thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-09--Tax Rise 'Reckoning' Will Come To Pay For Economic Rescue Package, Says IFS

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People will eventually have to pay higher taxes in order to pay for the economic rescue package rolled out by the government to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, a leading economic think-tank has warned.
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Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, yesterday announced £30bn of extra spending in an attempt to boost the recovery.
In his analysis of the mini-Budget, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the current recession was the “deepest in history”.
Paul Johnson said in “normal times” he would have been “taken aback” by the scale of the spending.
“The time to pay for all this will come. But not this year and not next,” he said.
“Our capacity to do so will depend above all on how the economy recovers.”
He added: “But let’s hold in the back of our minds that a reckoning, in the form of higher taxes, will come eventually.”
Johnson also said the more eye-catching measure unveiled by Sunak, a £1,000 bonus for companies for each employee they brought back from furlough, would effectively be wasted.
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“A lot, probably a majority, of the job retention bonus money will go in respect of jobs that would have been, indeed already have been, returned from furlough anyway,” he said.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4′s Today programme on Thursday morning, Sunak admitted “without question” there would be what is known as “deadweight”.
“Throughout this crisis I’ve had decisions to make and whether to act in a broad way at scale and at speed or to act in a more targeted and nuanced way,” he said.
“In an ideal world, you’re absolutely right, you would minimise that dead weight and do everything in incredibly targeted fashion.
“The problem is the severity of what was happening to our economy, the scale of what was happening, and indeed the speed that it was happening at demanded a different response.”
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The Resolution Foundation also said the policy would have a “significant deadweight cost” as most payments would “mainly going to firms who would have brought back those workers anyway”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-09--Too Little, Too Late? Independent Venue Owners Respond To The Government’s Arts Bailout

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“My venue has been running for 107 years, and in 107 years it has not closed for more than a day until Covid-19,” says Nathan Clark of the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds, which is one of thousands of independent venues hanging on a cliff edge, but given hope by the government’s arts bailout announced this week.
“Right now there is no music, no live performances. That isn’t part of the fabric and make up of the building,” he adds.
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While experts including The Stage’s Editor Alistair Smith believe the government were quicker in helping other industries such as sport, the performing arts sector, which includes theatre, comedy, live music and independent cinema, say their livelihoods have been decimated by the fallout from Covid-19. They say there has also been a lack of clarity about financial support, which may be too little, too late.
While the government spent months formulating its response, arts institutions including ATG, one of Britain’s largest theatre operators, have been forced to make mass redundancies. Even giant iconic venues such as The Royal Albert Hall said they would be forced to close if no help was offered.
All the while, statistics published by the government in February 2020 revealed how the sector contributed the equivalent of £306m every single day to the economy when it was up and running.
Giant arts institutions like the Royal Albert Hall have revealed they would have been forced to close - had the bailout not come Gonzalo Azumendi via Getty Images
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On July 5 Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden released details of a bailout the arts industry had been longing for: a £1.57 billion arts funding package. Although some say the support came months too late, others are pleased that a financial bailout has finally been offered.
But how will the cash be distributed? So far we know that £1.15 billion will be dished out in loans and grants across the UK. £100 million will be divided between national cultural institutions in England and the English Heritage Trust, and a further £120 million will help restart construction that was paused under lockdown. And another £188 million has been allocated across Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland.
This bailout is significant, because it is the first time the government has invested funding in grassroots music organisations, or “local basement venues” as Boris Johnson called them when the funding announcement was made, implying a commitment to venues large and very small.
However, experts from the arts fear freelancers and some venues will fall through cracks in the funding package - and that a lack of clarity for exactly how and when this money will be distributed may mean the fight isn’t over for independent venues and their workers.
Anthony Alderson, Artistic Director of the Pleasance Theatre Trust HuffPost UK
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The most immediate concerns are that venues across the country haven’t been told when they can open - nor when the cash injection will come.
“We are relying on our own reserves and our own prudent spending,” says Nathan from the Brudenell. “But there are venues out there that don’t have any reserves, that are now taking bank loans to get them through to a point that they can earn.”
“It’s quite difficult to be jumping around clapping my hands and popping the prosecco corks until we know exactly what processes we are facing,” says Kelly Jeffs, CEO at the Light House cinema in Wolverhampton.
“I await with trepidation the guidelines and possible levels of hoops to jump through to prove our worthiness of accessing support.”
Dowden hasn’t said whether the timeline will be days, weeks or months, and as the crucial summer season passes by, the livelihoods of staff and freelancers is becoming a critical concern.
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Unlike venue staff who have received furlough payments, many freelancers have been unable to claim support and have had to find other work during the pandemic to get by. Olivier and Tony Award-winning lighting designer Paule Constable told HuffPost UK that 36% of freelancers have had no financial support at all.
“They seem to have fallen through the net somewhat,” reflects Ryan Gleeson, who runs the Comedy Station Comedy Club in Lancashire. “They can’t be furloughed, due to the fact that they’re not quite employed, and they couldn’t access self employment assistance, as they weren’t quite self employed.”
Freelancers are the backbone of the arts industry, however a recent survey by BECTU revealed that 70% of creatives are worried about how they will pay their bills under the current climate.
With no shows, there’s no need for freelance lighting and sound, for example, and so skilled arts industry professionals have had to pick up temporary work. Nathan from the Brudenell believes this will have a knock-on effect: an absence of available freelancers means venues may struggle to get up and running again when they are eventually able to reopen.
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Fringe theatres, much like grassroots music venues and indie cinemas, also have an imperative yet invisible freelance task force and there’s the fear they may also get overlooked: technicians, writers, directors and the like.
“I share the concern that if the money goes only to bricks and mortar theatres, there won’t be anything to put in them,” says Anthony Alderson, Artistic Director of the Pleasance Theatre Trust. “The devil will, of course, be in the detail.”
Independent music venues haven't traditionally received government funding, so most venue owners are pleased with the payout Flashpop via Getty Images
Even if venues find adequate staffing to open, workers say there’s more complications beyond the financial. Venues will be running at reduced capacity due to social distancing - and that means not enough revenue will be made to justify the cost of putting on shows, says Ryan from the Comedy Station Comedy Club.
“Running reduced capacity in any theatre obviously means the running costs are virtually impossible to meet,” he says.
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Plus, he asserts: “The most significant impact of having empty seats is the loss of atmosphere. This is amplified in a comedy club environment, where the entire atmosphere and enjoyment comes not just from the comedian on stage, but also the audience.”
“A half empty comedy club simply isn’t feasible, regardless of running costs. If it were your first time watching live comedy and it was no different than watching at home, you wouldn’t return.”
The Comedy Station Comedy Club, which has been shuttered since Covid-19 caused all independent venues to close HuffPost UK
Nick Stewart, manager at Sneaky Pete’s club in Edinburgh, feels differently. He believes it is the venue’s responsibility to open, regardless of crowd size, as opening will inevitably mean more opportunities for work, even if the risk is putting on weirdly socially distant shows.
“Investment in venues means investment in freelancers, because we are the places where they derive their source of income,” he says. “Lose the venues and no one has anywhere to be freelance.”
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But revivifying the economy isn’t the only reason that venues should reopen.
“Grassroots music venues really are the research and development department of the UK music industry, so preserving that benefits everyone all the way up the chain,” says Nick from Sneaky Pete’s.
“If the money goes to the right places, then it’ll keep us in business for a start, and then it can enable us to keep making performance opportunities for new artists,” he says.
It is grassroots venues - not established venues like the Royal Albert Hall - which provide platforms for new creatives to flourish, backstage and on stage: small venues aren’t only at the heart of thriving communities, they are essential entry points into the industry.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-09--Rishi Sunak Says He Doesn't Want People 'Just Sitting There On Furlough'

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Rishi Sunak has said he does not want workers “just sitting there on furlough” as he admitted his plan to pay a bonus to companies for keeping on staff would inevitably waste money.
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The chancellor yesterday unveiled £30bn of extra spending in an attempt to boost the economy as the coronavirus lockdown lifts.
Sunak’s most eye-catching measure was to promise a £1,000 bonus to firms for every employee brought back from furlough.
If employers bring back all nine million people who have been on furlough, this would be a £9bn expenditure by the government.
The Resolution Foundation said the policy would have a “significant deadweight cost” as most payments would “mainly going to firms who would have brought back those workers anyway”.
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The think-tank said it would “not make a major difference to employment levels”.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4′s Today programme on Thursday morning, Sunak admitted “without question there will be deadweight”.
“Throughout this crisis I’ve had decisions to make and whether to act in a broad way at scale and at speed or to act in a more targeted and nuanced way,” he said.
“In an ideal world, you’re absolutely right, you would minimise that dead weight and do everything in incredibly targeted fashion.
“The problem is the severity of what was happening to our economy, the scale of what was happening, and indeed the speed that it was happening at demanded a different response.”
Defending his decision to bring the furlough scheme to an end in October, the chancellor said it was not “sustainable” to have a situation where jobs only existed because of the government subsidy.
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“We are not doing those people any favours by not allowing them to get the skills they need to find a new opportunity,” he said.
“Just sitting there on furlough forever means their skills fade an thy lose that opportunity to move onto a different job.”
Other measures included Sunak’s mini-Budget was an “eat out to help out” plan for dining out in August to boost the hospitality sector, a cut to VAT on food, accommodation and attractions from 20% to 5% from July 15 until January 12 and a temporary increase in the stamp duty threshold.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-09--Celebrity MasterChef's Dominic Littlewood Serves Up Show's Funniest Blunder Ever After Cooking Timer

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There’s been a fair number of gaffes on MasterChef over the years, but none as great as the one Dominic Littlewood made on the celebrity edition on Wednesday night.
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The TV presenter had viewers of the BBC cookery competition in stitches, after accidentally cooking a plastic timer.
Dominic Littlewood on cooked a plastic timer on Celebrity MasterChef BBC
The episode saw Dom and hockey player Sam Quek sent to an Indian restaurant where he was tasked with making naan bread.
After failing to get the dough to stick to the outside of the tandoor-style oven, he called the restaurant’s chef over for a helping hand.
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However, the chef quickly realised that Dom had dropped the kitchen’s plastic timer into the oven and it was melting on the hot surface.
As they pulled the timer out it burst into flames, Dom joked: “Let’s be honest, chef, this is going spectacularly wrong.”
In the battle of @DomLittlewood vs tandoor oven... the tandoor won 🤣
Celebrity #MasterChefUK is streaming right now on @BBCiPlayer 👉 https://t.co/63D2aIRs1i pic.twitter.com/UUnv4Pn6Aj — MasterChef UK 🍴 (@MasterChefUK) July 8, 2020
After, he added: “I’ve burnt my hand, I’ve cremated about six naan breads out of eight and also cooked a timer.
“It doesn’t seem to be getting any easier.”
Viewers were left in hysterics at the blunder...
Dom Littlewood dropping his timer in a fire pit on Masterchef is nothing short of Tv Gold. — Ryan Elliott (@ryjelliott) July 8, 2020
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Think @DomLittlewood cooking the timer in the tandoor oven has got to be one of the funniest things to ever happen on MasterChef😅😅 — Sarah Clark (@SarahClark_x) July 8, 2020
Hands down one of my favourite Celebrity MasterChef moments happened tonight
Dominic Littlewood accidentally cooking and melting a plastic timer 😂😭 — Laura | BLM (@mxrionettes) July 8, 2020
He didn’t even notice that he put the plastic timer in the tandoor 😂 #MasterChef — Manisha H (@MHurchurn) July 8, 2020
Dominic Littlewood cooking the timer on celebrity masterchef is some of the funniest telly I’ve seen in years 😂 — JOIN A UNION #BlackLivesMatter (@emssilly) July 8, 2020
Dom Littlewood cooking a garlic naan on Celeb MasterChef needs to be nominated for a BAFTA. — Emily Broncz #bIacklivesmatter (@BronczEmily) July 8, 2020
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Despite his mistake, Dom still made it through to the next round of the competition after impressing judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode enough with a rice dish presented inside a pineapple.
Instead, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star Baga Chipz was eliminated after failing to wow the judges with her trademark fish and chips.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-09--The Tear Gas Burned For Hours. The Effects On My Body May Last A Lifetime

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I was working as a legal observer in San Francisco when I was exposed to the chemical agent known as tear gas.
Touted as the safest known “riot dispersion” tactic in civilian uprisings, the compound is categorised as a chemical warfare agent and its use is banned in warfare. Yet it was recently used in Montreal to break up a Black Lives Matter protest in the wake of the death of George Floyd, and has been deployed countless times across the United States over the last month.
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My own encounter left me with long-term disruptions to my reproductive health. It happened just after U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration, when I was an undergraduate at Stanford University in California. A pressing need for advocates at rallies and demonstrations had inspired me to obtain training from the National Lawyers Guild. I felt pride donning my neon-green cap and reflective vest, symbols of my desire to support the rights of people protesting by documenting police behaviour, and connecting those arrested with immediate counsel.
The protest was peaceful, but the atmosphere was charged. Soon, riot police were shooting tear gas canisters directly into the crowd, instead of into the air. Far from de-escalation, the gas provoked chaos. Even from near the edge of the fleeing crowd, I couldn’t escape the rapidly dispersing cloud.
Seconds after contact, I felt nothing. Then the chlorobenzylidene malononitrile powder began adhering to moisture on my skin. A severe burning sensation in my eyes, nose and the inside of my mouth followed. My eyes started streaming tears, worsening the pain. Activated pain receptors made me nauseated and short of breath. I escaped the fray and a medic flushed my eyes out with cold water, bundling my vest into a plastic bag. Brief exposure meant the effects lasted only a few hours. I wasn’t hit with a canister or a truncheon. As an Indigenous woman at a protest, I felt I was lucky.
Then two days later I missed my period.
“I had no idea what had happened to me. I wondered whether the police had any idea what they had done to me, either.”
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I knew that exposure to tear gas put me at a higher risk of developing pneumonia, but this was not a side-effect I had anticipated. Weeks went by. That nauseous feeling remained. Finally, I had my period after almost three months, but it took even longer to regain a sense of normalcy. I reached out to the medic who had come to my aid, and she reported the opposite: non-stop bleeding and painful cramps for weeks. I spoke to other water protectors who were more heavily tear-gassed at Standing Rock, and they did not get their periods for a year.
Being on the front lines of a social justice movement can be very challenging — emotionally and physically — but a year-long absence of menstruation is a serious disruption to the functions of one’s endocrine system, which can’t be accounted for by stress alone.
I had no idea what had happened to me. I wondered whether the police had any idea what they had done to me, either.
The writer at a protest in Standing Rock. Eva Grant
The War Resisters League, a pacifist organisation, includes disrupted menstruation as a possible side-effect of tear gas. There is very little research into the negative long-term effects, and even fewer studies focusing on those of us whose reproductive system includes a uterus and ovaries.
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Here are some things we do know about the suggested link between tear gas exposure and miscarriage, as well as adverse effects on the fetus during pregnancy:
In 1988, the United Nations attributed “dozens” of miscarriages to tear gas fired by Israeli soldiers against Palestinian demonstrators.
In 2011, Chile temporarily banned the use of tear gas against protesters after a University of Chile study showed chlorobenzylidene malonontrile might cause miscarriages, as well as “affect reproductive function, damage the fetus in the last trimester of pregnancy and children in the first years of life.”
In 2012, the non-profit Physicians for Human Rights reported that, following the use of tear gas by government forces in Bahrain, doctors said they had noticed a significant rise in miscarriages in neighbourhoods where tear gas was used frequently.
In 2016, a US National Library of Medicine publication cited circumstantial reports as suggesting “a correlation between CS exposure and miscarriage.”
As there is scant research regarding the effects of tear gas on reproduction and fertility, activists are sounding the alarm. Many on Twitter reported spontaneous bleeding and painful cramps that last weeks after exposure, even if they had IUDs or were on testosterone. They are demanding to know what has been done to their bodies without their consent.
I’m a mess...I just started my period AGAIN. That’s the third time since repeatedly heavily exposure to tear gas in the uprisings.Others are saying regardless of IUDs or taking T, they’re having multiple periods too. @ColumbusGov tell the people what’s happening to our bodies. — Abolition4Life #Blacktranslivesmatter (@ChaStewart22) June 14, 2020
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I value scientific research enormously, but I do not believe in the infallibility of science, nor its ability to present findings completely free of bias. Women of colour like me are already under-represented in medical research. We suffer daily the consequences of an inadequate scientific knowledge base for issues disproportionally affecting us, and if we are also queer, non-binary or transgender, that burden intensifies.
“I never want another person to go through what I went through, unsure of the damage that had been done to me by the state.”
The use of tear gas forms part of this legacy of reproductive terrorism Canada and the United States have inflicted on Black and Indigenous people under the mantle of “science,” “progress” or simply “convenience.”
It is terror to be exposed to a chemical weapon whose long-term effects have never been studied.
It is terror to be put at risk of miscarriage or unpredictable menstrual cycles.
It is terror to be forced to choose between my ability to have children and my ability to fight for a better future for those children.
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In 1989, Dr. Howard Hu and other medical investigators from Physicians for Human Rights asserted that if a weapon was found to present “too serious a risk” to the public, that it was “the responsibility of those in charge of public safety to decide on alternatives.” It is not my responsibility to present comprehensive solutions, but it is my responsibility to share my experience and to use my voice to call for change.
I never want another person to go through what I went through, unsure of the damage that had been done to me by the state for peacefully attending a protest. Use of tear gas must be outlawed in Canada.
NDP MP Matthew Green has sponsored a House of Commons petition calling for its nationwide ban on the basis that it “can and has caused death, miscarriage and significant long-term health effects.”
There is an urgent need to reform Canada’s justice system to prevent the senseless violence inflicted on Black and Indigenous people. These goals will take time, but there’s a reason I have continued donning my beloved legal observer cap after all these years. It’s because I know one small action is enough to give hope. And banning tear gas is that action.
This article first appeared on HuffPost Canada Personal
Have a compelling personal story you want to tell? Find out what we’re looking for here, and pitch us on ukpersonal@huffpost.com


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-09--Extremist Groups 'Using Coronavirus Pandemic To Spread Divisive and Racist Narratives'

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Extremist groups have “fully exploited” the coronavirus pandemic in order to incite “hatred, violence, public disorder and a breakdown in community cohesion”, according to a new report.
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Using “divisive, xenophobic and racist narratives”, extremists “breed hate” through “dangerous conspiracy theories”, most notably online.
The study by the Commission for Countering Extremism cited reports of British far-right activities and neo-Nazi groups encouraging people to “deliberately infect” Jews and Muslims.
There were also reports of Islamists claiming coronavirus was punishment against China “for its treatment of Uighur Muslims”.
The study comes a week after HuffPost UK revealed racists are using the local lockdown in Leicester to spread hate about its Asian communities.
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Posts containing “misinformation” and fake news were shared thousands of times, and 90% of them were not acted on by social media companies after volunteers reported them.
The government must tackle the problem as extremists will seek to “capitalise on the socio-economic impacts of Covid-19 to cause further long-term instability, fear and division in Britain,” the report said.
It also warned it was “critical” the government ensure it takes into account the “significant threat of hateful extremism and the dangerous narratives spread by conspiracy theories” in the current pandemic and in future crises.
The impact “extremist propaganda and disinformation to our democracy cannot be overstated”, the report warned.
Sara Khan, who leads the commission, said: “The pandemic has not discouraged extremists from propagating their hateful ideologies.
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“On the contrary they have, as is always the case in a crisis, fully exploited the lockdown to promote dangerous conspiracy theories and disinformation, most notably online.
“They seek to mainstream extremist narratives in society, for the sole purpose of inciting hatred, violence, public disorder and a breakdown in community cohesion.
“We have already seen how extremists discussed the 5G conspiracy theory on fringe social media platforms such as Telegram.
“In April 50 5G masts were targeted for arson and vandalism in the UK.”
Khan has previously described the government’s response to tackling extremism as “weak and “insufficient” and in need of a “complete and urgent overhaul”.
The former head of counter-terrorism, Sir Mark Rowley, is leading the inquiry which will examine whether existing legislation adequately addresses “hateful extremism”.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-09--Trump’s Florida Convention Could Be The First That Actually Helps Lose A State

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When Donald Trump moved his Republican nominating convention to Florida after yanking it from North Carolina last month, the extra hassle and cost at least carried the benefit of shoring up his support in the country’s highest-value swing state.
Four weeks later, with coronavirus cases flaring across the state, the move may instead make it that much harder for Trump to win Florida’s 29 electoral votes ― votes that, if he loses them, would almost certainly guarantee his loss nationally.
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“If they move forward with that convention, with the numbers the way they are, people are just going to think they’re crazy,” said Kim Nymeyer, president of the North Pinellas County Democratic Club, adding that Trump’s insistence on holding an in-person coronation amid a pandemic gives her side yet another argument. “I do think Trump is taking the rope and hanging himself without any help from us.”
Trump seemed to back away from his demand for a packed house in an interview with Voice of America on Tuesday. “When we signed a few weeks ago, it looked good. And now all of a sudden it’s spiking up a little bit and that’s going to go down. It really depends on the timing. . . . We can do a lot of things, but we’re very flexible.”
Plans for the three days of rallies at a minor league hockey arena in Jacksonville in late August, meanwhile, continued moving forward Wednesday.
One top Republican close to the White House acknowledged things could, indeed, go badly and wind up hurting Trump’s chances of winning the all-important state.
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“It could be OK. If he has a decent crowd, and he gets up and knocks the speech out of the park. That’s the best case,” he said on condition of anonymity. “Worst case? No one comes, it looks empty and there’s a bunch of protests, which becomes the big story in the middle of a pandemic.”
Complications for that best-case scenario are already apparent. Under Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s standing executive order, indoor facilities cannot be filled to beyond 50% capacity, meaning, in the case of Jacksonville’s VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, only 7,500 would be admitted inside, just 1,300 more than were in the sparsely attended Tulsa, Oklahoma, campaign rally on June 20.
The Republican National Convention is currently planning to test every single one of the attendees daily for the coronavirus, but if cases are still surging in Florida, daily tests of Trump delegates and supporters would raise questions about why so many medical resources were being devoted to an unnecessary celebration.
Finally, there is the choice of the day itself, August 27, the anniversary of “Ax Handle Saturday,” the day in 1961 when Blacks conducting a lunch counter sit-in were brutally attacked by about 200 white people wielding axe handles and baseball bats.
“It’s one of the lowlights of Jacksonville’s history,” said Mike Binder, a University of North Florida political science professor whose recent poll showed that Jacksonville residents, by a 58-42 margin, opposed having the convention there right now. “It’s hard to imagine this going well…. Nobody else had their hand up wanting this thing.”
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Trouble For Trump In His New Home State
Even before the pandemic swept all else aside, there were signs that Trump ought not to have been counting on his newly adopted home state to deliver for him.
At a late January meeting of Nymeyer’s Democratic club at the Dunedin Scottish Arts Foundation’s meeting room a few blocks from the town’s main drag, volunteers had to set out extra rows of folding chairs to accommodate all the arrivals.
Nymeyer asked for first-timers to raise their hands and explain why they had come. To a person, they mentioned Trump.
“I’m just pissed off,” said an African American woman.
“I’m here to make sure we win this year,” said a white male retiree.
Added an older white woman: “I’m just here because I’m mad as hell.”
Nymeyer thanked them for coming. “We need you to stop yelling at your TV and start volunteering.”
At the time, she and other Democrats in the area worried that a favorite of the party’s progressive wing, such as senator Bernie Sanders or senator Elizabeth Warren could win the nomination, making it hard to win a more moderate swing state like Florida.
President Donald Trump participates in a White House event Tuesday with students, teachers and administrators on how to reopen schools during the coronavirus pandemic. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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But with former vice president Joe Biden leading the ticket, that worry is gone. Even better, Nymeyer said, the former Sanders and Warren supporters appear to agree that the overarching goal of removing Trump is paramount. “The votes are out there. The key is to go get them,” she said.
Steve Schale, the Democratic consultant who ran former President Barack Obama’s 2008 victory in Florida and is now working for a pro-Biden super PAC, said he assumes Trump and his campaign will do a competent job of turning out Republican votes, which will get them to about 48%, while he hopes Democrats will do a decent job with their voters, which would get Biden to 48%.
Winning the remaining 2% plus 1 will involve persuading people, he said, adding that, right now, most polls show Biden is ahead 5 or 6 percentage points in the state. “The question is, how much of that is in the moment?”
Starting with the famously razor-thin, 537-vote margin of the 2000 election, just two presidential races in Florida have been decided by a margin larger than a point and half, and even those were close: George W Bush’s reelection in 2004, when he won by 5 points, and Obama’s 2008 election, when he won by 3.
The other two presidential contests, the three governor’s races since 2010 and, in 2018, the US Senate race, have been so close that the average victory margin has been 0.8 percentage point.
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Given that, Schale said, the Biden campaign should be happy to be where it is. “They’re ahead. They’re doing something right. I don’t know how much of that is organizational and how much of that is Trump being Trump.”
“I Will Vote For A Shoe Over Donald Trump”
That Trump is Trump, though, may well be the best argument Democrats have heading into November.
Four years ago, Adriana Rivera, a Puerto Rican native new to South Florida, had been captivated by Sanders’s primary run but had been turned off by eventual nominee Hillary Clinton and did not bother to vote.
After 3½ years of Trump in the White House, she said, she will not repeat that mistake. “This time around, I will vote for a shoe over Donald Trump. We didn’t know what a Trump presidency would be like. Now we’ve seen it. We’ve seen how horrible it is.”
Others in the progressive community ― Rivera again supported Sanders in the primaries this time around ― and Florida’s Puerto Rican community feel the same way, she said, particularly in the aftermath of Trump’s botched response to the pandemic, which in Florida has been exacerbated by a dysfunctional state unemployment claims system that has disproportionately hurt Latinos, who tend to live paycheck to paycheck.
“I think people are beyond the point of frustrated and are now just angry,” said Rivera, who works with the Florida Immigrant Coalition.
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The Trump campaign did not respond to HuffPost requests for comment regarding its Florida strategy. At a Trump rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, in February, communications director Tim Murtaugh ridiculed the idea of even needing one: “We’re going to win Florida. It’s only a matter of when the Dems give up.”
That, though, was before the pandemic spread across the country following weeks of Trump downplaying it, claiming it would go away on its own, even calling it a “hoax” pumped up by Democrats and the news media to hurt his reelection chances.
The informal Republican White House adviser said Republicans’ superior voter turnout operation would, in the end, let Trump win Florida.
“We’re probably down 2 to 4 points. And we’ll win by 1 to 2 points,” he said.
One longtime GOP veteran of Florida politics, however, said that assessment assumes both that the pandemic fades from the state and employment has rebounded to where it was before the crisis.
“They know this. It’s like a baseball team that’s losing. You can’t fire the team, but you can fire the coach,” said Mac Stipanovich, the former chief of staff to Republican Gov. Bob Martinez in the late 1980s who then ran Jeb Bush’s first, unsuccessful, bid for governor in 1994. “If things go well, he gets the credit. If things go badly, he gets the blame.”
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Which is why, he added, he cannot understand Trump’s insistence on staging his convention in a state that he has to win.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-09--John Benfield, Prime Suspect Actor, Dies At The Age Of 68

Prime Suspect actor John Benfield has died at the age of 68.
The British TV star, whose real name was John Turner, is said to have battled a rare form of cancer and died at the Sobell House Hospice in Oxford on 16 June.
John Benfield as DCS Michael Kernan in Prime Suspect ITV/Shutterstock
John’s agents told the Oxford Mail that the actor had always brought “truth and integrity to his roles and was an imposing, strong and rugged figure, with a soul and belief in his craft”.
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The actor was best known for his role as Detective Chief Superintendent Michael Kernan in ITV’s Prime Suspect alongside Dame Helen Mirren.
Helen Mirren (as DCI Jane Tennison), John Benfield (as DSI Michael Kernan) and Craig Fairbrass (as DI Frank Burkin) in Prime Suspect. ITV/Shutterstock
The hugely popular police drama, which aired between 1991 and 2006, focused on a no-nonsense female Detective Chief Inspector, Jane Tennison (Mirren) who has to prove herself in a male-dominated profession, with the support of her boss, DCS Mike Kernan (Benfield).
He appeared in over 70 other TV shows or films throughout his career, including Buster (1988), Beautiful Thing (1996) and the TV shows Doctor Who, Hippies, The Worst Week of My Life and Sharpe’s Revenge.
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He is survived by his wife Lilian, son Freddie, and grandson Rex.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-09--Gwyneth Paltrow Gets 14-Year-Old Son Moses A 'Boob Puzzle' To Pass The Time In Lockdown

“My teenage daughters and I did this puzzle during quarantine for Covid-19,” she wrote. “It was great fun, and our conversation was fantastic. I don’t think we’d ever talked about types of boobs before. It was actually a bit beautiful how it opened up communication about body image.”
But many on Twitter didn’t think Paltrow, who markets candles called This Smells Like My Vagina and This Smells Like My Orgasm, should have given the puzzle to her teenage son.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-09--‘They’ll Kill Me’: Transcripts Show George Floyd Pleaded For Air More Than 20 Times

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George Floyd said more than 20 times that he couldn’t breathe, but his pleas were repeatedly ignored as a white police officer knelt on his neck, killing him, according to transcripts of body camera footage released Wednesday.
The accounts add shocking new details of the minutes surrounding the Black man’s death in Minneapolis on May 25 and show how a cooperative encounter with officers quickly turned deadly, setting off nationwide protests calling for the dramatic reform of American policing.
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In the transcripts, Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer who has been charged in Floyd’s death, repeatedly ignores the handcuffed man’s calls for air and disregarded another officer who asked if Floyd, who was pinned to the pavement, should be moved onto his side.
Floyd: “My stomach hurts. My neck hurts. Everything hurts. I needs some water or something, please. Please? I can’t breathe, officer.” Chauvin: “Then stop talking, stop yelling.” Floyd: “You’re going to kill me, man.” Chauvin: “Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk.”
The transcripts came from body cameras worn by two of the four officers who were involved in the arrest of Floyd and have since been fired, Thomas Lane and J Alexander Kueng. An attorney for Lane asked that his case be dismissed on Wednesday, pointing out that the transcripts show Lane asked Chauvin twice if he should turn Floyd on his side.
Chauvin, a 19-year veteran of the department, refused. “No, he’s staying put where we got him,” Chauvin said.
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Chavin has been charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter and faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted. Lane, Kueng and Tou Thao, the fourth officer, have been charged with aiding and abetting the killing of Floyd.
Community members gather in Minneapolis, where George Floyd was killed. The intersection served as a memorial and sacred space to honor Floyd. Steel Brooks/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The transcript also adds context to Floyd’s arrest, which came after a report that he had tried to use a counterfeit $20 bill at a store. In the transcript, Floyd was recorded telling officers he was fearful of the police because he had been shot once before, and he begged them not to place him in a squad car because he was claustrophobic.
“I’ll do anything, I’ll do anything y’all tell me to, man,” Floyd was heard saying. “I’m not resisting, man. I’m not! I’m not!”
He later told the officers he was “scared.”
“Mama, I love you,” Floyd said at one point. “Tell my kids I love them. I’m dead.”
Lane’s attorney, Earl Gray, has called for the full video from his client’s body camera to be made public, saying it shows the “whole picture” and is more detailed than the bystander videos that first sparked national outrage. Gray has argued Chauvin bears the brunt of responsibility for Floyd’s death as the superior officer on the scene.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-09--Fears For Glee Actor Naya Rivera After Star Goes Missing At Californian Lake

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Glee star Naya Rivera has gone missing at a lake in Southern California, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department said.
A search operation was launched after her four-year-old son was reportedly found alone on a rented boat at Lake Piru.
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The search will resume “at first light” on Thursday, the sheriff’s department said.
Naya Rivera played Santana on Glee. FOX via Getty Images
Rivera, 33, is best known for playing Santana Lopez on the musical comedy series.
According to local reports quoting the sheriff’s department, Nivera rented a boat at Lake Piru at about 1pm local time. Rivera and her son were swimming, and he was wearing a life vest, but she was not.
The alarm was raised and a search operation launched using helicopters, drones and dive teams, police said.
just the two of us pic.twitter.com/wCunAlGJ1B — Naya Rivera (@NayaRivera) July 7, 2020
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Naya welcomed son, Josey Hollis, with then-husband Ryan Dorsey in 2015.
On Tuesday, Rivera tweeted a picture of her and the boy together, which was captioned: “Just the two of us.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-09--Why 'EQ' Is The Most Important Thing You Can Teach Your Kids

Tom Werner via Getty Images "EQ" might be the most important skill parents can help teach their children.
For decades, parents searching for a clearer picture of their children’s supposed brainpower turned to IQ (“intelligence quotient”) tests.
They’ve largely fallen out of favour, partly because experts say they don’t work but also because parents’ values in terms of what they want for their kids and expect of them have changed.
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These days, more than 90% of parents say it is important to them to raise kids who are caring. We want children who are emotionally stable and empathetic. We want kids who are equipped to deal with a difficult and ever-changing world.
In other words, move over IQ (yes, to a point). We want kids with high “EQ.”
Here’s what parents need to know about the concept and how to get started.
“EQ” is all about emotional intelligence.
There isn’t a clear-cut definition for what “EQ” (“emotional quotient”) actually means because it’s really a loose, unofficial term. But generally, when people talk about EQ, they’re talking about a person’s emotional intelligence. And according to psychologist and science journalist Daniel Goleman, who helped popularise the term in the 1990s, emotional intelligence generally encompasses four domains: a person’s self-awareness, their ability to self-manage, their social awareness, and their ability to manage relationships effectively.
Put even more simply? Emotional intelligence is all about having “greater awareness of your emotions so that you can manage them more effectively,” Korrel Kanoy, author of “The Student EQ Edge: Emotional Intelligence and Your Academic and Personal Success,” told HuffPost.
Because the whole concept of emotional intelligence is broad, there aren’t big, robust scientific studies that say having high EQ clearly leads to long-term benefits.
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But there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence that being self-aware and being able to work through tough emotions in a constructive way will only help kids throughout their lives.
The first step? Help kids identify their feelings.
One of the most powerful things parents and caregivers can do to help children foster emotional intelligence is simply to help them figure out what they’re feeling.
“Old-school parenting said you tell your children ‘Don’t cry’ or ‘Don’t get mad’ — but we now know that parents should do the exact opposite,” Kanoy said. “Of course they are going to get sad. They are going to get mad. They’re human beings.”
Instead of encouraging kids to just get over their feelings, parents should actively help them identify what they’re experiencing. And experts like Kanoy believe that practice of noticing and naming feelings can start at a really young age. If, for example, you have a toddler who is pouting because you told them “no,” point out that they look like they’re feeling angry or frustrated, she urged.
“Old-school parenting said you tell your children 'Don't cry' or 'Don't get mad.'” - Korrel Kanoy, author of "The Student EQ Edge: Emotional Intelligence and Your Academic and Personal Success"
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There are a lot of simple tools and strategies that can help kids practice identifying what they’re feeling, like a basic “mood meter” with four colours that they can check in with periodically. To start, keep it really simple: red = angry, blue = sad, green = calm, yellow = happy — or something like that.
Another idea? Have kiddos rank their emotions on a scale from 1-10, and do that yourself — pointing out when you’re feeling really heated or when you’re calm. Or try a “feeling thermometer.” It doesn’t really matter what tool you use (or if you use one); all that matters is that parents take steps to help their kiddos tune in to their feelings rather than deny them.
“Paying attention to our emotions is the first step to learning how to manage them. Sometimes just articulating an emotion helps to defuse it,” says the Child Mind Institute’s website. “Too often we try to pretend we aren’t feeling negative emotions until it’s too late and we are feeling terrible.”
Be ready with some healthy strategies for coping.
Learning how to cope with emotions is, obviously, a lifelong project, and it’s not your job as a parent to have all the answers. But you can help children develop emotional intelligence by showing them the ways you grapple with difficult feelings.
Kids learn by watching their parents, particularly when they’re young. So be really deliberate about pointing out when you experience difficult emotions yourself, and be equally deliberate about talking through how you cope. You’re normalising the fact that we all experience stress and sadness and anger, and that there’s nothing “wrong” with your kid if they do, too.
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The Child Mind Institute’s website offers this really clear (and pretty low-stakes) example: If you’re upset because you forgot something at the grocery store, tell your kid how you’re feeling. Then really deliberately call out what you’re doing to get through it. “You might say, ‘I’m going to take some deep breaths to calm down — that often helps me.’”
(If you need to brush up on your own coping strategies, this chart from Colorado Children’s Hospital has some really simple ideas. There are also really great kids books out there that can help on your quest to raise kind, emotionally intelligent kids.)
Lastly, there is a third, crucial step to this process that Kanoy said parents sometimes forget. When you see your kid identifying what they’re feeling and actively trying to find ways to cope with it, pile on the praise. Let them know you value their efforts. Unfortunately, that’s a message American parents appear to need some serious help sending. Despite the fact that so many parents say they want to raise emotionally stable, caring children, surveys suggest that kids mistakenly believe that their parents are much more concerned about their personal success.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-09--Grin And Bear It: Why We’re Having Avoidable Tooth Extractions

razyph via Getty Images
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“I hate the gap,” says 49-year-old Angela Wood, who recently had a tooth extracted. “Luckily it’s at the side of my mouth and everyone says you can’t see it, but I can. I’m very self-conscious of it. Very.”
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Wood is one of many people across England to have lost a tooth during the Covid-19 pandemic, because while dental practices were allowed to reopen on June 8, one month later, the treatments dentists can offer are still limited. Shockingly, it comes down to PPE shortages.
Aerosol generating procedures (AGPs) require a higher level of PPE than non-aerosol treatments, meaning in some cases, extractions are the only option.
“We have a shortage of PPE,” explains dentist Kate Davis, who treats both private and NHS patients in Somerset. “The PPE I need to perform advanced treatments such as fillings, root fillings, crowns and difficult extractions is the same PPE doctors need in hospitals for treating patents with Covid.
“So all I can do at this stage is simple temporary fillings, simple extractions, dentures and examinations.”
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Angela Wood Angela Wood
Wood developed tooth and jaw ache in the bottom-left side of her mouth at the start of lockdown – something relatively usual for her, as she grinds her teeth. But due to practice closures, she wasn’t able to see her dentist to adjust her mouth guard or check if there was another problem. The pain eventually grew unbearable.
After weeks of phone calls and a prescription of antibiotics that made no difference, Wood secured a face-to-face appointment. Here though, the dentist informed her she’d have to lose a tooth.
“I was told in ‘normal’ circumstances, I could have root canal treatment on this, but they were unable to say when this could take place now and it could be months,” she says. “I had been in pain for six weeks solid, day and night. The extraction itself was pretty horrendous and took over half an hour.”
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Unfortunately, the extraction didn’t solve her pain. When Wood contacted the dentist again, she was told the only option available was a second extraction.
Not wanting to lose a second tooth, she sought the advice of a private jaw specialist, who diagnosed her with severe Temporomandibular disorder (TMJ), which causes pain of the jaw. The consultant, she says, believes the first extraction was not necessary.
“After the extraction I was waking with nightmares about the whole experience regularly,” says Wood. “So far I’ve spent £315 on private dental care, with no end in sight as to when I can get my entitlement to NHS care.”
The British Dental Association (BDA) confirmed to HuffPost UK that patients are being submitted to tooth extractions that may have been avoidable. “Many practices have been left with no option but to offer extractions on teeth that could have been saved,” said BDA chair, Mick Armstrong.
“As long as official guidance and PPE shortages set limits on what dentists can do, we will keep seeing Victorian dentistry delivered in 21st century Britain.
“Higher costs and a collapse in patient numbers mean thousands of practices face a deeply uncertain future. The government needs to step up to ensure a service millions depend on can survive the new normal.”
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Roxanne Kavanagh, a 50-year-old based in Yate near Bristol, has also recently had a tooth extracted. She began experiencing pain in the bottom right side of her mouth in April, but says all she heard when she called her NHS dentist and the local emergency dental hub was “extractions, extractions, extractions”.
“I don’t have many teeth left, through no fault of my own, so I didn’t want this extracted unless I absolutely had to,” she says.
She spent months in pain, but managed to find a private dentist in Somerset with enough PPE to perform an aerosol treatment.
Roxanne Kavanagh Roxanne Kavanagh
The private dentist performed a treatment called a non-vital pulpotomy on Kavanagh’s tooth for £400, but warned her that it might not work. Kavanagh had to borrow the money from her mother – she claims benefits, so would usually be entitled to free NHS dental treatment.
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Unfortunately, the treatment failed. Kavanagh couldn’t afford to pay for a second treatment offered to try and save the tooth, so ended up having it extracted anyway. “If NHS dentists are still not doing AGPs, what’s the use of restaurants opening and McDonalds opening if nobody has any teeth to eat with?” she says. “It’s like it’s gone back to the 1900s.”
Kavanagh has been left with dry socket – a painful side effect that sometimes occurs following an extraction – and says the whole experience has left her feeling “abandoned”. She’s also concerned about the accessibility of dentistry for people on a budget.
“Before Covid, I didn’t really have a fear of dentists or my teeth,” she says. “Now I wake up every morning and think: ‘how’s my teeth, how’s my teeth, how’s my teeth?’ I’m scared what will happen if I get another toothache. Am I going to go in and all they’re going to say is, ‘sorry, all we can do is pull your teeth out’? It’s made me very paranoid over my mouth.”
Dentist Kate Davis says she’s “confident lots of people will suffer loss of teeth that will have been, in part, contributed to by delayed treatment” in this pandemic. Teeth that could’ve been saved with a simple filling are being left untreated in some cases, she says, meaning decay spreads and can infect the nerve in the middle of the tooth.
“In order to save this tooth, you would then need either a root filling (which, unless you are a NHS patient, costs considerably more than a simple filling) or an extraction,” she explains. “For some patients the cost of the root filling will lead them to choose the more drastic extraction.”
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Another financial barrier is the cost of PPE. Some private practices, including the one Davis works for, “have been forced to add a PPE surcharge to patients”. Her practice charges £7 per appointment for the PPE required for basic treatment (check ups, extractions and dentures) or £40 for the total PPE required for more advanced treatments (fillings, crowns and root fillings).
“These costs are sadly a necessary evil, the cost to my company alone for PPE has increased 100-fold since coronavirus,” she says. “All of these things will make seeing a dentist harder and more expensive. Prevention of dental disease has never been more crucial.”
Commenting on the issues, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told HuffPost UK: “We are working around the clock to make sure all frontline healthcare staff, including dentists, have the PPE they need as routine services begin to resume.
“Our priority is to ensure public and patient safety and the NHS has made it clear that this is a gradual restart, with the pace set by individual clinicians. The 600 NHS urgent dental care centres will also continue to treat patients in need until dental practices can safely offer a wider range of services.”
In the meantime, patients like Wood and Kavanagh will have to save for dental implants – the average cost is £2,415 per tooth in the UK – or live with tooth gaps forever.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-09--What You Need To Know Before Booking A Holiday

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You’re reading our series Summer’s Not Cancelled, where we celebrate summer in this new normal. From rediscovering nature and cherishing time with friends and family, to virtual festivals and unforgettable staycations – summer’s still here, it’s just different.
We know you’re itching to get away at the first chance you get, but it’s worth keeping in mind that – with lockdown easing and travel restrictions lifting – pretty much everyone else has the same idea.
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Beaches and beauty spots can become overcrowded quickly, making the one-metre plus social distancing rule tricky to maintain, and it can be difficult to get reservations you want with holiday booking sites reporting record sales.
There are ways around this by opting for smaller independent websites and destinations off-the-beaten track. But before you bag yourself a cheap travel deal or jump into a car for a staycation, it’s worth getting clued up on the dos and don’ts of travelling beforehand. Here’s everything you need to know.
Where can you travel?
For those wanting to stay closer to home, the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Ireland Government’s five-mile travel restriction and ‘stay local’ messages have now been lifted, allowing for holidays within the UK. It’s wise to do your research before heading off, as some cities will be more open than others and be sure to observe social distancing rules.
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For the less obvious choice in the UK try Devon, Essex, or Yorkshire. Take the road less travelled go during off-peak times and weekdays to avoid the crowds.
What are the travel restrictions?
Thinking of heading abroad? It’s vital to check the individual country’s entry requirements before booking and also seek out cancel-for-free or flexible rebooking options in case circumstances change further down the line.
“If you see a cheap deal to Copenhagen, then be aware that you can only go there or anywhere else in Denmark if you stay for a minimum of six nights,” Emma Coulthurst, travel expert at Travel Supermarket explains. “Most Brits would want to go to the city for two or three nights only.”
Cyprus is currently a safe bet for holidaymakers, as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) allows Brits to go on holiday and not have to quarantine on return. However, Cyprus has threatened to pull the plug if Britain’s R rate goes up, so be careful booking and keep eyes peeled.
PeopleImages via Getty Images
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How can I protect myself while travelling?
Don’t forget that it’s required by law to wear face masks or coverings on public transport, shops and takeaways in England and Scotland. From July 27, three-layer face coverings will be mandatory on all public transport in Wales. For those who don’t comply, you may land yourself a £100 fine and you might not be able to travel onboard. It’s worth checking other countries’ policies on face coverings, too.
Practising good hand hygiene can also help lower your risk of contracting a respiratory infection or other contagious illnesses while travelling. Whether you’re travelling abroad or staying home, make sure your vaccinations are up to date. While travel vaccines won’t protect against Covid-19 –– it will lower your chances of contracting something and it could be lifesaving.
Should I take out travel insurance?
Travel insurance has changed dramatically since the beginning of the pandemic where many providers removed themselves from the market in order to review and redevelop their policies. “There are travel insurers selling policies again. Currently, there are around 12 providers on our website,” Coulthurst says. “You can compare prices for and click through to buy policies, and there are more policies going live every day.”
Remember, just because you have insurance for your summer holiday doesn’t mean you’ll be covered for coronavirus-related claims, but you’ll be covered for a range of other issues. Always check with your travel insurer and the details of your policy. For any EU holidays this year, it’s better to be safe than sorry, so be sure your EHIC card is up to date and take it with you in case you need to access reciprocal free health care.
Space_Cat via Getty Images Couple and receptionist at counter in hotel wearing medical masks as precaution against virus. Young couple on a business trip doing check-in at the hotel
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What about overnight accommodation?
Stays in all kinds of holiday accommodation, including hotels, B&Bs, campsites, caravan parks and self-catering accommodation, will be permitted in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Bear in mind there’ll be secure guidelines to minimise the risk of infection for visitors.
Your home away from home experience isn’t going to be the same, so expect some notable precautions in place, such as enhanced room-cleaning services throughout buildings, extra sanitation and hygiene facilities, no buffet service, as well as closed off fitness centres and gyms.
Have airlines started flying again?
Thankfully, many airlines and holiday companies are providing flexible booking terms, allowing you to change your itinerary for free. So, if you book something and then realise that restrictions make it impossible or difficult for you to take the holiday, your best bet is to switch to a future date when, hopefully, restrictions will have changed.
EasyJet has restarted a limited number of flights to European destinations, with all passengers and cabin crew told to wear face masks. EasyJet Holidays also allows for free cancellations up to 28 days before departure for any reason. Ryanair has reintroduced 40% of its scheduled flights and runs on a limited flight schedule, with mandatory face mask-wearing. And British Airways’ new policy allows for free re-bookings up to three weeks before for flights booked before August 31.
Each airline will have its own policy so be sure to check before you jet off.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-09--What Is Cancel Culture? A Guide To The Online Phenomenon

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Cancel culture is a term that’s been knocking around on social media for a few years now – in 2019, it was even named Macquarie Dictionary’s word of the year.
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But with news that JK Rowling and a team of high-profile people working in the arts have signed a letter against what some call ‘cancel culture’, it’s cropping up more in conversation. Here’s a guide to what it actually means.
What actually is cancel culture?
Cancel culture is defined by Dictionary.com as “the popular practice of withdrawing support for (cancelling) public figures and companies after they have done or said something considered objectionable or offensive”.
Meanwhile, Macquarie Dictionary says it is: “The attitudes within a community which call for, or bring about, the withdrawal of support from a public figure... usually in response to an accusation of a socially unacceptable action or comment.”
Individuals and companies can both be “cancelled”. People will then withdraw their support publicly – and sometimes boycott them as a result. For example: not watching their TV shows if they’re an actor, or not buying their products if it’s a brand. “This is often done in a performative way on social media,” says Dictionary.com.
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Where did it come from?
One of the first references to “cancelling” someone was in the 1991 film New Jack City, according to Vox. In one scene, one of the characters dumps his girlfriend by saying, “Cancel that bitch. I’ll buy another one.”
The phrase popped up again in 2014 in an episode of VH1’s reality show Love and Hip-Hop: New York. In it, Cisco Rosado tells a woman during an argument: “You’re cancelled”.
ima start telling people "you're canceled, out my face" 😂😂💀 — Scotty 🥶 (@scotty2thotty_) December 23, 2014
Since then, the idea of “cancelling” someone was thought to have been used from Black users of Twitter, according to Dictionary.com and Merriam Webster, where people would cancel those in positions of power over issues of discrimination or racism.
#MeToo and other movements that demanded greater accountability from public figures have also given rise to the act of “cancelling” people – and people have lost their jobs and reputations because of it.
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In 2015, Jon Ronson’s book – So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed – touched on the phenomenon, while not explicitly calling it cancel culture. In the book, a series of personal stories showed how people’s lives, and careers, had been destroyed by bad-taste jokes on Twitter. And, as Ronson suggested, their “punishments” outweighed the seriousness of their “crimes”.
smartboy10 via Getty Images
So is it just Twitter phenomenon? Perhaps. One of the reasons cancel culture tends to thrive on social media could be because algorithms love outrage, wrote Anjana Susarla, associate professor of information systems at Michigan State University, in a piece for The Conversation.
“My own research has shown how content that sparks an intense emotional response – positive or negative – is more likely to go viral,” she explained.
“So you can write an immature tweet as a teenager, someone can dig it up, express outrage, conveniently leave out that it’s from seven or eight years ago, and the algorithms will nonetheless amplify the reaction.
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“All of a sudden, you’re cancelled.”
So, why are people talking about it now?
Barely a day goes by where someone isn’t “cancelled” on social media. Recently, Killing Eve actress Jodie Comer was effectively “cancelled”, following rumours she’s dating a Trump supporter. There was even a hashtag: the #jodiecomerisoverparty.
But what appears to have revived conversations surrounding the term is news that JK Rowling has joined figures from the arts world, including Sir Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood, in signing a letter warning of an “intolerant climate” for free speech.
The 150 high-profile signatories wrote in the letter, published in Harper’s Magazine: “The free exchange of information and ideas, the lifeblood of a liberal society, is daily becoming more constricted.
“While we have come to expect this on the radical right, censoriousness is also spreading more widely in our culture: an intolerance of opposing views, a vogue for public shaming and ostracism, and the tendency to dissolve complex policy issues in a blinding moral certainty.”
What do people think about cancel culture?
People have opinions – and lots of them. Some believe it doesn’t even exist, others say it does (and it’s very much needed).
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Cancel Culture doesn't exist. It's a complete fantasy, perpetuated by those who simply refuse to comply with the correct way of thinking. — Jarvis Dupont (@JarvisDupont) July 8, 2020
It bears repeating:
"Cancel Culture" = "Experiencing, for the first time, the consequences of their conduct." https://t.co/k4I6fd8txw — Chloe Neill 🧛🏻♀🐺 (@chloeneill) July 8, 2020
‘Cancel culture’ is an essential part of free speech. If celebrities say things we find repugnant, it is our right to cease consuming their content.
What she means is, “I should be able to say whatever awful shit comes into my head without losing sales.”https://t.co/sB6oNCavVz — 🏳🌈 Max 🏳🌈 (@SpillerOfTea) July 8, 2020
Is it just me or is "cancel culture" a way that extremely privileged people conceptualize being told no for the first time in their life. Like, most of us don't need a name for the basic concept of negative consequences. — Tentin Quarantino (@agraybee) July 8, 2020
"cancel culture" as a phrase just isn't fit for purpose, is it. we can and should criticise & examine harmful beliefs, boycott brands, pull support for people we don't agree with. conflating that always with bullying and pile-ons - which do happen - lacks all nuance — Lex Croucher (@lexcanroar) July 8, 2020
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Is cancel culture a good – or bad – thing, then?
While some argue argue that people facing consequences for their actions is a positive thing, others say there are times when it becomes too much.
In some cases, cancel culture has turned into trolling and social media pile-ons, with people facing death threats and horrendous abuse. Following Love Island presenter Caroline Flack’s death from suicide, people were quick to condemn cancel culture and there were renewed calls for people to ‘Be Kind’.
Addressing the problem in a video for DDN, writer Ayishat Akanbi previously said: “Cancel culture is complex because humans are complex and that’s something we like to negate online. We should not undermine how quickly we can change our ideas... so to cancel people for tweets they made years ago, potentially things they made last week, I think it’s just to lie to yourself, it lacks a certain self-examination that I think is crucial.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-09--The Tear Gas Burned For Hours. The Effects On My Body May Last A Lifetime.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-09--Black Teens Like Me Have The Future In Our Hands. Here’s What We Must Do With It

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The future belongs to today’s youth.
From the climate crisis to the economy, my generation will shape, rethink and reimagine the future. Black teenagers like me will have to shape an agenda of environmental, economic and racial justice to build a society where everyday in the workplace, in schools and in the criminal justice system Black lives are treated like they matter. This is how we can achieve that goal.
The systemic racism that afflicts British society is largely invisible to those who don’t sit at the sharp end of it. Some high profile cases of police brutality are well-known, like those of Edson Da Costa, Rashan Charles or Mark Duggan – powerful human stories of loss to police violence highlight how Black people are twice as likely to die in police custody as white people. But still other, less visible injustices, ruin and cut short the lives of Black people everyday.
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The misery and suffering caused by these injustices is very tangible and real but, unlike police brutality, they don’t attract press or have recognisable victims. But still it’s vital we tackle them.
“A new future is on its way, and my generation, building on the victories of our elders and correcting their mistakes, are paving the path for progress”
I believe the most powerful and impactful change happens on two levels: work done within communities to deal with specific needs and issues, and wider mass societal change which address the root causes of injustice. Black community groups are doing brilliant work today to deliver mentorship, food, education and other needs to our community. But still wider societal change is needed to end the cycle of injustice these community groups are having to deal with, often with stretched resources.
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The Black Lives Matter movement is overwhelmingly grassroots and activist-driven. For good reason some issues, like decolonising the curriculum, must be grassroots led to properly reflect the change needed. But still it’s time to create new alliances for progressive change around issues which affect communities in every corner of the country.
Take austerity. It’s caused homelessness, child poverty and destroyed youth services all across the country, from ethnically diverse inner-city London to the left-behind coastal areas. On big structural issues like austerity it’s important to build cross-community alliances to fight for substantial political change.
“We’ve grown up in an age of crisis where social media has made crystal clear the injustices that plague communities both here in the UK and across the world.”
Wider societal change is the key to dealing with the root causes of injustice which Black people disproportionately face. Race worsens already broken systems. A broken criminal justice system that views punishment as a way of dealing with social issues rooted in inequality and poverty, worsened by systemic racism means we Black people make up only 3% of the population but 12% of those incarcerated. Mentoring and tutoring programs can foster academic ability amongst young Black people, but without major reform and transformation to our education system we’ll continue to be underpredicted and denied opportunity as a result. It’s the same with the air pollution that disproportionately impacts ethnic minority communities as a result of inaction over the climate crisis. Action on the root causes is needed.
A new future is on its way, and my generation, building on the victories of our elders and correcting their mistakes, are paving the path for progress. We’re hyper-politicised. We’ve grown up in an age of crisis where social media has made crystal clear the injustices that plague communities both here in the UK and across the world. We’ve seen economic injustice growing up in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and seeing falling living standards. We’ve seen environmental injustice, as despite the looming existential threat of climate change our politicians fail to act. More are seeing racial injustice that many turned a blind eye to. And we’re not passive.
The time when we can vote is fast approaching – so is the time when we’ll hold positions of power. We’ll challenge injustice. Hold the powerful to account. Build new systems based on the principles of equality and justice.
Athian Akec is the Youth MP for Camden and an activist on knife crime, systemic racism and inequality and ambassador for The Good Business Festival


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-08--Fears For Older Workers 'Ignored' In Rishi Sunak's Mini-Budget As Universal Credit Claims Soar

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A lack of targeted support for older workers was a “massive omission” in the chancellor’s mini-budget, campaigners have warned amid a huge rise in over 50s claiming Universal Credit.
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On Wednesday, Rishi Sunak used his summer statement to unveil a package of aid for young workers hit by the coronavirus pandemic – including a £2bn “kickstart scheme” to give under 25s on Universal Credit six-month job placements.
Employers will also receive grants for taking on trainees and apprentices, he announced, with more cash paid out for staff aged 24 and under.
But the chancellor has been urged to consider workers over the age of 50, with campaigners warning that this group faces long-term unemployment if they are not given targeted support.
“Pre-pandemic, workers aged over 50 were already more likely to be made redundant, to be in long-term unemployment and to have less access to workplace training,” said Stuart Lewis, founder of Rest Less, a jobs and advice site for older people.
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According to analysis of Office for National Statistics (ONS) data by Rest Less, there has been a significant increase in the number of people aged 50 and over claiming Universal Credit since the UK went into lockdown, up from 304,000 in March to 660,000 in May.
Now, people in this age group who have lost their jobs during the pandemic face an up-hill battle to find work, Lewis suggested.
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“Following today’s announcement... why would any company create a permanent role and hire a 61-year-old who has just been made redundant, when they could hire a 23-year-old for free on a temporary six month basis?”
“Given the known challenges facing the over 50s in the recruitment process, we expect hundreds of thousands of over 50s to be forced into an early retirement they cannot afford, living off Universal Credit until they reach the state pension age – which could be as long as 10 to15 years.
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“The key thing for us is that this is not one group versus the other.
“Things needed to be done for younger people because they’re facing a real plight as well.
“It’s just this massive omission that nothing is being done for over 50s, especially over 60s.”
The government must invest in training for older people, Lewis said.
“Training is one of the big things,” he explained. “There’s a structural shift taking place in the workplace and Covid has basically accelerated all of those trends.
“How do we re-skill someone who might have been in manufacturing or retail for 30 years if they’re over 50? How do we re-skill and equip them for the jobs of the future?”
Ruth Slack, 56, has worked in marketing for years. She got a new job in digital marketing November – but was let go just days before the UK went into lockdown in March because of coronavirus.
Ruth Slack and her 21-year-old son Ruth Slack/ Rest Less
She has been able to find a temporary role she can do from home – something she said she was lucky to find.
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This stop-gap job “just about covers everything you need”, she said.
“I want to get back into marketing and communications but I haven’t got a role yet and basically every day I’m sitting here looking at all the job listings,” Slack said.
“I’ve got all this experience and I want to work and I enjoy working for the right company with the right people.”
She welcomed Sunak’s announcement of support for young people, with her 21-year-old son looking for an apprenticeship.
But she wants some specialised support for older workers affected by the pandemic.
“It’s hard,” Slack added. “I wish people would pay a bit more attention to older people. There has been nothing about older people from the government at all during this situation.”
Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds has also called on Sunak to consider the needs of the UK’s older workforce.
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Labour shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds speaks in response to the summer economic update. PA
Responding to Sunak’s mini-budget, the Labour MP said: “The government must also recognise the specific challenges faced by older jobseekers, many of whom are becoming unemployed for the first time, and those based in especially hard-hit places.”
But in the Commons, Sunak said the government was introducing a £1,500 payment for businesses who take on an apprentice over the age of 25.
The chancellor said he was doing this “for the simple reason that while most people think of apprentices as young people, some 44% or so of new apprentice starts are actually over the age of 25”.
From August, businesses in England will get a £2,000 grant for hiring an apprentice aged 24 and under. They will get £1,500 for apprentices who are over 25.
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Sunak added: “It is important that we provide that financial incentive at this time of economic distress, to try to create as many new apprenticeships as possible, including for those who are older.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-09--Why The Fear Factor Is Boris Johnson’s Biggest Failure On Covid To Date

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Chancellors are often drunk on praise on the day of a fiscal event, but it’s only the morning after that we discover whether they’re suffering a political hangover or not.
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Thanks to his meal deal, Rishi Sunak got some of the newspaper front page photos and headlines he wanted. But things looked distinctly queasy after the IFS and Resolution Foundation trashed his mini-Budget as poorly targeted and inadequate to the scale of the unemployment crisis facing the country.
Worse still, within less than 24 hours of his ‘Plan for Jobs’, Boots and John Lewis announced thousands of layoffs. The timing wasn’t deliberate trolling of the chancellor, but it was a reminder of the hard truth that he had done little to help high street retailers with his summer statement.
Business owner after business owner lined up to say this £1,000 per worker ‘retention bonus’ was so flimsy it wouldn’t stop them slashing costs and staff this winter. Add in the chief taxman (HM Revenue and Customs boss Jim Harra) telling Suank that there were “value for money risks” with the plan - allowing Labour to present itself as the saviours of fiscal rectitude - and the hangover looked heavy.
The key worry in government is that the public are just too scared to venture out into shops, workplaces and even pubs and restaurants to get the economy trundling along, let alone motoring. A new YouGov poll today showed that 52% of Brits said they had no plans to make sure of the ‘eat out to help out’ meal discount in August. Just a third planned to take up the 50% off deal.
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And the fact is that city centres remain deserted, in part because office workers are forbidden by their own companies from turning up, in part because the staff themselves are worried about packing onto trains, buses or Tubes, even if they can get on in the first place. With no office workers, many urban pubs, cafes and restaurants face permanent closure.
Tonight’s further opening up of gyms, nail bars, beauty salons, swimming pools and outdoor theatres may be a welcome relief to many people. Yet the fear factor that stalks the land, as well as the social distancing restrictions, could make the reopening unviable. Similarly, Matt Hancock’s move to allow visitors to care homes could well be met with reticence even from loved ones.
At least in care homes, Hancock is finally moving towards routine testing of staff and residents. Today, after much pressure from Tory grandees like Jeremy Hunt and William Hague, it emerged that the government will at least pilot asymptomatic testing of the population, albeit for ‘high risk’ sectors like taxi driving and cleaning in ‘high risk’ areas: Bradford, Brent, Newham and Oldham.
Of course, a fully functioning test and trace system is what will really go a long way to calming public fears about venturing out. The good news today was that we now have a record capacity for testing, with a huge 311,000 tests possible per day. The bad news was that NHS Test and Trace is still only reaching 77% of people who test positive.
Similarly worrying was that for yet another week, the percentage of “close contacts” of those who test positive and are being reached by tracers has fallen again. It stood at 90% in the first week but is now just 70.8%. Government insiders stress this is down to the change in mix of the covid cases away from NHS and care homes (where it’s easier to trace contacts) and towards individuals in the community (where it’s more random).
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But the fact remains that it was Sage, the government’s own scientific advisers, who said back on May 1 that “at least 80%” of contacts of someone with covid would need to be reached for any test-and-trace system to be “effective”. Sage said it was “essential” this capability was reached before the autumn/winter flu season.
And at that same Sage meeting the scientists warned the public would be “less willing to comply” if they “are impacted financially” by self-isolation. Yet nearly eight weeks later the government has still not devised a special ‘self-isolation payment’ for workers that would encourage them to stay at home if advised to do so.
Statutory sick pay and its eligibility requirements mean millions will be hit in the pocket for doing the right thing. We learned yesterday that £10bn has been allocated to NHS Test and Trace, but a fraction of that could surely be spent on a worker support scheme - especially given the small numbers being asked to self-isolate. Public health messaging is often about reassurance and this remains a baffling omission.
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The lack of ministers wearing masks (Rishi the waiter included) is another example where Boris Johnson is failing to tackle the fear factor head on. The lack of scientists at No.10 briefings to reassure the public that the gyms, nail bars, pubs and public transport are safe is another big miss.
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And, as we discuss in this week’s Commons People podcast with Labour peer Stewart Wood, it’s the overall failure to match the big furlough scheme with a big fiscal stimulus that could prove the PM’s undoing on those job figures.
Johnson’s spending plans last week weren’t even a pale facsimile of FDR’s ‘new deal’, and the mini-Budget was similarly unambitious. If this government really had paid attention to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, it should perhaps have recalled the most famous line of his inauguration speech: “the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself”.
Back in 1932, the US president was dealing with a situation where every single state had suspended banking or restricted access to cash. After the Wall St crash, the public feared they’d lose their money if they didn’t withdraw from the banks. The only way to reassure Americans was with a huge state backed programme of reform and investment.
In the summer of 2020, the only way to reassure Britons will be to throw everything at the test and trace system: a worker support package, routine testing using the huge new capacity, plus a major public information campaign to get people to take tests in the first place. If not, while the number of cases may slowly come down, the real fight against the jobless tide may be lost before it’s even started.
Quote Of The Day
“It makes me question what I was doing during the last 10 years of my life”
Rory Stewart tells the IfG podcast his despair at the state of the Johnson Tory party
Thursday Cheat Sheet
Health secretary Matt Hancock revealed to ITV News that care homes would be opened up for visitors within the next few days.
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Culture secretary Oliver Dowden announced that indoor gyms, swimming pools and leisure centres will open on July 25. Outdoor pools, theatres and other performance spaces will be open from this Saturday. Nail bars open from July 13.
The long-awaited ‘Russia report’ of the Intelligence and Security Committee should be published “as soon as possible” after its members are confirmed next week, No.10 said. Confirmed nominations are Chris Grayling as chairman, John Hayes, Julian Lewis, Mark Pritchard, Theresa Villiers (all Con); Kevan Jones, Dame Diana Johnson (both Lab); and Stewart Hosie (SNP).
Former Gordon Brown aide Stewart Wood told HuffPost’s Commons People podcast that Labour should back a “wealth tax” by the time of the next election.
EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said “significant divergences” remain between the EU and the UK on a post-Brexit trade deal after informal talks in London. Barnier also wrote back to Tory Brexiteer Mark Francois to point out he’d voted for the political declaration he now dislikes.
The PM will not appear at the Commons Liaison Committee before summer recess. But he will give evidence on September 16.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-09--Metropolitan Police Officer Charged Over Membership Of Far-Right Terrorist Group

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A serving probationary Metropolitan Police officer has been charged with being a member of far-right terrorist group National Action.
Benjamin Hannam, 21, of north London, has been charged with five offences following an investigation by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command and has been suspended from duty, Scotland Yard said.
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He has been bailed to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on August 6.
It is alleged that between December 17, 2016 and January 1, 2018 he belonged or professed to belong to a proscribed organisation, namely National Action, contrary to section 11 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
It is alleged that on or before July 19, 2017 he dishonestly made a false representation, in that he falsely represented in his application to join the Met that he had not been a member of an organisation similar to the BNP, namely National Action, intending to make gain for himself, contrary to section 1 and 2 of the Fraud Act 2006.
He is also charged with falsely representing in his vetting form to join the Met on or before October 24, 2017 that he had not been a member of National Action.
It is alleged that on July 22, 2018 he was in possession of an indecent photograph of a child.
He is also charged with being in possession of a prohibited image of a child on November 27, 2016.
Detective superintendent Ella Marriott, acting north area basic command unit commander, said: “These are extremely serious charges for anyone to face, and I fully understand and appreciate how deeply concerning it might be for the public, and particularly local communities here in north London, that the charges are against a serving police officer.”
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She said integrity is “fundamental” to policing and said any officer suspected of displaying extremist behaviours or associations should rightly expect to be investigated.
Marriott added: “This significant investigation has been swift in reaching this position.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-09--'Black Lives Matter' Painted In Huge Letters In Front Of Trump Tower In New York

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New York City mayor Bill de Blasio has helped paint Black Lives Matter in front of Manhattan’s Trump Tower.
De Blasio was flanked by his wife, Chirlane McCray, and the Rev Al Sharpton as he helped paint the racial justice rallying cry in giant yellow letters on Fifth Avenue in front of the skyscraper.
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Activists watching chanted “Whose streets? Our streets”.
The mayor announced the plan to paint Black Lives Matter in front of Trump Tower last month after earlier saying the slogan would be painted on streets at several locations around the city.
Trump responded via Twitter that the mural would denigrate “this luxury Avenue” and “further antagonise New York’s Finest”.
De Blasio tweeted back that Black Lives Matter is “a movement to recognise and protect the lives of black people”.
Volunteers walk along a Black Lives Matter mural that was painted on Fifth Avenue in front of Trump Tower. ASSOCIATED PRESS
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ANGELA WEISS via Getty Images
Rahima Torrence, 20, who was among the people on Fifth Avenue, said that even though the mural might be a symbol, “it’s the beginning of something more”.
She said the location in front of President Trump’s own skyscraper “shows that we matter and it shows to him that you can’t ignore us”.
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Washington DC was the first US city to get a giant yellow Black Lives Matter mural when Mayor Muriel Bowser had it painted on the street leading to the White House.
Ms Bowser said the painting was intended to show solidarity with Americans outraged over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
President Trump lived in Trump Tower before he took office as president, but has spent little time there since.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-09--West Midlands Police Officer Sacked Over Racist Comments About Colleagues

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West Midlands Police has sacked an officer for making “racist and inappropriate” comments about his colleagues.
The officer – who has not been named – was dismissed on Thursday after appearing in front of an independent misconduct panel.
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In September, another independent panel had given him a final written warning about his behaviour.
However, the decision was overturned in the High Court in June following a challenge by West Midlands Police.
On Thursday, the second panel – which was chaired by Andrea Pitt – unanimously agreed that the officer should be dismissed without notice.
West Midlands Police said the officer’s identity had been withheld “due to the nature of his work”.
Detective chief superintendent Chris Todd, who is head of professional standards, said he hoped the decision would give police officers and the public confidence to trust the force to “root out racism”.
“It was clear in this case that this officer felt it acceptable to talk about other colleagues in a racist way,” Todd said. “It was always our case that any officer or member of staff in West Midlands Police behaving in that way should be dismissed.”
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He added: “There is no place for racism in policing and if we don’t eliminate it internally we cannot expect the public, particularly those from Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities, to put their trust in us.
“It was the right thing to do therefore to challenge the original decision at the High Court.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-09--Doctors Accuse Rishi Sunak Of Overlooking The NHS In Summer Statement

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Doctors have accused Rishi Sunak of overlooking the NHS amid the “worst global health crisis in living memory”, calling the chancellor’s mini-budget “frankly astonishing”.
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On Wednesday, Sunak unveiled his summer statement – a bundle of packages designed to help the economy recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
But the British Medical Association (BMA) – a union for doctors in the UK – said the chancellor had ignored the health service in his new financial plans.
“Given this statement was made amid the worst global health crisis in living memory, and the government’s previous promise to give the NHS ‘whatever it needs’, the absence of any new commitment to significant health investment in the speech is quite frankly astonishing,” said Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA council chair.
Earlier in the year, the NHS was given a cash injection to help it deal with the pandemic, Nagpaul said, but he added: “We cannot afford for this to be a one-off sticking plaster.”
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According to the Treasury, the government has pledged almost £32bn during the crisis to help the NHS tackle coronavirus.
“Doctors and their colleagues have spent the last four months giving their all, often putting their own health at risk, battling this virus on the frontline,” Nagpaul added.
He warned that – without more financial support from the government – the NHS could be in a precarious position ahead of a potential second wave of coronavirus.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak delivers a summer economic update in a statement to the House of Commons, London. PA
“Even before this crisis, a decade of underinvestment had resulted in record waits for care, a severely depleted medical workforce and services barely able to cope,” Nagpaul said.
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“If the NHS is to not only meet the needs of patients who have had care suspended during the pandemic but also to be ready for a possible second wave, the government must bring forward significant further investment as a matter of urgency.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Treasury said the chancellor set out on Wednesday what the government is doing to support the NHS during the coronavirus crisis in his Plan For Jobs document.
The document reads: “At the Budget on March 11, the chancellor pledged to provide the NHS and other public services with the support they need to respond to Covid-19.
“Delivering on this pledge, HM Treasury has so far approved £48.5 billion of additional expenditure on public services for the immediate response to COVID-19.”
According to the Treasury, this includes £31.9bn for health services, including more than £15bn for PPE, £10bn for the NHS test and trace scheme and more than £1bn for additional ventilators.
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The criticism from the BMA comes the day after MPs warned that the government still does not have “robust” plans in place to make sure hospitals and care homes have enough personal protective equipment (PPE) in the event of a second peak in Covid-19 cases.
Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee said ministers were not treating the issue with “sufficient urgency”, calling on the government to set out detailed plans in the next two months.
“We are extremely concerned by the widely reported shortages of personal protective equipment faced by NHS and care workers during the Covid-19 pandemic,” the committee said.
“Although the department says it is committed to building up PPE stocks to meet longer-term demand, we are not convinced that it is treating the matter with sufficient urgency or that the procurement is robust enough.
“It is absolutely vital that the same problems do not happen again in the event of a second wave.”
The Department of Health and Social Care said it would continue to give the NHS “whatever it needs” to protect it for the future.
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But in a response to the PA news agency, it said it did not accept the committee’s findings on the supply of PPE.
“We have been working around the clock to deliver PPE to the front line throughout this global pandemic, working with industry, the NHS and the armed forces to create a distribution network to supply over 58,000 settings,” a spokesperson said.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-09--The Crown Will Get A Sixth Series After All, Netflix Confirms

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Netflix has announced that a sixth series of The Crown will be made after all, despite recently stating that the show would come to an end following its fifth run.
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The streaming giant had originally planned for the award-winning show to run for a total of six series, with three different actors taking on the lead role of Queen Elizabeth II throughout that time.
Despite this, it was announced in January that the fifth series – which will see Imelda Staunton taking over as the UK monarch, would be the last – although producers have now done a 180 over this decision.
Imelda Staunton ASSOCIATED PRESS
“News from the palace,” a tweet posted on Netflix’s account on Thursday afternoon read. “We can confirm there will be a sixth (and final) season of @TheCrownNetflix, in addition to the previously announced five!”
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The Crown creator Peter Morgan also explained: “As we started to discuss the storylines for series five, it soon became clear that in order to do justice to the richness and complexity of the story we should go back to the original plan and do six seasons.”
News from the palace: we can confirm there will be a sixth (and final) season of @TheCrownNetflix, in addition to the previously announced five! — Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) July 9, 2020
Writer/creator Peter Morgan: “As we started to discuss the storylines for Series 5, it soon became clear that in order to do justice to the richness and complexity of the story we should go back to the original plan and do six seasons.” — Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) July 9, 2020
So to summarise – we’ll have one more season with Queen Olivia Colman, before she passes the crown to Imelda Staunton. We’re just half way through! Lovely. — Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) July 9, 2020
Last year, The Crown unveiled its third series, in which Olivia Colman succeeded Claire Foy in the leading role.
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The third run was met with a more mixed reception than its predecessors, although its leading star did win a Golden Globe for her performance, while Tobias Menzies and Helena Bonham Carter were also nominated for their portrayals of Prince Philip and Princess Margaret.
Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II Sophie Mutevelian
Filming on the impending fourth series was completed in March, shortly before lockdown measures were introduced in the UK.
The fourth run was originally intended to debut later in 2020, although it’s yet to be announced whether the coronavirus pandemic has scuppered these plans.