or could this shut them down for good?
The musician
“For so many people these Pride festivals are their safe spaces, to find family, to see like-minded people. To think that that beacon of hope isn’t there this year is distressing,” says Rod Thomas, aka the musician Bright Light Bright Light.
Thomas says his finances took a direct hit due to Pride cancellations. “Payment for Pride gigs would have offset the cost of making a new record,” he says of forthcoming album Fun City, featuring Jake Shears and Andy Bell.
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The pay for digital performances carrying on online also isn’t anything like as good. “There’s a huge loss of income, and of course, that many fewer people will know about the songs,” says Thomas.
“I was lined up to play quite a few big Prides to connect with the community and share the album narrative, so not being able to do that is very disappointing.”
He adds: “All my online events that I’m personally organising are donation or tip based so that people can be part of them whatever their financial situation.
“Does that earn as much as an actual DJ set or show? Absolutely not. But it also costs me nothing to ‘get there’ so at least I’m not paying to fly or take a train to somewhere, or pay for three of us to get somewhere.”
Another negative knock-on effect of the digital meet-up sphere has been preferential treatment of well-known artists rather than local community figures. “It’s really only the more known artists who are getting pulled into online Pride events as the organisers need to draw views without a local focus now. It’s a very tricky situation,” adds Thomas.
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“The whole purpose of regional Prides is to show what the LGBTQ+ world looks like in that region, and all those artists will have lost an important platform.”
And while digital performances may bring in a little cash, they’re unlikely to be as effective as real-life shows in terms of promotion. “Reaching a new audience over the din of the thousands of online events? That’s not easy,” he adds.
The drag performer
“I think it’s bad to say that Pride is cancelled. It’s not – Pride is every day,” urges the drag performer Just May. “For want of a better word, ‘corporate Pride’ is cancelled, and people won’t make the money off the queers, nor will the queers make money off them, but the community has come together in these times, and that in itself is Pride.”
Despite their positive outlook, they say the cancellation of Pride events has realistically been financially and creatively stifling. “My main draw to the stage is the audience,” adds Just May. “I love the reactions, the contact and the banter you get with a crowd, and that’s something I personally can’t get from a digital platform.”
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“In terms of money, digital shows are not even half the amount you could have made. Some companies I have worked for on a digital platform have been generous and paid as much as real life shows, but that’s not as common as you’d like.”
That isn’t to say there aren’t benefits to Pride in the digital sphere. “Firstly it allows us to create still – it allows us to show our art and what we have to say,” says the Geri drag queen. “It lets people know you are still working and still have a voice. Pride on a digital platform has already begun, and I have taken part, and have plans to take part in a number of others.”
Another effect of lockdown noticed by Just May has been the gradual decrease in people attending Zoom parties. A number of factors could be behind this, including tech fatigue, especially for people staring at computers all day, and the aforementioned issue with the quality of digital experiences compared to real-life ones.
The Eurovision star
“I was so looking forward to dressing up, getting my dancing shoes on and joining in the joyous, colourful, positive, celebratory events in the capital and regionally,” says SuRie, Eurovision contestant for Britain in 2018 and singer-songwriter.
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“Without Pride this summer I really do hope that people can still find that sense of community, albeit a virtual one, for now.”
SuRie has been booked for digital performances but agrees they fall short. “It’s quite disheartening performing to my phone and my bored dog,” she reflects.
“I love the back and forth between a performer and the audience, the energy exchange and spontaneity from a live crowd during a performance. I do really miss live shows and digital meet-ups isn’t quite the same, for me.”
SuRie has added a virtual tip jar to her online events to sustain herself during the lockdown and says: “I am so fortunate that my kind and loyal audience did indeed tip!”
But she urges: “There’s been a real peak in requests for online content, but mostly without any mention of a fee. [...] I completely respect and understand that this situation has financial implications for us all, but some of these requests are coming in from big producers and institutions, and I just wonder [...] Performers shouldn’t just be asked for charity’s sake. I think there’s a difference between us choosing to offer insights into our creative worlds, for free, on social media, and a company asking us to perform, curate, film, record, edit, stream a half hour show, also for free.”
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“I worry about how artists will manage come winter, if not before.”
The campaigner
For Libby Baxter-Williams, the cancellation of Pride could have grave consequences for the communities she is trying to support – as well as her personal finances.
Baxter-Williams heads up Biscuit, a bi-advocacy group that focuses on well-being of bi women mainly, or anyone who experiences bi-phobia and misogyny.
Pride season is usually where Biscuit makes the money it needs in order to survive the year. Baxter-Williams and her volunteers will sell trinkets such as stickers and badges and provide resources including leaflets and postcards – an event that provides funds for the organisation to keep running year round.
Baxter-Williams tried to get ahead of the game this year and had all of her merchandise printed in February – rendering most of it useless after Pride’s cancellation.
Biscuit at London Pride 2018 Holly Wong
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She said: “I’m trying not to have my head in my hands because that doesn’t do anyone any good, but how we will survive without being able to fundraise publicly? I just have no idea at the moment.”
Biscuit has also seen its events planned for September cancelled and Baxter-Williams will have to dip into her own pockets to keep the organisation afloat for the time being.
But the more urgent issue for Baxter-Williams is that there is so little bi-representation at Pride events.
She told HuffPost UK: “It’s really important we get there because if we don’t, there’s a chance there will be no one there representing the bi community. Our whole mission is getting in front of people and now we can’t.
“It’s shocking that bisexuality has such low representation at Pride. Depending on which study you read, we make up around 52% of the LGBT population but it’s still very much a sideline as a sexuality.
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“I think a lot of people think that we can hide in straightness if we want to, there’s a lot of bi-phobia we get from within the community and that makes people not want to put their hands up and do things like we do because you get shouted at for it.
“A couple of years ago, in 2017, there was no bi-representation at London Pride at all and they got flack for it.” Organisers said bi groups didn’t apply on time and it was “first come, first served” basis.
Biscuit provides support and resources for anyone who experiences bi-phobia and misogyny Holly Wong
“It forced our hand really to say: ‘We’re coming, we’re doing this, we’re going to be there.’ The last couple of years there has been bi-representation in the parade and in the stalls and community area but that’s only because of specific bi activists putting themselves out there. It’s not because we’ve ever been asked to participate.
“A lot of people think we are part-time gays, for want of a better phrase. They think: why would we chose to be part of a community which is persecuted if we’ve got the option not to.
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“Of course we get persecuted for being in same-sex relationships from outside the community and we get persecuted for being in different sex relationships inside it. It’s a double-edged sword. People do feel isolated and lonely and scared and that’s one of the things we try to highlight and prevent with the meet-up groups. We have to keep looking for new ways to reach out and be a visible presence so that people know we’re there and that they’re not alone.
“We’re very worried about people feeling isolated at the moment. There’s been a rise of domestic abuse in the community so we’re trying to highlight that. People have a lot of problems being bisexual and claiming asylum so we’re trying to highlight that. We send all our resources out but on the ground we do a lot of meet-up groups and, of course, social distancing has put paid to that as well.”
The party planner
For Eden Topall-Rabanes, Pride is “like a second Christmas”. An organiser of queer events for Riposte, this year would have seen a Pride-themed mini-festival on June 27 with accessibility at the forefront. BSL interpreters had been booked, as well as audio descriptors for the blind and visually impaired, seated areas and a sober space as well as tattoo artists, hairdressers and clothes sellers.
This year Eden had planned to host around 1,000 people with eight DJs, 40 artists and performers. It would have been a step up for Riposte, which has catered for groups of up to 600 people in the past
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He told HuffPost UK: “We started working on this in January as the venues disappear super quickly for Pride. So we had already booked some DJs and booked some plane tickets. To organise such events you need to pay for many things up front and then you only start to make the money back from the ticket sales – which we now won’t get.
“As well as losing money we’ve lost a year of work. We will have to start again slowly to go back to where we were and then use Pride or a similar big event to grow again.
“Riposte at Pride would have raised queer visibility in a big way. We live mostly through social spaces and obviously everything is closed at the moment.”
Eden also points out that the rainbows being painted to support the NHS have had the unintended effect of potentially reducing LGBTQ+ visibility.
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“Don’t get me wrong, it’s super important to show support to NHS workers and key workers, but the rainbow is also one of the main signs in LGBTQ rallies. So even if we put rainbows out now for Pride, as we do in windows for example, it will be taken as something else. One of these simple signs has been totally erased.”
The nightclub promoter
The cancellation of Pride in Hull is being seen as a huge blow for a city that can struggle to compete with larger ones that are more compelling in attracting big names.
James Woods works for two of the LGBTQ+ venues in Hull – Fuel and Propaganda.
He said: “For us, the impact of Covid-19 has been pretty significant on not just the business, but the events and plans we’ve now had to scrap as a result.
“Hull is unlike other larger cities because our queer population is much smaller, meaning we often miss out on big names that regularly tour larger cities like Leeds and Manchester. We hope to continue with our momentum once restrictions are lifted and it is safe for us to meet again, but the impact of Covid-19 on bars and clubs – in which social distancing is next to impossible – remains to be seen.
Pride in Hull in 2018 Kerry Railton
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“We were in the process of planning a huge event on Baker Street, where Pride in Hull has historically been held, which would’ve continued the celebration after Pride’s main event at Queens Gardens.
“We were in the process of submitting applications for street closure and beginning negotiations with potential sponsors to secure funding for the event. We would’ve featured headline artists with performances from a wide roster of the city’s local talent.
“For a small business like ours where resources are limited and precious, the impact of Covid-19 on our plans is months of lost work.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-14--Here's How To Clean Your Face Mask Properly

In the centre of the masks is a material that’s better at trapping viruses, he explained, but if that gets wet, damaged or displaced during the washing process, the mask becomes “useless”. It’s important to remember your breath alone on the mask will be enough to slowly disintegrate it. A general rule of thumb is that they should be replaced after three hours, said Prof Hunter.
Heavy duty masks worn by healthcare professionals – such as N95 and FFP2 masks – also can’t withstand a laundry cycle as it damages the filters. They should be worn once and then replaced.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-14--I'm A Black Woman With A White Man. These Weeks Have Been The Hardest Of Our Relationship

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Going into any relationship as a biracial woman, I know one thing: Any serious relationship will involve discussion of the issues of racism.
That became even more crucial when I became serious with a white man. There were days I had lived as a Black woman that he would never live through or could imagine living through.
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Since the beginning of our relationship, there have been times when the undertones of racism have escaped him. Like that one restaurant where other couples without reservations got seated before us. Or when our former real estate agent told us to stay away from the neighborhoods we were interested in because they weren’t filled with the “safest people.”
Neither of those situations sounded any alarms for him. But as a person of color who grew up in neighborhoods such as the ones that agent deemed unsafe or who gets “Pretty Woman” syndrome in half of the restaurants she steps into, the alarms were deafening for me.
Still, the door of understanding was never hard to crack open when a learning opportunity presented itself. No, it wasn’t my responsibility to educate him on the Black experience. But he was a man who loved every person he met, who believed “everyone should be equal,” and yet couldn’t understand how some people in this world didn’t need a logical reason to be cruel. So I chose to enlighten him with stories, articles, speeches and podcasts.
I guess I didn’t completely understand the extent of this disconnect, or maybe I was unconsciously avoiding it. Maybe I didn’t fully see how much he had to learn because he was so loving. Maybe – deep down – I was waiting to see how this relationship went and if he was a white person I wanted to educate.
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“What my partner said was covered in a blanket of blissful denial.”
But with the emergence of protests after George Floyd was killed, I could feel the door I had worked so hard to keep open closing. The last few weeks, I’ve been falling Alice-style into rabbit hole after rabbit hole of bad news. The pain that consumed me this week left me feeling helpless and so overwhelmed.
Meanwhile, he’s been carrying on as if he’s oblivious to the chaos and social unrest within the country. I know he checks his news app every morning. So why wasn’t he falling with me?
Anxiety crept in. I plan to marry this man. What would happen when we started building our family? I feared for the children we didn’t have yet and the world they’d be living in. I considered the uncomfortable conversation about racism, bias and privilege every child of colour sits through at some point and wondered if he would be supportive of it.
Halfway through the longest week of my life, I started the conversation with my partner when we were in the car, just to see how he really felt about the civil rights movement happening 30 minutes from our home.
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He told me that he understood the importance of protesting the death of this ONE man but that he didn’t “believe race played as much of a role” in today’s society as I thought and that it didn’t determine someone’s fate.
Despite the monologue going on in my head and the weight I felt in my chest, I couldn’t get my mouth to say anything other than “okay”.
Seeing the hurt in my face, he prodded me for answers, genuinely confused about what he had said wrong. Regardless of how strong I believed our relationship was, his unwillingness to acknowledge how the issue of race could affect our future was damning.
Being apathetic and complacent is still a choice. The choice to remain silent is the choice to prevent growth from happening. Anti-racist activist Jane Elliot asked the white members of an audience to stand if they “would be happy to be treated, as this society in general, treats our Black citizens,” and wouldn’t you know it: Not one person stood up. Like them, what my partner said was covered in a blanket of blissful denial.
“The truth of it is, whether he acknowledged it or not, our future was affected by the Black Lives Matter movement.”
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Barcroft Media via Getty Images
He failed to acknowledge how the issue of police brutality against the Black community started a social movement, and that this movement had the potential to change the way society looks at and treats Black lives, and how this movement included me ... and now him. He was looking at things with tunnel vision.
The truth of it is, whether he acknowledged it or not, our future was affected by the Black Lives Matter movement. To suggest otherwise meant one thing: His white privilege was showing.
I needed him to be blazing this trail with me. When he didn’t, I no longer felt comfortable with him, not from that moment. From the very first time he told me race didn’t play as big of a role in our society as I thought, I began to shut down.
But even though I felt attacked and hurt, I never for a second believed him. I knew how big a role race plays in our society. It looks like walking into an Ulta Beauty shop after work and being followed by employees. Or like when I was working in a bakery and an older white man felt comfortable enough to tell me that the way I wore my hair scarf made me look like Aunt Jemima. Racism in America looks like people you don’t know asking if your hair is real, and if it is, can they touch it, and if you say no, why can’t they? And it looks much worse, as the events of the last few weeks have shown.
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So I confronted him about his white privilege and explained it like this. The reason you feel so comfortable looking at racist actions through an objective, neutral lens is because you’ve never had to factor in the colour of your skin when you’ve faced an obstacle. As a white man, there are nuances you’ve never had to think about, and it isn’t because you don’t care about others. It’s because they have never affected you.
With sadness in his voice, he wrapped me in his arms and reassured me that he never meant to undermine my lived experience with racism. He admitted that he “doesn’t know what it feels like to be Black,” and he didn’t even consider having white privilege. This time, he was willing to acknowledge and validate my pain.
That talk was a tipping point for us. Before recent events, a small piece of me wasn’t ready to confront him about his privilege or even acknowledge it, which is a privilege in itself, because we were able to mostly avoid the issue before now. Now that the real conversation has started, I feel lighter.
This is a very small beginning. We plan to continue having these uncomfortable conversations because we love each other and want to build a future together. Race is only part of who we are as individuals, regardless of how much it might influence our current circumstances. We’re all human beings who deserve to be acknowledged, valued and respected.
The decision is always yours, and bridging the gap is not the responsibility of any person of colour. I know not everyone in the Black community feels this way, and many will disagree with my choice to stay in a relationship with a white person who is still learning to understand racism. But for me, there are people worth that effort: those close to my heart, those willing to listen and open to changing. I find those people and listen to my gut.
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This article first appeared on HuffPost Personal


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-14--We Adopted So-Called 'Hard To Place' Children. They're Not Hard To Love

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More than twice as many children in England are waiting for adoptive families than there are adopters, the latest figures from Adoption UK show.
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And of those awaiting adoption, 28% of children are aged over five; 4% have a disability; 20% are from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background; and 57% are in sibling groups.
“We’ve known for some time that more parents are needed to provide homes for children who are deemed to be harder to place,” said Sue Armstrong Brown, chief executive of Adoption UK. “But adoption can have a transformative effect on these children.
“The testimony of adoptive parents is proof that you can successfully parent children who are deemed harder to place, if the right support is in place.”
But that term in itself – ‘hard to place’ – is problematic, losing sense of the fact these children need the love and support of a family, like any other child.
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“It is undoubtedly the case that children who are adopted are first and foremost children,” says Dr John Simmonds, director of policy, research and development at CoramBAAF, an adoption and fostering academy. “The term ‘hard to place’ is not respectful.”
Simmonds says it’s largely the case that adopters do generally want to adopt children who are young – 18-24 months – are healthy and reflect something of their history and heritage of the adopters.
“Children adopted in the UK are mostly children who have been removed from their parents because of abuse and neglect, and where a court has agreed that they should be adopted,” he says. “The impact of abuse on these children is varied, but can result in developmental issues for the short and longer term.
“These may be physical, emotional, behavioural and learning or a combination and that may include a specific disability. Other children may be in sibling groups. There will be issues about the child’s history and heritage include ethnicity, culture, religion and language. And some children will be older.
“Given the typical motivation of adopters, these children are ‘harder to place’. It’s not that they cannot be placed – although some are not placed. But they are still children at heart and they are who they are – not to have the added burden of the use of that phrase.” HuffPost UK spoke to three families whose children fell into the groups of those less likely to be adopted. Here are their stories of how they came together.
‘Why can’t these children have the chance?’
Ben Carpenter, 35, Huddersfield, has six adopted children who all have additional needs.
“I always wanted to adopt. When I was younger, I worked with children and adults with disabilities, and knew if I was going to adopt, I’d adopt children with additional needs or those classed as hard to place. I always wanted to be a father, too.
“When I started the process, I was told I was the youngest gay male to adopt. I was 21. I adopted one child, which lead to 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. My first child was a quirky child, who was diagnosed with autism, but over the years, the needs of the children I’ve adopted have got bigger than just a child with a minor disability.
“All of the children I adopted have been between newborn age and two years. Their needs range from cerebral palsy, autism, physical disability and abnormalities, foetal alcohol syndrome, deafness, and Down’s syndrome.
HuffPost UK Ben Carpenter
“As time went on, I knew I could cope. I have a great support network and thought why not? I’m young enough and fit enough and I can step up for these children. I have a great rapport with all the professionals I’ve been involved with, and I believe I’m the right person to help them. I see the child, not the disability. I never see the disability.
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“I have a great rapport with my children’s birth parents – some of which we have open adoptions, so I see and meet up with them.
“I love it. I love everything. One of the best things is being able to be called dad – it’s amazing when a child calls you Daddy. I’ve loved the Christmases, the milestones. Not so much the 2am wake-ups, but that just comes with parenting. I’ve loved the holidays, seeing them smiling, seeing them achieve. I was told my eldest daughter would never walk, talk or eat. She is now doing all three to the best of her ability.
“My story is rare, I know. I’m not asking people to do the same – but don’t underestimate yourself. Adoption is tough, so just by signing up, you’re already proving yourself to be a strong person. I just think, why can’t these children have the chance? I love them dearly.”
‘I had no intention of adopting until I met my son’
Isabelle Coad, 36, from the Midlands, adopted her son Nathanial, who is Ugandan, 10 years ago. Three years ago she adopted her daughter, MG, who was just three months old. Isabelle is of Sri Lankan heritage.
“I’m adopted myself and that plays a huge part in why I’ve gone on to adopt. Initially I had no intention of adopting until I was married, but things changed when I met Nathanial – my eldest – in a babies’ home in Uganda. I wanted to bring him home immediately, and knew adoption was the way forward. It wasn’t an easy process, but I was so happy to become his mother.
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“For my daughter it was easier, went through the stages quite simple. It was four to five months if I remember correctly before we were matched after an approval paneI. We adopted her in the UK.
HuffPost UK Supplied
“One of the most challenging times was when I was told that my daughter may be unlikely to walk, that she had a rare chromosome disorder and at this point I hadn’t applied for her adoption yet. I questioned my ability to parent her and whether it would be fair on my eldest who has his own particular needs. However, MG had been with us for significant amount of time already, and she was bonded to us both.
“Other challenges in the day-to-day is the emotional toll of parenting an adopted child. Young children are clingy, but adopted children are clingy to another level. When my littlest was younger, I couldn’t move away from her side for a second without screaming.
“However, the special moments, the firsts, the hugs, the joyful moments are magnified with an adopted child. One of the most rewarding times was seeing her walk for the first time unaided. Another fantastic moment was my son receiving a scholarship to our local grammar school. This is such a testament to how ‘hard to place’ children can thrive in families, and shows the strength of character and resilience on a child.
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“What would I say to people wanting to adopt? Do it! Definitely do it, but be prepared for your life to change completely. Take any preconceived ideas of how you think family life will be... and throw them away! Take each day as it comes. These children are hurt and traumatised, they need love, they need care, they need empathy. It’s been amazing and life changing for all of us.”
‘We adopted seven siblings to keep them together’
Michelle Foster, 52, Coventry. Michelle and her partner have adopted seven siblings who have the same biological mother.
“My partner and I have been fostering for 12 years. The eldest two of seven siblings came to us in 2010, at one year and four months old. Within a week, we were told the birth mum was pregnant again, and that baby came at 18 hours old. Within a year, the mum had had another one – the fourth child placed with us. We adopted those four children together in 2015.
“When the mum had two more babies, we also took them on – it was a year between them – but it was trickier. We adopted those two together. The last sibling is just one year old. We got him in our care, after fighting for him, when he was eight months. We still have court cases going on to adopt him.
jacoblund via Getty Images
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“We wanted to keep the siblings together, not adopted separately – we didn’t want that for them, we knew it’d be detrimental. I can’t tell you how much I love them. I have four birth children, too, and the love is no different. It’s amazing, they mean the world to me. They’re all different, with different traits and different challenges. It’s been a rollercoaster, of course, but it’s amazing to see one of our daughters achieving high academic levels, another one doing gymnastics and getting a scholarship. They would never have had that life.
“I remember once a few years ago in Spain, one of them was crying because they got a mint ice cream instead of strawberry. My husband looked to me and said, ‘You know what? You have to laugh, them crying over that. Imagine what their life would’ve been like if they didn’t come to us’.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-14--Grenfell Tower Fire: Justice Is Slipping Further Away, Says Survivor Three Years On

Three years ago, as fire raged in a building all around him, Ed Daffarn collapsed in a black, smoke-logged corridor high up on the 16th floor of Grenfell Tower and believed he was taking his last breaths.
The horror of that night – not only his own miraculous escape from the tower, but the unimaginable sights he witnessed after reaching fresh air outside – is still desperately raw for the 57-year-old.
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As the third anniversary of Grenfell is marked on Sunday, Daffarn has struggled to move forward with his life and criticises the “abject failure” of politicians to deliver a lasting legacy for the atrocities that occurred.
The former mental health social worker still lives with only a handful of possessions, just two pairs of jeans, experiencing a kind of paralysis that has stopped him from creating a new home to replace the one he lost so suddenly and so violently in the fire.
Grenfell survivor Edward Daffarn HuffPost UK
“I lost everything and I haven’t really been able to start that rebuilding process,” Daffarn told HuffPost UK. “So I don’t really have any possessions still three years after Grenfell.
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“It’s definitely had some profound impact on my life. I’m finding it difficult to reimagine a life where I’m going to be surrounded by lots of nice homely possessions. I think I’m going to live a very Spartan life from now on.”
A searing sense of injustice about what he witnessed that night continues to drive Daffarn to talk about it, to fight for truth, for prosecutions, for change.
He says it will have a profound effect on his own mental wellbeing if there is no legacy from Grenfell, but fears as time passes that justice is slipping further away.
“As every month and every year goes on now I begin to fear that the legacy that needs to come from Grenfell is not going to happen,” he said. “And that fills me with anger, rage and sadness.”
Grenfell Tower, where a severe fire killed 72 people in June 2017 Hollie Adams via Getty Images
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The story of Grenfell is now notorious.
In the early hours of a warm summer’s night on June 14, 2017, a social housing block in one of London’s most affluent boroughs was rapidly consumed by fire, killing 72 people and leaving hundreds more homeless.
In the two years before, the 1970s concrete block had been refurbished and covered with flammable cladding that spread the blaze at lightning speed around the outside walls, filling the inside with toxic smoke and leaving many people trapped.
A public inquiry concluded last year that the tower was “non-compliant with building regulations”.
Daffarn had moved into the block 16 years before and says he loved his home and the vibrant community on the Lancaster West Estate in North Kensington, where the tower stands.
He had, over many years, gathered the possessions that come to symbolise a life – a record collection of more than 1,000 vinyls, a picture his father had painted when Daffarn was a child, family photographs, a little book his mother had given him, cricket caps from his youth.
But he says others lost so much more.
“I only lost possessions, people lost far, far more than I did and I would never, ever complain about losing what I lost, because I lost friends but I didn’t lose family,” he said.
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His own escape from the tower was sheer luck. He had been up late listening to a radio show and just gone to bed when he heard his neighbour’s smoke alarm going off shortly after 1am.
He went to investigate and on opening the front door of his flat was confronted by a thick layer of black smoke in the corridor. He realised instantly this was something much more serious than “his neighbour burning his supper”.
Another chance occurrence, a friend calling and urging Daffarn to “get out, get the fuck out” prompted him to defy the “stay-put” advice and try to make his escape wearing just shorts, a t-shirt and holding a damp towel around his face.
“I went out of my flat into this complete and utter darkness in the hallway, where I couldn’t even see the end of my nose,” he said.
“I headed for where I thought the fire exit was. I had to cross about 20 feet without seeing where I was going and instead of getting to where the fire door was, I hit this wall that had been built as part of the regeneration work and actually impeded my direct access to the door. And then instead of moving for where the door was, I started panicking.
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“I let go of the towel, the towel fell off my mouth and I started breathing in the smoke. Then I started pawing at the wall with both my hands and at that minute, I’m like: ‘Shit, I’m not going to get out’. I just assumed that I would find the door and now, five seconds later, I’m in a situation where I’m taking my last breaths.”
It was at this moment that a firefighter found him, and saved his life.
“At that moment, literally, a firefighter came through the door and bumped into me and he pulled me out into the emergency stairwell,” Daffarn added. “There was some confusion around how they found me but the firefighter said it was a miracle, that I’m a very, very lucky man.
“Of course, the saddest part of all of this is that there was only one reason that the firefighter was on my landing at that time, and that was that he’d come to rescue my neighbour in the flat next door to me.
“And I’m very sad that my neighbour never got rescued and he passed away in his flat. So I’m very grateful that I was rescued, but it’s very upsetting as well.”
Police patrol a security cordon as smoke billows from Grenfell Tower DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS via Getty Images
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He described what happened that night as an “act of almost incomprehensible violence” and still cannot speak about the sights he witnessed after escaping the tower when he saw people at windows, trapped.
“You know there are some things I can’t really talk about,” he said. “There were people at the windows who couldn’t...”
At this point, Daffarn was unable to finish his sentence.
He no longer lives in North Kensington, finding it too overwhelming “to spend too much time in the shadow of the tower”. But he believes it should not be pulled down and should “stand as a symbol of injustice until that injustice is righted”.
Daffarn, who actively campaigns and advocates with Grenfell United, is angry that the second phase of the public inquiry into the disaster will not resume until July 6, following its temporary pause due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He says the delay is not just frustrating but directly impacts on the wellbeing of survivors because they have been told there can be no criminal prosecutions until the end of the inquiry.
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“Many people would sacrifice the inquiry for criminal prosecutions because they see it as almost a diametric choice between truth and justice,” he said. “And for many people, they’re willing to sacrifice truth for justice, i.e. seeing those perpetrators in court facing long jail terms. That’s what we want to see.”
Protesters outside the Grenfell Tower public inquiry in London Kirsty O' Connor - PA Images via Getty Images
Most pressingly, Daffarn sees it as a searing indictment of government failure that ACM cladding, of exactly the same type that covered Grenfell Tower, is still on 300 buildings in the UK today.
“The government are playing Russian roulette every single day and, as we’ve learnt, it’s not if another fire takes place, it’s when another fire takes place,” he said.
“For anyone involved with Grenfell, that witnessed the violence of the fire, the thought that that violence could be wrought onto another community is just heartbreaking. And three years after Grenfell it is not acceptable.”
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The first phase of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry last year found the ACM cladding panels were the “primary cause” of fire spread up the tower.
Daffarn has also called on the government to act urgently to deliver a promised social housing white paper that was paused due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which he says must ensure organisations that manage social housing are more accountable for their actions.
He believes this is crucial because the community had tried so hard to warn of the health and safety risks at Grenfell before the fire but, in Daffarn’s words, were “treated with a lack of humanity and contempt” – “like scum”.
Daffarn says the third anniversary of the fire will be a 'strange and difficult day' Grenfell United
This year, the Covid-19 pandemic will radically alter the way the anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire is marked.
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Instead of holding a commemoration service or gathering at the site of the tower in North Kensington, events will instead take place on YouTube and social media.
It was a tough decision for those affected by the tragedy to abandon the act of physical remembrance, but with the risks still posed by coronavirus they felt it was the only course of action.
Daffarn says he particularly struggles with the idea that he will not be able to mark the anniversary at friends’ homes and with the human contact of a hug.
“It’s going to be a very, very strange and difficult year for everyone, not only because it’s the third year of Grenfell and so little has changed in terms of meaningful response, but on just a very pure human level, we’re not going to be able to hug each other and that’s going to be very difficult,” he said.
Survivors, family and friends of the victims wearing symbolic green scarves and holding green balloons at last year's commemorations SOPA Images via Getty Images
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He passionately hopes that despite the pandemic, people will not forget the atrocity of that night three years ago, saying it is vital that people “stick with us”.
“I think we very much understand that at the moment there is something else that people are focusing on, but that doesn’t mean that Grenfell doesn’t matter anymore,” said Daffarn.
“Grenfell matters. It matters. It’s so relevant because there are still so many people living in buildings that are covered with ACM cladding. As every day goes by, as long as this cladding remains on buildings, another Grenfell will happen.”
The government responded to his concerns.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “The Grenfell Tower fire was a devastating tragedy and we are as determined as ever to ensure this can never happen again.
“That’s why we’re providing £1.6 billion to ensure unsafe cladding is removed from high-rise buildings as soon as possible, while also bringing forward the biggest legislative changes to building safety in a generation. We’ll also shortly announce new measures to drive up standards in social housing and give tenants the stronger voice they deserve.
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“We will ensure everyone affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy continues to receive the support they need with over £158 million committed to supporting the community so far.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-14--Will Anti-Racism Protests Force Donald Trump From Office?

The widespread anti-racism protests across the United States have caused a seismic shift in US public opinion — one that could reverberate all the way to the White House in November.
Since the killing of George Floyd by a police officer on May 25, support for the Black Lives Matter movement has skyrocketed. Americans support the protests by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, according to a recent HuffPost/YouGov poll, with most viewing Floyd’s death as part of a pattern in police treatment of black men.
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The findings reflect a dramatic shift in attitudes — particularly among white Americans — toward the pervasiveness of racial discrimination in policing and in society as a whole.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s approval ratings have tumbled amid the continuing social unrest and the rising death toll and economic devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
A Gallup poll this week showed Trump’s overall approval rating falling to 39%, a double-digit drop from two weeks ago when he stood at 49%.
Perhaps most significantly, Trump’s support has fallen among two religious groups that make up a core part of his base: white Catholics and white evangelicals.
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These groups were more supportive of Trump in the 2016 election than any other religious group, and he needs them to show up for him in November if he hopes to win reelection.
A Worried White House
Police take security measures near White House during a protest over the death of George Floyd. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The White House appears to be shaken. In April, after polls showed presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden with a small edge over Trump in the general election, the president quickly dismissed the findings.
“I don’t believe the polls,” Trump told Reuters. “I believe the people of this country are smart. And I don’t think that they will put a man in who’s incompetent.”
As Trump’s numbers have fallen, however, that nonchalance has evaporated. This week, after a CNN survey showed Trump trailing Biden by a whopping 14 points, Trump’s reelection campaign demanded that CNN retract and apologise for the poll, arguing that it was “designed to mislead American voters.” (CNN said it stood by the poll.)
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Behind the scenes, as well, Trump has been pouring millions of dollars into advertisements in states such as Ohio, Iowa and Arizona that he won in 2016 — a sign that the election this year may be more competitive than Trump and his supporters initially anticipated.
Ohio, once a key battleground state, has been trending Republican for years, but recent polls show Biden leading there. And if Biden were to win in states like Arizona or Georgia, Trump’s path to re-election would be exceedingly difficult. (Though as Trump’s surprise 2016 victory proved, polls can only predict so much.)
Trump walks between lines of riot police in Lafayette Park across from the White House while walking to St John's Church for a photo opportunity during ongoing protests over racial inequality. Tom Brenner / Reuters
The Election Is Still Months Away, However
If Trump is increasingly worried about his reelection prospects, however, his allies aren’t showing it ― at least not publicly.
Top Republican senators say it is far too early to be alarmed, given that the election is still months away and the economy has only begun to recover amid the coronavirus pandemic (though it will likely be years before the economy truly rebounds, and a second wave of infections could quickly undo any economic gains).
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“It’s a long time till November. November’s a lot further in the future than impeachment was in the past, and impeachment seems like it was forever ago,” Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri told HuffPost this week.
Mitt Romney, a Republican Senator from Utah and a frequent critic of the president, also said that he expected Trump to win.
“I’ve long predicted the president will be re-elected,” Romney told HuffPost. “I continue to believe that’s going to be the case.”
Moreover, religious conservatives may disapprove of Trump at the moment, but that doesn’t mean they won’t vote for him.
“Trump holds them captive,” John Fea, a historian of American evangelicalism at Messiah College, told HuffPost.
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“They must support Trump, because they need him to win in November so that their more important social issues such as abortion and religious liberty can be advanced in an attempt to ‘make America great again’ — code for ‘make America a Christian nation again.’”
For Trump, the Current Crisis Is an Opportunity
A portrait of George Floyd held by protesters in New York. Erik McGregor via Getty Images
Even as his poll numbers decline, Trump has seized on the current crisis as an opportunity to depict himself as a “law and order” president, turning the election campaign into a culture war in which Republicans could hold the upper ground.
Whereas Biden has met with the family of George Floyd and says he “hears and shares the deep grief and frustration of those calling out for change,” Trump has taken a hard-line stance against rising calls to “defund the police.”
In a meeting with law enforcement officials at the White House this week, Trump praised America’s police officers as “great, great people” and took an uncompromising position against calls to reform or abolish police departments.
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“There won’t be defunding,” Trump said. “There won’t be dismantling of our police. There’s not going to be any disbanding of our police.”
While the idea of defunding the police has rapidly become part of mainstream political debate, polls indicate that such changes remain widely unpopular among Americans.
A HuffPost/YouGov poll released Friday showed that most Americans support reforms like banning chokeholds, clarifying the circumstances under which police officers may use force and making it easier for officers to be prosecuted. Just 7% of Americans say the country’s police system is basically sound and requires essentially no changes.
When it comes to defunding the police, however, just 27% of Americans support the idea.
According to an earlier HuffPost/YouGov poll this week, even when voters were asked whether they favour budgeting less money for police and more for social workers and mental health professionals, the results did not reflect broad support for reallocating the funds: Only 44% support those changes, while 46% oppose them.
Biden clarified this week that he does not support defunding the police — potentially deflecting some of Trump’s criticism — but Trump’s supporters still believe they can tie the Democratic nominee to the movement.
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On Thursday, Trump’s campaign released an ad claiming that Biden “fails to stand up to the radical leftists fighting to defund or even abolish the police.”
“The Democrats are giving a wink and a nod to the ‘defund the police’ movement all on their own ― even if Biden was hedging all over himself,” a senior White House aide told HuffPost.
Another White House aide was clear that opposing calls to defund the police would be a centrepiece of Trump’s campaign, even if Democrats don’t come out more forcefully in favour of the idea.
“There is no greater gift,” this aide said.
To Win, Biden Needs the Support of Black Voters
Joe Biden speaks via video link as family and guests attend the funeral service for George Floyd. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Biden’s supporters believe that his ability to tap into the energy of the current Black Lives Matter movement could prove critical to his success this fall.
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His popularity among older black voters, largely stemming from his time as Barack Obama’s vice president, helped him secure the Democratic nomination this year.
But Biden has struggled to inspire a younger generation of black voters, who have been critical of his support for tough-on-crime policies in the 1980s and ’90s, which they say contributed to the mass incarceration of black people.
He has also faced accusations of taking black voters for granted. In May, Biden was forced to apologise after joking during an interview that “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”
“I shouldn’t have been such a wise guy,” Biden later said. “I shouldn’t have been so cavalier.”
Young people who did not vote for Biden during the primary “are the same ones who are protesting in the streets right now, who hold his political record as responsible for the pain they are feeling right now,” Terrance Woodbury, a Democratic pollster who conducted a series of focus groups for Black Lives Matter earlier this year, to assess the question of why young black voters were not excited to vote, told Politico. “There is some atonement that needs to happen there.”
Calls have been growing for Biden to select a black woman as his vice-presidential running mate, in order to energise black voters and signal his commitment to addressing racial injustice.
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The fear for Democrats is not that young black voters will support Trump. But if they are not enthusiastic about Biden, and are skeptical about the possibility of seeing real systemic change, they could decide simply to stay home on Election Day — making it easier for Trump to win reelection.
Other problems — such as the chaos many Americans experienced in Georgia this week, where thousands of voters waited for up to seven hours in lines that stretched blocks during the state’s primary election — could also suppress the black vote in November.
“This is a moment where people are disillusioned in institutions,” Branden Snyder, the executive director of a grassroots organisation in Detroit that works to mobilise black and brown voters, told Politico.
“I’m worried that a lot of our first-time voters, and a lot of them are young voters, are going ... to completely opt out of the system.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-14--Give Lockdown-Hit Disadvantaged Children Free Internet At Home, Education Secretary Told

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The education crisis facing Boris Johnson’s government intensified today as leading Tories, Tony Blair and charity chiefs backed calls for immediate free internet access for disadvantaged children.
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A cross-party letter to education secretary Gavin Williamson points out as many as 700,000 children eligible for free school meals missing school during to the coronavirus lockdown do not have access to the internet at home.
The coronavirus pandemic saw schools closed in March and the letter, penned by Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh, warns children are falling behind and without drastic action “may never catch up”.
As well as the former Labour prime minister and four former education secretaries, including David Blunkett and Alan Johnson, the letter was also signed by the chief executives of leading children’s charities, such as Barnardo’s and Action For Children.
It also underlines frustration with the government from Johnson’s own backbenchers, with Conservative chairman of the Commons’ education committee Rob Halfon and former children’s minister Edward Timpson among five Tories on the list.
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Former prime minister Tony Blair PA
McDonagh’s letter to Williamson says: “The lockdown has exposed the digital divide in our society, with schools across the country reporting struggling families who do not have internet access at home.
“Those children who can’t access the same resources as their classmates will find themselves even further behind when they finally return. Some may never catch up.
“This policy isn’t a silver bullet and can’t replace months of missed education. But it would make an immediate, tangible difference to families right across our country.”
In April, Williamson promised 230,000 laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children for home study, but the £100m initiative has been beset by delays with many schools reporting they have yet to arrive.
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Chairman of the Commons education committee and Tory MP Rob Halfon is among those calling for the government to do more to help disadvantaged children Hannah Mckay / Reuters
The minister also pledged 4G free routers, but critics have pointed out the devices are no use if the child has no broadband connection at home.
Writing separately to Williamson, Halfon said “thousands of children are missing out”, adding, in a letter seen by HuffPost UK: “In the absence of government setting minimum standards or oversight from Ofsted, children have no basic entitlement to an education during school closures.
“As a result, we are seeing the digital divide exacerbate the attainment gap.”
It comes amid mounting pressure on the government over its handling of the pandemic’s impact on young people, following a U-turn over the early return of schools and the cutback of free school meal vouchers over the summer holidays.
Charities have also cautioned the pandemic is widening the life chances gap between wealthy youngsters and those from deprived backgrounds, with the Social Mobility Commission among those urging ministers to do more.
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On Sunday, children’s commissioner Anne Longfield went further and told the government it was risking youngsters’ basic right to an education.
Speaking to the Observer, she said: “It has taken 200 years of campaigning to get children out of the workplace and into the classroom, ensuring that education was a basic right for all children.
Anne Longfield, Children's Commissioner for England PA
“We seem for the first time to be prepared to let that start to go into reverse. And I think that is a very, very dangerous place to be.”
When asked about the cross-party letter, the Department for Education said: “We will do whatever we can to make sure no child, whatever their background, falls behind as a result of coronavirus.
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“The government has already committed over £100 million to support children to learn at home, and pupil premium funding at the highest ever rate per pupil continues to be paid to help schools support their disadvantaged pupils.
“Many schools have begun welcoming children from Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 back to the classroom as part of a phased and cautious approach.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-14--Black Lives Matter Supporter Who Carried Injured Man To Safety Hailed As 'National Hero'

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A Black Lives Matter campaigner who carried a man to safety amid chaos at a far-right protest in London has been hailed a “national hero”.
An image of Patrick Hutchinson, with a man who was reported to be a rival protestor draped over his shoulder flanked by riot police, was widely shared on social media after demonstrations turned violent in June.
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Hutchinson, who is a personal trainer and grandfather, formed a group with four of his friends to protect young Black Lives Matter protesters from getting caught up in the violence of the protests.
The group took it upon themselves to be “overseers” at the protest and to take injured people safely to emergency service workers.
Speaking to Channel 4 News, Hutchinson said he rushed to the man’s aide and carried him away from harm as he feared for his life.
Patrick Hutchinson was photographed carrying an injured counter-protester to safety during a Black Lives Matter protest in London. REUTERS
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Describing central London scenes “almost like a stampede”, Hutchinson said he spotted the man badly hurt on steps to Waterloo’s Royal Festival Hall.
Other protesters had also stepped in to protect him but Hutchinson said he did not hesitate to act.
The injured man’s identity is not yet known but people in the crowd have claimed he was at the counter-BLM demonstration, which was thought to have included many far-right activists.
Hutchinson later identified himself on social media, writing on his Instagram: “It’s not black versus white, it is everyone versus the racists. We had each other’s back and protected those who needed us.”
He has since given a full account of the incident to Channel 4.
Admitting it was a “scary” moment”, Hutchinson said he wondered what if someone had acted to help George Floyd - whose death sparked worldwide race protests - when he was in distress.
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Floyd was a 48-year-old black man killed in Minneapolis by a white police officer who held his knee on for some nine minutes.
Recalling how the man “was already on the floor” on Saturday, Hutchinson said: “It was pretty hectic, it was almost like a stampede, there was lots of people. There were people trying to protect him but unsuccessfully.
“Then the guys went in there, they put a cordon around him to stop him receiving any more physical harm. He was under physical harm. His life was under threat.
“Whilst they did that I thought, ‘well if he stays here, he’s not going to make it.’ So I just went under, scooped him up, put him on my shoulders and started marching towards the police with him whilst all the guys were surrounding me and protecting me and the guy I had on my shoulder.
“I could actually feel strikes and hits as I was carrying him so these guys were probably taking some of that themselves on their person.
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"If the other three police officers who were standing around when George Floyd was murdered had thought about intervening like what we did, George Floyd would be alive today."
Patrick Hutchinson, who was pictured carrying a protestor to safety at violent demo says what happened. pic.twitter.com/IdTT8spuG4 — Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) June 14, 2020
Hutchinson said he acted instinctively, adding: “You don’t think though at the time. You just do what you’ve got to do.
“I can only imagine... Last night when I was thinking about it, I was thinking to myself - if the other three police officers that were standing around when George Floyd was murdered, had thought about intervening and stopping their colleague from doing what he was doing like what we did, George Floyd would be alive today still.
“I was just the guy that was caught on camera with him on my shoulder, but all these guys were all party to it. Without them protecting me, I would have probably have got stampeded as well underneath it. So it was a team effort.”
A video of Hutchinson’s daughter cheering proudly at the interview clip on television was posted on social media.
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His actions were praised on social media, with many describing the photo as “iconic”.
Claudia Webbe, MP for Leicester East, called him a “national hero”.
A national hero - this is what humanity looks like:
“If the other three police officers who were standing around when George Floyd was murdered had thought about intervening like what we did, George Floyd would be alive today." Patrick Hutchinson 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾#BlackLivesMatter https://t.co/qwhcEav23E — Claudia Webbe MP (@ClaudiaWebbe) June 14, 2020
Hundreds of far-right protesters gathered in central London on Saturday to counter Black Lives Matter activists and “defend” statues and memorials.
More than 100 people were arrested, and six police officers suffered minor injuries in violent clashes as several hundred demonstrators, mostly white men, attended the protest, which was condemned by Boris Johnson as “racist thuggery”.
London Ambulance Service said it had treated 15 people for injuries, including two police officers. Six of these patients, all members of the public, had to be taken to hospital.
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The violent scenes in Westminster contrasted with peaceful demonstrations that took place at Hyde Park and Marble Arch by anti-racism protesters in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Anti-racism protests were due to gather in Hyde Park at 1pm today, but were called off after Sadiq Khan warned Black Lives Matter organisers that far-right groups, including Britain First and the Democratic Football Lads Alliance were planning to hijack the rally.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-14--Boris Johnson Says Government Has 'Margin For Manoeuvre' On Two-Metre Rule

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Boris Johnson has said the government has “margin for manoeuvre” in cutting the two-metre social-distancing rule because cases of coronavirus are falling.
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The prime minister, who has ordered a “comprehensive” review of the regulation in England, said “probably” fewer than one in 1,000 people now had the virus and the risk was getting smaller.
It comes amid mounting pressure from industry and Tory backbenchers to halve the distance to one-metre, which would bring the guidance in line with what the World Health Organisation recommends.
Scientists and health experts, however, are reportedly nervous of the move, cautioning government that minister risk a second spike the disease.
Earlier on Sunday, chancellor Rishi Sunak said the review would look at the issue “in the round” adding “ultimately it is for ministers”, rather than scientists, to decide.
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Asked if chief scientific officer Patrick Vallance and chief medical officer Chris Whitty would have to back new social distancing measures, Sunak said: “Not necessarily, no.”
Speaking during a visit to the Westfield shopping centre in east London ahead of non-essential retail reopening in England on Monday, the PM urged the public to “shop with confidence” but to stick to the current two-metre restriction.
Johnson said they were constantly looking at the evidence to see when it would be safe to do cut the distance.
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits a shop in Westfield Stratford shopping centre in east London, Sunday June 14, 2020, to see the preparations the stores are making to be COVID-19 secure, ahead of non-essential retail being able to reopen from Monday morning. (John Nguyen/Pool via AP) ASSOCIATED PRESS
He told reporters: “As we get the numbers down, so it becomes one in a thousand, one in 1600, maybe fewer, your chances of being, two metres, one metre or even a foot away from somebody who has the virus are obviously going down statistically, so you start to build some more margin for manoeuvre and we’ll be looking at that.”
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With official figures showing the economy shrank by a fifth in April, ministers are desperate to get economic activity going again amid warnings of further large scale job losses to come.
Ministers are under intense pressure from Conservative MPs who see the easing of the two-metre rule as crucial to the next phase of the reopening, including pubs and restaurants, slated for early July.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Social Care said 41,698 people had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Saturday, up by 36 from 41,662 the day before.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-14--Trump Tries To Explain Awkward Ramp Descent That Lit Up Twitter Critics

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Donald Trump tried to explain away his awkward walk down a ramp Saturday after addressing US military academy graduates at West Point by saying he was being extra careful to avoid a fall that the “Fake News” would “have fun with.”
“Trump is not well” began to trend on Twitter after video of the president’s tentative walk was posted on social media.
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Trump said in a tweet that the ramp was long, steep and “very slippery.” He claimed he “ran” to level ground the “final ten feet” — which did not exactly appear to be the case.
The ramp that I descended after my West Point Commencement speech was very long & steep, had no handrail and, most importantly, was very slippery. The last thing I was going to do is “fall” for the Fake News to have fun with. Final ten feet I ran down to level ground. Momentum! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 14, 2020
Earlier, during his address to cadets, Trump took an awkward sip of water: He used his right hand to lift a glass, then used his left hand to push the glass, still clutched in his right hand, all the way to his mouth.
Trump still hasn't totally figured out how to drink water pic.twitter.com/IO8CDXmD9i — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 13, 2020
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Both incidents caught the eye of Twitter users, with many raising questions about Trump’s health, and wondering again about his unannounced visit late last year to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The White House said at the time that it was for a routine exam.
West Point cadets were called back from their homes across the nation to prepare for the graduation ceremony after Trump informed surprised officials in late April that he would be giving the commencement speech. The Army hadn’t yet determined whether or not to have cadets back for a graduation ceremony because of the risks of Covid-19. They had all been ordered to stay home after spring break and continued their studies online.
At least 15 of the 1,106 cadets who returned to the campus, which is about an hour’s drive north of New York City, tested positive for Covid-19 when they arrived weeks ago, and were placed in quarantine. None were symptomatic. The rest were allowed to stay in their dorms under what the Army called a “soft quarantine” before the commencement. All were tested.
Cadets were in chairs spaced 6 feet apart for the ceremony, and wore masks as they crossed the stage. Families had to watch remotely. Trump did not wear a mask.
The president promised in his speech that the cadets would not have to fight “endless wars” in “far-away lands.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-14--UK Records 36 More Coronavirus Deaths In 24 Hours, Bringing Total To 41,698

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The number of people who have died in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus has risen to 41,698 – an increase of 36 over 24 hours.
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It is the lowest daily increase in the national death toll since lockdown began, but figures are frequently underreported over the weekend.
Since the end of April, the government’s daily announcement has included people in care homes and the community, rather than just in hospital, who have died.
But only those who had tested positive for Covid-19 are included, meaning anyone who died with a suspected case won’t be recorded.
The figures cover the period up to 5pm on Saturday.
It comes after the number of people who have died in hospitals across the UK, as well as care homes in Wales, after contracting the virus rose by 31 in 24 hours.
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That increase consisted of 27 in England, one in Scotland and three in Wales. Northern Ireland reported no deaths in the past 24 hours.
Meanwhile, as of 9am on Sunday, 6,772,602 tests for coronavirus have been carried out, but the number of people tested will be lower as a significant number of patients are tested more than once.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-14--Man, 20, Dies Of Suspected Drug Overdose As 6,000 People Attend Two Illegal Raves In Greater Manches

Man, 20, Dies Of Suspected Drug Overdose As 6,000 People Attend Two Illegal Raves In Greater Manchester

PA Archive/PA Images
A 20-year-old man has died of a suspected drug overdose following two huge illegal raves in Greater Manchester, police have confirmed.
Around 4,000 people are believed to have attended the gathering in Oldham on Saturday evening, with a separate event in Carrington also attracting 2,000 revellers despite coronavirus concerns.
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Officers are also investigating three stabbings and reports of a rape connected to the two events on Saturday evening.
Video footage of the gatherings, which have been condemned by politicians and local leaders, shows thousands of people dancing together at one gathering.
Assistant Chief Constable Chris Sykes, said: “We are aware of two large raves that took place in Carrington and Droylsden last night (Saturday June 13 2020).
“These raves were illegal and I condemn them taking place – they were clearly a breach of coronavirus legislation and guidelines, and have had tragic consequences.”
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the amount of people at the “illegal rave” in manchester is shocking, genuinely thought it was a parklife video on first glance pic.twitter.com/SjL4RSBSPj — Shaz 🤍 (@shans__x) June 13, 2020
He added: “In Droylsden there are believed to have been around 4,000 people at the peak of the gathering.
“Whilst that’s a significant number, there were no reported incidents of further crime but sadly a 20-year-old man passed away from a suspected drug overdose following the gathering and we have specialist officers supporting his family at this time.”
Violence broke out at the Carrington gathering, with three separate stabbings reported over the course of the evening.
actually can’t believe my eyes at this illegal rave in manchester !!! are people living in the same world right now ? 🤯 pic.twitter.com/hbHd02hOps — tom (@tomdiggett) June 13, 2020
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One 18-year-old man is currently in hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Sykes added: “In Carrington there are believed to have been around 2,000 people at the peak of the gathering.
“Unfortunately there were a number of serious incidents at this gathering and after careful assessment, officers were deployed to the scene.
“There were three separate reported stabbings, including one where an 18-year-old man was left with life threatening injuries.
“Police officers managed to safely enter the crowds, locate the man and administer life-saving first aid before paramedics arrived.
“There is no doubt in my mind that the actions of those officers provided essential treatment to the man now in hospital and I would like to thank them for their efforts.”
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I’m at the field where the rave took place along with volunteers who have been here for hours. These are the scenes they were met with. @MENnewsdesk pic.twitter.com/Lbt4ZhA9VO — Helena Vesty (@HelenaVesty) June 14, 2020
Two other men, aged 25 and 26, were also left with injuries after being assaulted. A 25-year-old man was also arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and Greater Manchester Police enquiries remain ongoing to locate the suspects involved in these incidents.
Sykes called for anyone with footage to upload it to scd.cctv.gmp.police.uk to help them with ongoing inquiries.
Police are also investigating the rape of an 18-year old woman who attended the event, with specialist officers supporting both her and her family.
Sykes said: “We are also investigating the rape of an 18-year-old woman who attended this event and we have specialist officers supporting her and her family whilst enquiries are ongoing to trace the suspect. Anyone with information is asked to contact police as soon as possible.
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“Sadly, officers attempting to engage with participants of this gathering were met with violence, resulting in items being thrown and a police car being vandalised.
“I want to make it clear that this is absolutely not acceptable and will not be tolerated. Our officers are working incredibly hard to keep people safe and should never be met with inexcusable violence whilst carrying out their duties.”
“It’s like Glastonbury happened,” said another volunteer at Daisy Nook Country Park. The ‘Quarantine Rave’ sign can still be seen. @MENnewsdesk pic.twitter.com/m8tI2xyFtU — Helena Vesty (@HelenaVesty) June 14, 2020
Deputy Labour leader and MP for Ashton-under-Lyne Angela Rayner said she was working with the police and criticised the “irresponsible” people who had put themselves and their loved ones at risk by attending the rave.
She tweeted: “Those who attended put themselves and their loved ones at risk. [Completely] irresponsible. A lot of effort went into online events this weekend across GM.
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“Those who attended should be ashamed of themselves. My local area now has to deal with the aftermath.”
An update on last nights incident at Daisy Nook; I’m in touch with the police & both councils about last night &the clean up today.Lots of debris & broken glass in the surrounding areas. We need an improved response if we are unlucky enough to be in a similar situation in future. — 🌈 Angela Rayner 🌈 (@AngelaRayner) June 14, 2020
Parklife and Warehouse Project boss, Sacha Lord, said the “selfish idiots” who had attended were “a disgrace”.
If you are one of the morons who attended one of the illegal raves in Partington and Daisy Nook last night, you are a disgrace. You’ve now put yourselves, your friends, your families and loved ones at risk. I’ve seen some of the footage. You aren’t clubbers. Just selfish idiots. — Sacha Lord (@Sacha_Lord) June 14, 2020
Around 70 volunteers helped to clear the laughing gas canisters, balloons and bags left in Daisy Nook Country Park on Sunday morning, including student Georgia Blakeney.
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“The mess was atrocious,” the 21-year-old from Ashton-under-Lyne told the PA news agency.
“The people attending were my age group, I’m a uni student who can’t wait to go out with my friends again but I can’t believe people were so selfish to do it in such a way.
“I think it’s an insult to not only front line NHS workers and high-risk individuals but those who are suffering from the lockdown from things like economic damage and poor mental health, which will no doubt be extended if things like this happen.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-14--Rishi Sunak Confirms 'Urgent' Review Of Two-Metre Social Distancing Rule

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Chancellor Rishi Sunak has confirmed Boris Johnson has ordered a “comprehensive review” on the two-metre rule on coronavirus social distancing.
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Confirming any cut to from two metres to one would “ultimately” be “for ministers” to decide, he said the government was now looking at the issue – seen as crucial to the restarting the economy – “in the round”.
Scientists and health experts advising the government have urged caution but industry and Tory backbenchers say if two-metre rule is not scrapped millions of job losses in the hospitality and retail sectors could follow.
Asked if chief medical officer Chris Whitty and chief scientific officer Patrick Vallance would have to back changes, the chancellor said: “Not necessarily, no”.
Speaking on both Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday and BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show, Sunak also stressed it it “safe” for the public to go shopping on Monday as non-essential retail prepares to open shops for the first time since the lockdown was announced.
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Underlining the “impact it has on business”, Sunak said the two-metre rule was “the difference between maybe three-quarters and a third of pubs opening”.
The World Health Organisation recommends maintaining a distance of once metre, but many experts in the UK think the move could pave the way for a second spike in infections.
#Marr: Would Prof Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance have to agree before you relax the 2m social distancing rule?
Chancellor Rishi Sunak: "Not necessarily, no"#Covid_19 https://t.co/0NXTQG3H2T pic.twitter.com/EdHMdneWiO — BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) June 14, 2020
Chancellor Rishi Sunak arrives in Downing Street, London. PA
The review will involve economists and government advisers, he said.
He told Sky News: “Obviously many other countries around the world use a different rule. We have seen a couple of countries recently – Norway and Denmark – have moved from two metres to something less.
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“It is important that we look at it comprehensively, in the round, and that is what we will do urgently.”
Speaking to BBC presenter Andrew Marr, Sunak, whose government has repeatedly said it is “guided by the science”, admitted that “ultimately” ministers would decide on the guidance.
“Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance throughout all of this have provided advice to ministers,” he said.
“Ultimately it is for ministers. We are the people who are elected to make decisions in this country. People should hold us responsible and accountable for making those decisions.
“I think that people are comforted and have confidence in those decisions if they know that we are taking advice from our scientists.”
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Labour’s shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds, meanwhile, said the two-metre social distancing rule should only be relaxed if the science backs such a move.
He told Sky News that public health and the economy were not “in conflict” but rather go hand in hand.
“If it did move to one metre without there being scientific advice backing that you would end up with a second peak, which would cause even greater economic damage,” he said.
“My message to the government is to be vigilant, be cautious, approach this in a structured way and publish the evidence so we can all see it, and we can get that restoration of confidence in the public health advice that the Dominic Cummings affair did so much damage to.”
Chief inspector of Ofsted Amanda Spielman, meanwhile, said “a reduced distance expectation will flow through to a greater capacity in schools”.
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"A reduced distance expectation will flow through to a greater capacity in schools."
Ofsted chief inspector, Amanda Spielman says a reduction in the two-metre rule will lead to greater capacity for pupils to return.#Ridge
Live analysis: https://t.co/s0vjwhnxAT pic.twitter.com/CjKXIjfKSF — Sophy Ridge on Sunday (@RidgeOnSunday) June 14, 2020
It comes amid much criticism that the government has been unable to reopen schools to all pupils, with many worrying about the impact on disadvantaged children.