thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-31--The Last Days Of Brussels: Here's What It Was Like In The EU Parliament On Brexit Eve

On one side, tears and embraces, pro-EU scarves and a rendition of Auld Lang Syne.
On the other, jeers and laughter, British flags and an impromptu airing of “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place” that earnt members a rebuke from the chair.
As the European Parliament voted through the final Brexit deal, Britain’s 73 MEPs were more divided than ever.
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At 11pm on Friday, those MEPs will find themselves with no role left to play. Their European colleagues must go back to work and adjust to life without them.
For campaigners like Nigel Farage, this historic moment marks “independence day” and is a triumph. For others, it is simply a tragedy.
Labour’s Jude Kirton-Darling has represented the north east of England since 2014. On Wednesday – after the European Parliament ratified the Brexit deal, sparking a rendition of Auld Lang Syne among pro-EU MEPs – she left the chamber in tears.
“Sometimes people reduce it down to ‘we’re losing our jobs’,” she told HuffPost UK. “I don’t think the majority of us are that bothered about that side of it.
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“It’s about identity – who we are and the choices our country has made. That’s far deeper. The hurt is much more profound.”
Rory Palmer (R) and Jude Kirton-Darling (L) react after the European Parliament ratified the Brexit deal during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Brussels on January 29, 2020 YVES HERMAN via Getty Images
Farage, the politician who has done arguably more than any other to bring about the divorce, joined Brexit Party colleagues in waving the Union Jack in the chamber. He darted out of the building as a supporter played the Animals’ “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place”.
The writing has been on the wall for three and a half years – but the UK hasn’t always had such a virulent strain of euro-scepticism driving its politics.
The EU was championed by Margaret Thatcher – one of ex-Tory Farage’s political heroes – and British MEPs were central in shaping the single market, which liberalised trade and in turn led to enlargement of the bloc and closer integration between nation states.
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Refusing to back the Schengen travel area in 1985 and opting out of the single currency in 1992, however, now seem like clear signposts to how the UK was turning against the European project.
Now, alliances forged over nearly half a century are set to shatter as the two sides hammer out a new trade deal at opposite sides of the table.
Green Party MEP Magid Magid leaves the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, for the last time. Yui Mok - PA Images via Getty Images
Magid Magid, Green Party MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, left the chamber in a T-shirt bearing the words “choose hope”.
“I guess there will be a lot of people who voted to remain who are feeling really down and upset and just don’t know what to do with themselves,” he said.
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“Listen, the fight’s not over. The same reasons that we were campaigning to remain in the European Union, like climate change and securing rights – those fights are still there.”
The British-Somali 30-year-old joined the European Parliament just last year and wanted to use his time to bounce climate change up the agenda and change perceptions about refugees, having been one himself as a child.
Of the European Parliament’s 751 MEPs, just three are black. Magid was asked on his first day in the building whether he was lost.
Magid said: “The EU, by any stretch of the imagination, is no safe haven of progressive ideas. I’m not going to tell you it’s the best thing since sliced bread.”
He does see the institution, however, as a powerful vehicle for change despite its faults, and he will campaign for the UK to rejoin.
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He said: “I’ll probably have a grey beard by then. I don’t think it’d be the immediate future.
“But I can see a future of Britain not only just being back in the European Union, but actually taking the lead in the European Union.”
Magid, who counts IT and canteen staff among the many friends he has made during his short time in Brussels, ended his stay with a party.
He says that, while he will “always be an activist”, he may embark on a career as a professional wrestler.
Leaving the parliament, he told HuffPost UK: “I’ve tried very hard to hold back the tears but when people are so nice to you and we see such love and solidarity from colleagues across the political divide, it’s kind of overwhelming, really.
“So I guess I’m devastated, but we’re leaving with our heads held high and we’re leaving the ring knowing that we basically fought Brexit.”
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Like Magid, MEP for London and deputy leader of the Lib Dem group Luisa Porritt was elected for the first time last year.
She has spent her final days connecting other countries’ MEPs with UK citizens such as Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who still need help.
Porritt saw the general election, in which Boris Johnson’s pro-Brexit Conservatives won an 80-seat majority, as the “last chance saloon” for Remain – this generation.
Judith Kirton-Darling, British European Parliament member of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, packs up her belongings. ASSOCIATED PRESS
“It’s got progressively harder as we’ve got closer to the exit date, but overwhelmingly my feeling is sadness for the country and what we will be losing as we cease to be an EU member state,” she said, looking out the window of her office.
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“And then, on a more personal level, my next concern is all the other staff members that work for the Lib Dem MEPs here.
“They’ve taken a huge risk coming and working for us in very volatile circumstances.”
Porritt, who is also a Camden councillor, says Brexit marks a period of reflection in the EU.
“I think that there would be a benefit to the UK having a similar parallel process and asking ourselves: where do we see our place in the world? Who do we want to align ourselves with?” she said.
“It’s not just about geography and trade, it’s also about values, and I think fundamentally British values are European values.”
The Lib Dems’ first plenary session, in Strasbourg, saw the group don bright yellow “stop Brexit” T-shirts. Porritt is still optimistic that a reunion could lie in the future.
But she added: “We’d need a change of government in the first instance and the pathway to that is not clear either.
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“So I think we’re looking at about a decade or so, but I don’t think Brexit is sustainable because overwhelmingly all young people are pro-European and wanted us to stay in the EU. So if they still feel the same way in the future, then a demand will come for us to rejoin.”
Porritt, 32, will spend Brexit in Paris where she studied as an undergraduate but will remember friends, such as Dutch MEP Samira Rafaela, who she sat next to in the parliament.
She said she now feels “powerlessness”, adding: “There’ve been tears, including in public. It’s no secret.
“And it was really hard when we came back to Strasbourg right after the election. Lots of our colleagues from around Europe were hugging us and they all looked very sad as well.”
The mood of solidarity has not been universal, however.
Claire Fox, Brexit Party MEP, is overjoyed that her country is vacating its seats in Brussels and Strasbourg.
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“I couldn’t get over the kind of opulence of the place and the sense that we were being treated as though we were kind of really important people,” she said.
For her, the institution is undemocratic and unrepresentative of the people it claims to serve.
And don’t get her onto the use of Beethoven’s Ode To Joy as Europe’s anthem.
“I’m passionate about Beethoven and I object to it being used as what they call the national anthem,” she said.
Fox was among the Brexit Party MEPs who turned their backs in a sign of protest when the music was used in Strasbourg.
While she says some pro-EU British MEPs have been “incredibly unpleasant” and “toxic” to her, the mood has improved as Brexit day neared.
“It was almost like a civil war that we got ourselves into,” she said.
Europeans also changed from being hostile towards Brexiteers to being curious, she said.
“I’ve been watching gradually my fellow MEPs from around Europe realising the narrative they bought, which was either that British voters were duped and would change their minds and want to stay in the EU, or that we were on the verge of a fascist coup.
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“When they realised that those things were actually misinformation and fake news, they started to listen to Brexit Party MEPs. It’s been really interesting having those conversations across Europe with people who were curious and wanted to find out more.
“I feel as though we’ve represented our constituents and given them a voice.”
Kirton-Darling, who lives in Brussels with her Belgian husband and three-year-old son, will continue to be an ardent Remainer.
She forged her career in the European trade union movement and was inspired to enter politics because of her mother, Janette, who successfully campaigned against toxic waste incinerators in “smoggie” Teesside.
Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage holds a union flag during a European Parliament plenary session in Brussels. JOHN THYS via Getty Images
Her proudest moment was voting on legislation to improve pay and conditions – which could yet make the UK statute book – after helping McStrike protestors deliver a petition to the parliament.
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She has struggled with Eurosceptic MEPs who she describes as “offensive, rude and gloating”.
But she, like them, sees the Brexit referendum vote as the true point of no return.
“The only comparison I can make is a terminal illness,” she said.
“So you get your first diagnosis. That was the referendum result. And then we were coping, we were trying anything to try and get to a point where the British people, the public, could say: ‘This isn’t necessarily what we want.’
“So that was all of the treatment. And then with a terminal illness there comes a realisation that the inevitable is going to happen.”
She added: “We’ve lived through four Brexit deadlines up till now, but we know this is the last one and it’s going to happen this Friday and you’re grieving all of the time.
“So I feel like you can only prepare yourself so much in advance and there will be grieving after January 31 for what we’ve lost as a country.”
Come 11pm, the 42-year-old will be at home with her family and will reflect on her contribution to the European story.
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“I think I’ll say to my grandchildren, if I see them, that I was there, I was involved and I did what I could,” she said.
“I hope that by the time my grandkids appear that we’ve already knocked on the door to come back here.”
The EU could change profoundly before that time, she adds.
“We haven’t been the ones who’ve been taking rules off the European Union – we’ve been at the front making those rules,” she said.
“So when things like the internal market or climate change, and on a whole range of other issues, the UK has been leading. Without us in that position, will somebody else step up or will there be a change in the priorities of the European Union? There could be some big, big shifts ahead.”
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Britain’s link to the EU could also be eroded by the Brexiteers’ narrative, she added.
“I fear is that there is rewriting of history going on,” she said. “It’s inevitable. It always happens, the victor writes history, right?
“But I would hope that in the future there is space in the history of our relationship with the EU for the legacy of the work that Labour MEPs did in the European Parliament.
“There are lots of rights that we take as just part of our birthright, which didn’t exist before we had MEPs in the European parliament. Only to give one example: before 1999 when the social chapter was extended to all British workers, 4m part-time workers didn’t have the right to paid holiday. We can’t imagine that now, and people don’t think about it, but that is all down to having dedicated MEPs.
“I particularly highlight the Labour MEPs but actually [it was] dedicated MEPs representing the UK. And I fear that in the rewriting of history, all of that legacy and all the hard work that a lot of people have put in over years will somehow be lost even in the footnotes.”
Claire Fox, Brexit Party MEP for the north west, is hopeful that Brexit heralds a new era of renewal in the UK, something she hopes to lead on with events across the country.
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She said: “This is just the start.
“I’ve never argued that the EU is some terrible bad thing and that if we got out we would have sunny uplands.
“I thought the EU was a break on democratic accountability for our politicians and now anything that they decide to do in the UK, they answer to us only. They can’t scapegoat the EU now or blame them.
“I also think that people have become politicised, radicalised, around this issue. Everybody’s got an opinion on first-past-the-post, House of Lords, collapse of the Labour Party – in a way, it’s refreshing.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-31--Giovanni Pernice And Ashley Roberts Split, 14 Months After Meeting On Strictly Come Dancing

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Strictly Come Dancing’s Giovanni Pernice has announced he and Ashley Roberts have called an end to their 14-month relationship.
The professional dancer confirmed he had split from the Pussycat Dolls star in a tweet on Thursday evening.
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Giovanni Pernice and Ashley Roberts Karwai Tang via Getty Images
He said: “@ImAshleyRoberts and I have made the decision to separate as a couple. We remain friends and wish each other well for the future.”
. @ImAshleyRoberts and I have made the decision to separate as a couple. We remain friends and wish each other well for the future. — Giovanni Pernice (@pernicegiovann1) January 30, 2020
Ashley, who is gearing up for the Pussycat Dolls forthcoming reunion tour as well as the release of their comeback single React, has yet to comment about the split.
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The couple met during the 2018 series of Strictly, with Giovanni confirming they were an item in January last year.
Ashley was paired with Pasha Kovalev while Giovanni was coupled with Steps singer Faye Tozer.
Barcroft Media via Getty Images
Giovanni and Ashley’s relationship wasn’t the only one that started during the 2018 series of Strictly.
YouTube star Joe Sugg and his partner Dianne Buswell also got together after being partnered up.
In the past, Giovanni has dated his former Strictly partner Georgia May Foote, as well as reality star Jessica Wright.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-31--We Wore Natural Deodorants All Week – And Found Ones That Actually Work

Louise/HuffPost UK
Natural deodorants are having a bit of a moment, with some people ditching traditional antiperspirant altogether as they think more critically about the ingredients in their beauty products.
While some opt for natural deodorants due to sensitive skin or irritation, others are more concerned with alleged links between aluminium (an ingredient typically found in most antiperspirants) and various health issues. These claims, have been widely debunked – read this in-depth piece published on HuffPost.
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But first things first: deodorants are different to antiperspirants. The latter block your sweat glands, the former mask the smell of sweat – hence the name. Natural deodorants typically do this with antibacterial ingredients such as essential oils. So should you be going au naturel, too?
Putting six to the test, some of the HuffPost team set about a normal week, with some of us braving gym classes and sweaty runs for the bus in a bid to find out if they’re worth your cash. The majority are noticeably more expensive than your standard Dove, Sure or Mitchum.
Swapping out your antiperspirant is no mean feat – the risk of smelling like an old gym bag isn’t something we took lightly – so read on to find out how we fared with these natural formulations.
Native Unearthed
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As tried by Nicola – “This deodorant balm smells gorgeous with a subtle lavender and rosehip scent. The essential oils and the activated charcoal, which can apparently absorb up to 1000 x its own weight in moisture, are blended with coconut oil and shea butter. It also works just as well, if not better, than my old faithful Dove deodorant.
“The only downside is that it comes in a pot rather than a stick. If you don’t fancy smearing deodorant onto your pits with your fingers, this might not be for you. However, I think I’ll go on using it as it really does feel lovely on my skin.”
Evolve
As tried by Sophie – “I want to get on board, both to save the planet and my relationship (it’s not my fault an aerosol wakes him up in the morning). But, after a week of testing, I’m not converted. This vegan product, made from shea butter, coconut oil and bicarbonate of soda just doesn’t work for me. It takes ages to put on (90 seconds compared to two – precious time in the morning) because you have to scoop it out of the pot, smear on your underarms and wash the rest off your hands. The smell of the cream is nice but as a moderately sweaty person, I find it doesn’t cover the smell of my sweat – and the bicarb ingredient makes itself known, caking and crumbles on to my clothes throughout the day. Nor is it going to last as long as my usual deodorant, because it’s all over your fingers rather than applied straight to the pit.”
Space NK
As tried by Charlie – “I’ve known natural deodorants existed and we have natural soap at home, but I’d never thought of switching because I was sceptical they worked or were worth the cost. I have four gym classes lined up in the week I try this eucalyptus deodorant, so it’s fair to say I’m definitely gambling a lot of personal dignity on its efficacy! I think it pays off (at least I hear no complaints) but I wince at the £19 price tag. A luxury deodorant simply isn’t sustainable for most people.”
A'kin
As tried by Nicola – “I am having a stressful day and have to power walk in the from an important (read: sweat-inducing) appointment back to the office in time for drinks with colleagues. I am hot and bothered and wishing I could take a cold shower before the pub. Worried about smelling, I try this spray, which says it provides an odour-neutralising using a blend of geranium, cedarwood and patchouli oil. It is certainly fragrant, and very herbal, and it seems to do the job. The next morning, however, the scent is a little overpowering – arguably better suited to men. Maybe I’ll just keep it in my bag in case of emergency.”
Aesop
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As tried by Louise – “I’m very interested to see if this expensive roll on can knock my favourite deodorant – Mitchum’s Ultimate Gel – off the top spot. It’s not much different to your standard roll-on in terms of texture. It’s compact, easy to use and fits easily into my gym and handbag with no bother. The scent is a blend of essential oils that Aesop describes as ‘woody, herbaceous and earthy’. Lovely, just not one I want near my armpits. Stick those ingredients in a candle and be done with it. I would say it does the job just fine – I feel well protected and don’t notice any unpleasant odours throughout the week. But there’s nothing that can justify spending over £20 on a deodorant.”
Selfridges
As tried by Brogan – “I’m very particular about deodorant: roll-ons make my armpits too wet and aerosols make me gag. The only one I can use is a Dove anti-perspirant deodorant stick, which has a creamy consistency (and does the trick). So imagine my horror when faced with a balm. The application process is upsetting: I have to scoop it out of the jar and slather it under my pits, before immediately washing the remains off of my hands. Then there’s the orangey scent, which reminds me of Christmas. Deodorant tends to have a soapy, refreshing smell – I end up smelling like a festive candle, though it does fade.
“It does work quite well – I’ve tried it for a few weeks and can say it does last throughout the day and passes the gym class test (trust me when I say I get quite sweaty when I work out). It’s just a shame about the other stuff.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-31--How Much Has Brexit Actually Cost The UK?

Brexit Day is finally here, after more will-they-won’t-they than Ross and Rachel.
Whether you will be saying a sad ‘au revoir’ to the European Union over a dinner of Spanish paella, Italian gelato and a bottle of French plonk, or celebrating with Nigel Farage and his band of merry Brexiteers in Parliament Square, when 11pm comes, we’re out.
But how much has it cost us to get to this point, beyond the millions of newspaper columns and even more heated forums (not to mention all the awkward family dinners)?
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Good question. Shame there isn’t a simple answer.
Since before the results of the 2016 referendum were even announced, analysts have been desperately trying to tot up the cost of leaving the EU.
Unsurprisingly, there are a lot of different figures out there. But as the UK prepares itself for the divorce of the century, this is what experts have to say about how much Brexit has cost us, and the costs it could still bring.
‘The cost of preparing: £6.3bn’
Among those who have tried to tot up the Brexit bill is the Institute for Government (IfG). According to the think-tank, the UK government has committed to spend £6.3bn on Brexit preparations up to April 2020.
The IfG reckons that’s the equivalent of buying two brand new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, or the money being spent on extending the Thameslink railway in the south-east of England.
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But how does all that cash break down?
According to the institute’s calculations, Theresa May’s government pledged £4.2bn to Brexit prep during her time in Number 10.
Of this:
£935m was given to the Home Office
£787m was handed to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
£682m was given to HM Revenue and Customs
The amount of money that has been given to government departments for Brexit preparations each year, according to the Institute for Government Institute for Government
Meanwhile, the IfG has reported that the £2.1bn pledged by Johnson’s government was used for no-deal Brexit preparations, with:
£344m put towards readying the border
£434m used to ensure the transport of medicine
£138m set aside for a public information campaign
Of the £2.1 bn, £1bn was also reportedly put into a central pot for government departments to use if they needed extra cash to deal with no-deal Brexit prep.
But what about the future? According to the institute, chancellor Sajid Javid has already committed an extra £2bn for Brexit preparations in 2020/21, with an increase in funds for Defra and HMRC.
‘The cost to the economy so far: £130bn’
While the IfG has tried to work out how much the government has spent readying the UK for Brexit, Bloomberg Economics has looked at another question – how much has the decision to leave the EU cost the economy?
According to the outlet’s economists, it’s a lot – around £130bn. And they reckon that figure is going to hit £200bn by the end of the year.
But how did they get to this number?
Bloomberg reckons that over the past three years, the UK has started to distance itself from G7 countries, namely – France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and the US.
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Economists believe that, as a result of this, the British economy is still 3% smaller than it would have been if the UK had voted to remain in the EU in 2016 – even with the slow down of the global rate of growth taken into account.
Meanwhile, business investments have been held back by Brexit uncertainty, they said, with the annual rate of economic growth halving to 1%.
In the report, which was published in January, Bloomberg economist Dan Hanson predicted a “shot in the arm” for the economy in 2020 – but said it won’t last.
“As the UK comes to terms with its new trading relationship with the EU and grapples with the productivity challenge that has hindered growth since the financial crisis, the annual cost of Brexit is likely to keep increasing,” he said.
‘The cost still to come: £70bn’
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research believes Brexit will cost the economy £70bn by 2029 PA Wire/PA Images
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Much like Bloomberg Economics, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) – an economic think tank – has been trying to work out what Brexit will do to the UK economy.
It concluded that GDP (a measure of the health and/or size of the economy) will be 3.5% lower by 2029 than it would have been if the UK had decided to stay in the EU.
OK, enough of the economics jargon – what does that actually mean?
Well, according to the institute, it means the UK will be £70bn worse off.
Researchers reached this figure based on the assumption the UK will leave the bloc with a fair trade agreement after a transition period lasting up to 2021, while also negotiating deals with other countries.
NIESR economists reckon that higher barriers to goods, services and trade, plus restrictions on migration, will deliver a £70bn blow to the economy over 10 years.
But Brexit has already begun to hit Britain’s coffers, according to the institution.
In its report, which was released after Johnson agreed his Brexit deal with the EU in December, the institute estimated that the UK economy is already 2.5% smaller than it would have been if voters had chosen to back the Remain camp in the EU referendum.
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'The cost of funds made available for Brexit preparation: £8bn'
Chancellor Sajid Javid with the 50 pence coin to commemorate the UK leaving the EU PA Media
Of course, the government has its own figures about the cost of Brexit.
When HuffPost UK asked the Treasury about how much it had spent preparing for the UK to leave the EU, it said it had made “more than £8bn” available since the EU referendum in June 2016.
But on what? The government’s breakdown actually looks pretty similar to the IfG’s report, with the Treasury reporting a £2.1bn spend on no-deal planning in 2019/20 and another £2bn pledged to help deliver Brexit next year.
When chancellor Sajid Javid announced the money for no-deal Brexit prep, he said it would be spent on a number of things, including:
An extra 500 Border Force officers
Improvements to transport infrastructure around ports
£138m to boost public communications, including a new Brexit information campaign
A £108m fund to help promote and support businesses preparing for Brexit
A 'Get ready for Brexit' government advert in London in September PA Wire/PA Images
And the £2bn set aside to deliver Brexit in 2020/21? In its 2019 spending round, the Treasury said that this “core funding” would be given to departments in order to “help pay for the costs of establishing a new relationship with the EU”.
As such:


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-31--What Happens After Brexit? Here’s What It Means For The UK

It’s official: Britain has left the European Union. More than three years of bitter chaos and division is over. We can all now look forward to the introduction of blue passports, spending a new 50p, and the end of hearing about lengthy EU summits.
But what will actually happen now? And is the political chaos of the last three years really over? We take a look at what lies on the horizon.
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What changes now Brexit has happened?
Barely anything will change in day-to-day life for people in Britain this year.
That’s because the withdrawal agreement simply sets the terms of Britain’s exit, and starts a so-called standstill transition period to last until December 31.
That means the UK will stay in the European single market and customs union and EU laws will still apply until the end of the transition.
Free movement of people will also continue for that period, meaning people’s holidays will not be affected.
Perhaps the biggest change is the UK will be able to start negotiating its own free trade deals with countries.
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Blue passports will also begin to be issued, alongside the 50p Brexit coin.
Make sense of politics. Sign up to the Waugh Zone and get the political day in a nutshell.
The new 50p Brexit coin, which bears the inscription 'Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations' and the date the UK leaves the EU. PA Wire/PA Images
The UK will no longer have seats at the European Parliament, Commission or Council, where laws will be made which still affect this country, no matter how close or loose a trading relationship it decides to have in the future.
Britain will also no longer sit with the EU at international meetings, and will engage with Brussels as it does with other countries around the world.
In the Belgian city, the UK’s permanent representation (UKRep) will be replaced by a new organisation called the UK mission to the European Union (UKmis), in line with other countries.
Tim Barrow will become the UK’s ambassador to the EU.
So what actually happens now?
More Brexit negotiations.
And not only more negotiations but far more significant, deep and potentially fractious negotiations than what has gone before - as they will determine the UK’s future for years to come.
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The future relationship talks will cover trade, travel, environmental protections, worker’s rights, fishing rights, financial services, security, data and much more.
Both sides are expected to waste little time in setting out their stalls.
Irish deputy PM Simon Coveney has confirmed the European Commission will publish its draft negotiating mandate on Monday.
Government sources are promising to take a different approach to negotiations than the first phase, when Theresa May’s insistence on not giving a “running commentary” allowed Brussels to set the agenda.
So Boris Johnson is expected to be fairly quick out of the blocks in publishing his own negotiating objectives to ensure the EU does not set the terms of talks in public.
Taking a leaf out of May’s book, a big Brexit speech is also planned.
The government also believes it can take advantage of the EU’s drawn out process for finalising its negotiating position, which will not be set in stone until February 25, having passed around all 27 EU countries, by kickstarting trade talks with the US in the meantime in an effort to gain leverage in the Brexit talks.
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Who are the key players in Brexit?
Barnier is back SIPA USA/PA Images
EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier will continue in his job, while Clara Martínez Alberola takes over as his deputy from Sabine Weyand.
On the UK side, there are bigger changes as the Department for Exiting the EU (DExEU) is now defunct and Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay out of a job.
Rather than replacing Barlcay with another minister, Johnson’s chief Brexit “sherpa” David Frost will lead the talks.
And DExEU will be replaced by a new 40-strong “task force Europe” team based in No.10 and headed up by Johnson.
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Cabinet office minister Michael Gove will resume his key role preparing the UK for the end of the transition period, with another cliff-edge looming if the government fails to reach a deal with the EU.
Britain will also need to pass a number of new laws to ensure new immigration, agriculture and fisheries systems, among others, are in place for 2021.
What will be the major flashpoints?
Boris Johnson has made it illegal to extend the transition period beyond December 2020, meaning there is very little time to get a deal done.
EU sources have indicated that negotiations will need to be wrapped up around October for the European Parliament and other institutions to have time to sign off on whatever deal emerges.
That leaves at best around seven to eight months - which most experts say is nowhere near enough time to conclude a comprehensive free trade deal.
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So the first big argument is likely to focus on what to actually argue about in the limited time available.
The central debate of the entire exercise will then be on how much the UK is willing to align with EU rules in return for market access.
Brussels wants the UK to sign up to a so-called level playing field to ensure it does not undercut EU worker’s rights, environmental protections and state aid rules.
But Johnson has pledged “no alignment” and has all but ruled out a level playing field.
Boris Johnson will be confronted by a daunting set off trade-offs PA Wire/PA Images
The UK and EU have also technically agreed in the political declaration which accompanies Johnson’s deal to conclude agreements on fish and financial services by July.
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And senior figures including Irish PM Leo Varadkar have suggested the UK will have to trade fishing rights for access to European markets for financial services.
Downing Street has not ruled out that possibility, insisting only that the UK will have the right to control who fishes in its waters, but is likely to push back on the timetable, which is not legally binding.
The Times meanwhile reported this week that the EU is going to play hardball in the negotiations and try and lock a role in for the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to oversee the terms of any deal, which Johnson is unlikely to agree to.
What about Northern Ireland?
While the negotiations go on, Boris Johnson’s withdrawal agreement will need implementing.
This includes provisions on EU citizens’ rights, the payment of the £39bn “divorce bill”, and most significantly new arrangements for Northern Ireland.
The PM has promised not to impose checks on goods travelling between Great Britain and Northern Ireland - but this is exactly what the deal states he must do.
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But he has been warned that the EU “will not tolerate any backsliding or half measures” - setting up a potentially almighty clash.
Will we get a trade deal with the United States?
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Donald Trump has said he is ready to do a “massive” free trade deal with the UK after Brexit and negotiations are expected to run in parallel with the Brexit talks.
But in reality the type of deal that can be done will depend on the UK-EU deal, and these things take years to sort out, so we are unlikely to see a big, deep deal any time soon.
Will there be more political chaos in the UK?
Johnson’s thumping general election victory, in which he secured an 80-seat majority, means we are unlikely to see the kind of parliamentary chaos witnessed in recent years.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-31--I'm In China. Here's What's Really Happening As The Country Faces Coronavirus

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The Wuhan coronavirus has dominated the news cycle lately around the world. My brother, Harry, and I had already planned a trip to Shenzhen, China, on Friday 24 January to visit our parents over the Lunar New Year.
We chatted with our parents about postponing the trip. They told us that it would be hard for them to take time to spend with us in the coming months and that the risk in Shenzhen seemed low. Because of that, we decided to continue with our trip, while keeping an eye on the news.
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We found a China unlike anything we’ve seen before, with a fascinating mix of calm and fear. Here’s a few snippets of life on the ground.
Everything the media broadcasts or the government does centres around coronavirus
The government in China is all-encompassing: Power is centralised in a huge bureaucracy that emanates from the national Communist Party in Beijing.
Early on, the government was criticised for its slow response to the disease. But now, its response has swung so far the other way, it’s hard to keep track of all the measures it’s taking.
Buses and trains crossing provincial lines in over half of China’s provinces have been canceled.
Movie theatres, museums and other enclosed public spaces have been ordered to be closed.
And of course, Wuhan and other cities in the province of Hubei have prevented their locals from leaving.
That last one is mind-boggling. Wuhan is a city of 11million, and one of the ten largest cities in China. Think of sealing Los Angeles off from the outside world. The fact that this is possible at all speaks to the strength of the state, for better or for worse.
Another really interesting manifestation of the power of government is the news. The coronavirus may be big news internationally, but in China, it’s the only news right now. Here are some articles about the coronavirus from outside China. Most articles are factual, but somewhat sensational:
On the other hand, here’s a sample of Chinese domestic news at the top of QQ News and Today’s Headlines.
Xi Jinping gives four keys to winning the fight against the virus: This is consistently the top article across both QQ and Today’s Headlines. The four keys are “坚定信心、同舟共济、科学防治、精准施策”, which roughly translated, mean “firmly believe/have confidence in the government; cooperate; use scientific disease control methods; and apply targeted government policies.” (It sounds a lot more poetic in Chinese, I swear!) This one’s clearly a government puff piece highlighting how, thanks to “socialism with Chinese characteristics,” they’ve built a hospital in six days, dispatched thousands of doctors to Wuhan, and are coordinating scientific research.
Prevention and control of the new coronavirus is the most important thing for us right now: This article’s a detailed explanation of why the government’s taking the measures it is, and recommends everyone to 1) frequently wash hands, 2) wear a mask when going outside, 3) avoid closed and crowded public places, 4) keep indoor areas well-ventilated, and 5) maintain good hygiene when cooking and eating. Overall, fairly well-considered advice all around!
How could someone be asymptomatic after infection? Should I be afraid? See what the experts say: This article talks about how symptom presentation can vary a lot from person to person, and how there’s a lot we still don’t know — the only way to know for sure if anyone has the disease is by running a test on the genome of the virus.
Now, many of you might roll your eyes at the propagandistic tone of the first article. But the other two articles are measured, fact-based articles with good advice and just the right dose of alarm. I’d take articles number two and three over the international news pieces, which come with little science or practical advice attached. To be fair, there’s similar articles in the American press like The Atlantic’s and Ars Technica’s excellent takes, but by and large, the news focuses much more on sensationalising the numbers without presenting them in context.
Likewise, TV news aims to strike the right balance between alarm and assurance. The nightly news in Shenzhen is a prime example. Local news sources have not only reported on the increasing case count, but have also written stories about how many recovered patients have been released. Another local news report showed the reporter walking through the wholesale markets in Shenzhen and informing viewers that food supplies are sufficient.
While China’s tight control of the media has many pitfalls, it seems uniquely well-suited for keeping an epidemic under control.
Everyone’s fearful of people traveling from Hubei
On one of the tallest buildings in Shenzhen has been displaying projected text that reads “天佑武汉”, or “God bless Wuhan.” The nightly news shows Li Keqiang, China’s premier and second in command, rallying medical workers in Wuhan with cheers of “加油武汉” (“Keep it up, Wuhan!”).
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The Shenzhen skyline at night. The building in the center has projected text that reads “天佑武汉" (God bless Wuhan). Courtesy of Peter Xu
Unfortunately, the on-the-ground situation is very different from the unequivocal support that the above would indicate. One night, as we drove into our xiaoqu (fenced “neighbourhoods” into which all housing is organised in China), we rolled down our windows for our regular temperature checks. (What? Temperature checks? Read on, I’ll say more about this below.)
“Nobody’s coming from Wuhan or Hubei, right?” the night security guard asked and we replied in the negative.
I’m not sure what would have happened if we said we were from Hubei, but chances are we’d have been turned away just as Hubei’ers have been turned away from Macau and Hong Kong.
In another incident in the same xiaoqu, our parents relayed how someone had seen a car with a Hubei plate parked there and immediately raised a ruckus on WeChat, the group messaging app ubiquitous in China. The xiaoqu staff quickly promised to investigate and report back.
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What makes this unfair is that if you have a Hubei license plate, it’s possible you haven’t been to Hubei for years! But in this atmosphere of fear, if you say you’re from Hubei, you’ll be shunned wherever you are or kept a fair distance from anything or anyone. It’s extremely unfortunate that beyond just having to bear the worst of the disease, the people of Hubei and Wuhan have to live with a stigma that comes from where they’re from.
We see something similar happening in the U.S. with people who have visited China. Currently, outside Hubei, there have been 2,000 confirmed cases. Now let’s say that’s underreported by a magnitude of ten. Even 20,000 cases in a country of 1.3billion gives you 0.001% chance that any single person has the disease. It’s not silly to take precautions, of course, but it is silly to assume every Chinese visitor or returning tourist is likely to carry the virus.
Everywhere’s deserted
China’s a country of 1.4billion people. But if you visited this week, you wouldn’t know it.
Even before we left San Francisco, the difference was obvious. The plane out of SFO was the emptiest we’ve seen — no more than a quarter of the seats were full. When we called United before our flight, they offered to waive the change fee if we wanted to change our dates; clearly, many others took them up on that offer. All the better for us, though! Harry and I each sprawled across a whole row of four seats to sleep.
Shenzhen itself was the same — eerily empty. We absolutely love dim sum, a Cantonese breakfast cuisine, so as soon as we got here, we headed straight to a dim sum restaurant in Ocean City, a local mall. The building looked almost abandoned. Escalators were stopped, stores shuttered, and lights dimmed.
An empty mall where we ended up having dim sum. Courtesy of Peter Xu
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It’s partly just Lunar New Year itself — most commerce stops, and most people are at their ancestral hometowns (rather than Shenzhen, a modern boomtown) spending time with family. But even then, the New Year is China’s longest public holiday, and just like Christmas in the US, many would usually use the chance to feast with family. As a result, the restaurant itself was open. In a space that probably fits a few hundred people and would be bustling with diners any other year, though, only ten tables were occupied.
Later, we visited Lianhuashan, the Central Park of Shenzhen, with a hilltop plaza overlooking the city and a large field for flying kites. The field, which normally would be chock-full of families, was sparse and less than a quarter full. Roads were so free of traffic that when we asked a seafood restaurant’s staff where to park, they told us to just park on the sides of the two-lane boulevard — a clear violation of normal traffic rules. And for good reason, too! We didn’t see a single car go down that street the whole ten minutes we were outside.
Lianhuashan Park, which is normally bustling with visitors, when we there just a few days ago. Courtesy of Peter Xu
Everybody’s wearing facemasks and aiming infrared thermometers
We didn’t come half a world away just to stay inside all day, so we headed outside to parks and shops. And to be clear, it’s not like there’s nobody around, zombie-apocalypse, 28 Days Later-style. There’s simply a lot fewer people than you’d expect for a city of ten million.
For example, when we visited Lianhuashan, the park had its fair share of visitors, but almost everyone wore surgical facemasks, even as they huffed and puffed up the hill. Later, when we went to Walmart, absolutely everyone was wearing masks.
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Everybody’s wearing masks by the hot pot meats aisle at Shenzhen’s Walmart. Courtesy of Peter Xu
And it’s not just one kind of mask. You can see the whole gamut: from black cloth masks, to the blue-white disposable masks, to the yellow-strapped fancy N95 particulate filter masks. Once we reached the plaza on top of the park, we found multiple local police (bao’an) milling about and a continuously looping message playing reminding everyone to wear facemasks and leave at the slightest sign of fever.
We went to hike another small hill, Xiaonanshan, and had just made it a few steps from the entrance when the security guard for the park yelled at us to come back. He told us to put on our masks, and then walk up again past the ubiquitous cameras, just so that he wouldn’t be told off for being lax, even though objectively, a wide-open trail with few other hikers is almost as low-risk an environment as it gets.
(An aside: while masks have been shown to reduce the rate of getting the flu in some studies, the CDC does not recommend it for people without symptoms, partly because many users do not wear them consistently or correctly. Measures like frequently washing one’s hands and avoiding touching one’s eyes, nose and mouth are likely to be equally important, although they’ve been studied less.)
The other weapon of the resistance against coronavirus is the mighty infrared thermometer. Never seen one? It looks a bit like a barcode scanner, except point it at someone, and bam! You’ll know whether they’re feverish and diseased or just a regular, asymptomatic citizen.
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Harry on the receiving end of a thermometer gun at a highway toll booth. Courtesy of Peter Xu
Flippancy aside, they are effective for seeing who has a fever, but based on the latest research, the coronavirus can be present without symptoms in children and Chinese officials have stated that it can spread before symptoms show. (That being said, Nancy Messonnier, the director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Disease, said on Wednesday that the agency doesn’t have any evidence that patients are infectious before symptoms begin to show.)
We see these thermometers at gated public areas like parks and xiaoqu, as well as anywhere where one might enter or exit cities (including at highway toll booths and the entrance to the Shenzhen ferry terminal).
Together, both temperature scanners and facemasks are a form of “health theater” — while moderately effective, they’re also performative. They signal to the bureaucratic bosses and other citizens that “we’re doing our best to stop the coronavirus.”
And yet, life goes on
Despite empty streets, facemask-wearing and thermometer-waving citizenry, and closed businesses, life goes on. Families are still enjoying Chinese New Year together at home, flying kites in the park, shopping at Walmart, and eating at McDonald’s. My parents, Harry, and I made dumplings, duck and vegetables; watched Parasite (an excellent movie) together at home; and chatted about our lives and how our mom’s house renovation was coming along.
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This is not to minimise the effect of the coronavirus. It literally is the only news in China right now. The economic impact has been immense, with a tourist season cut short. Wuhan is bearing the worst of it, with thousands of cases, many deaths, and more likely to come.
Overall, though, I came away from my time in Shenzhen feeling reassured that China’s got the disease under control. Everywhere in China other than Wuhan, I feel like you’re safer from not just the new coronavirus, but any infectious disease, than you would be even in the US thanks to the precautions being taken right now. I’d recommend against visiting China today. But if you’re already here, I’d recommend an abundance of caution. Wash your hands, wear a mask, and avoid high-risk areas. But know that you’re not walking into a zombie apocalypse (as the Express would like you to believe), and that you’re seeing China like we’ve never seen before.
Peter Xu and his brother, Harry Yu, are the co-founders of Wanderlog, a document for planning travel itineraries. They were born and raised in China until age 7, moved to Canada, and now live together in San Francisco. This article was first published on HuffPost US Personal.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-31--I’m British And Live In Europe. Brexit Has Torn My Identity Apart

Courtesy of the author HuffPost UK
This is the day that will change everything, even though there are many who still believe that nothing will change at all.
On the surface, 31 January 2020, the official date that the UK will leave the EU, is just a date. After all, it will be followed by a transition period, citizens will still be able to move between countries and trade deals will be struck. Yet, for the hundreds of thousands of Britons like me living in Europe and the many millions more who have European connections – not to mention EU citizens living in the UK – this day means so much more.
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For me, it means feelings of loss, confusion, anger and sadness linger beneath an undeniable desire to scream from the top of my lungs. It just isn’t fair. Perhaps I’m overreacting – there are obviously more important problems in the world. So why does this bother me so much? Here’s why.
“In my heart I will always be a part of the EU – I never thought I would have to forcibly leave my European family...”
I grew up in Plymouth, studied European languages at university, spent my Erasmus year in France and became an English teacher in Spain. I’ve lived in Soria in northern Spain for eleven years, and emphatically declare that I am European. In some ways, I am every European country I’ve ever lived in or visited. I feel British, French, Spanish, but German, Hungarian, Swedish and Portuguese too. I feel like a part of the family of languages and cultures and peoples that have opened their borders and welcomed me with open arms for the past 33 years of my life.
As a secondary school languages teacher, I’ve always taught my students about the importance of the European Union. It allows trading of goods and free movement across borders, creates a secure network of neighbouring countries and respects human rights. Just as importantly, the EU enables a cultural exchange unlike any other in human history, thanks to programmes like Erasmus, Comenius and the Schengen space. I have ex-students from Spain studying in London at UCL, King’s College and Imperial College. We’ve been on school trips to Strasbourg for the Euroscola event at the European Parliament and we’ve participated in the European Youth Parliament, bringing together young people from all over Europe. “United in diversity”, the motto of the EU, makes clear we stand stronger together than apart.
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In my heart I will always be a part of the EU – I never thought I would have to forcibly leave my European family. Yet I’ve been persistently haunted by the spectre of Brexit for the past four years. I spent the week of the referendum in June 2016 on a language holiday with my students, and can still remember waking up the morning after the vote to the celebratory cheers of my host family. This was a couple who made their living hosting foreign teachers and students in their home, and they had voted for Brexit. They claimed it was a great day for Britain. I felt sick.
The author has lived and taught for 11 years in Soria, nothern Spain Courtesy of the author
In truth, some of us didn’t believe the date would actually come. But now, on the eve of Brexit, I’m still reflecting on my options. The Withdrawal Agreement protects the rights of EU citizens living in the UK and Brits living in Europe, and we will be able to continue living and working in our current ‘home’ country with just a small technical change in our political status. This, however, does not mean that we will retain free movement within Europe, nor will we be classed as EU citizens any longer. That depends on the agreements signed with each country as time goes on.
It’s frustrating not knowing what the future will hold, and at the same time feeling so misunderstood. Many people tell me that I should be happy, that Brexit won’t affect me really because I’ll still be able to continue living and working in Spain. Why, then, do I feel like I’m about to become a second-class citizen?
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The thought of having to exchange my beautiful green ‘Citizen of the European Union’ residence card for a cold blue ‘Foreigners’ card is eating me up inside. I used to joke with my American colleagues in Spain when they’d ask me if I could help them with their visa process. I’d tell them sorry, I have no idea, I’m European. You could say that’s come back to bite me. Every time I’m about to fly back to England, one of my colleagues at school jokingly asks if I’m sure they’re going to let me back in. It’s all in good humour and I laugh about it too, but it’s perhaps a little too close to home. After all, I’ve had actual nightmares about being unable to reach my family or being prevented from returning to Spain, and they certainly don’t leave me feeling warm and fuzzy inside because my rights are supposedly being protected by the decisions of a bunch of politicians that I don’t know or trust.
“Nobody calling the shots around Brexit seems to understand how much it hurts to have such a big part of my identity dragged away from me...”
On a political note, another issue revolves around voting rights. As a British and EU citizen, I can currently vote in UK and European elections. After Brexit, I will no longer be able to vote in EU elections. Somewhat disturbingly, my right to vote in Britain will also expire in 2023 after having lived outside of the UK for 15 years. In this case, I will become politically voiceless. Although, to be honest, I’ve felt voiceless for so long that I’m not sure officially losing suffrage will make a difference. Rights that I’ve had for my whole life are being taken away from me in an instant, and it’s not my fault – I voted remain, and I didn’t make this decision.
Some people, of course, are able to obtain dual nationality from another European Union country. That would be the ideal solution. But in my case, Spain does not recognise dual nationality with Britain. That means that if you are granted Spanish nationality, which you are able to apply for after ten years living in the country, you are legally required to renounce your British nationality. Therefore, I could become Spanish, and European, but I would have to, literally, reject my British identity. Or, I can remain British, retain my right to live and work in Spain, but I would no longer be a citizen of the European Union.
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I’ve agonised over this decision for so long and even have all the papers ready to apply for Spanish nationality. I love Spain, a big part of my life is here, and I feel as Spanish as I do British. Nevertheless, my innate sense of Britishness and a deep-seated worry that becoming Spanish might somehow affect my contact with my family in the UK in the future, is still making me unable to take that final step.
The author alongside her partner, Fernando, and their dog, Koda Courtesy of the author
Travelling back from England after Christmas, I had a melancholic moment on arrival at Madrid airport when choosing the lane to follow at passport control. It was a sudden realisation that when I travel in the future, I’ll no longer be in the ‘EU’ lane but will be relegated to the category of ‘all other passports’. How can I become both a ‘foreigner’ and an ‘other’ in my own home, overnight?
But of course it’s not overnight – in fact, the Brexit process has dragged on for so long. For me, it’s meant four years of heart-wrenching emotions. From the sheer disbelief of the referendum result, to the worry of what was to come, the hope that maybe it would never happen, and the unfathomable sense of sorrow that it’s finally here. And above all that, the undeniable feeling that I’m just a little bit alone in all this, because nobody calling the shots around Brexit seems to understand how much it hurts to have such a big part of my identity dragged away from me, while all I can do is sit there, take a deep breath, and wait for it to happen.
Candy Scobling is a secondary school languages teacher in Soria, Spain
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--2020-01-31--Could The UK Still Rejoin The EU After Brexit?

The Remain cause is lost. Brexit has happened. The UK left the EU at 11pm on Friday evening.
While Brexiteers spent the evening rejoicing after their long battle to extract the UK from the European Union, the future appears more bleak for die hard Remainers.
“Face up to one simple point: we lost,” Tony Blair conceded this week. Ed Davey, the acting leader of the Lib Dems, the most pro-EU party, said on Thursday: “Our campaign to stop Brexit is over.”
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But is it all over? We take a look at the options.
Is the door closed forever?
Simply put - no.
EU leaders have made clear they would be open to Britain applying to rejoin the bloc in the future.
Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s Brexit co-ordinator, yesterday said he hoped it would be “not a farewell” but “hopefully a temporary goodbye”.
Yet rejoining the EU would be very different than remaining on the current terms.
Make sense of politics. Sign up to the Waugh Zone and get the political day in a nutshell.
Britain currently has a series of opt-outs not given to other member states. There are no guarantees they would be offered again. As the Brexit talks showed, the EU drives a hard bargain.
For example, all EU member states, except Denmark and the UK, are required to adopt the euro and join the euro area.
How does this happen?
Countries wishing to join the EU have to meet the so-called Copenhagen criteria.
These are a collection of political, economic and administrative criteria including stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities.
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The UK would likely easily meet the tests.
But any new member has to have its entry approved by all EU governments, the European Commission and the European Parliament. Each member state also has to ratify the treaty.
And Britain’s application to join in 1963 and 1967 were both vetoed by France.
Anand Menon, the director of the UK in a Changing Europe think-tank, warns there is “no guarantee that they will want us back”.
“It’s possible, but politically very difficult and not a foregone conclusion on their side,” he said.
The Brexit expert said the explained EU members states could wield the veto in order to get their way in “another fight” internally which was “not for any reason to do with us”.
“The EU is divided on so many issues at the moment that we shouldn’t rule out the possibility of tactical vetos to achieve other objectives,” he added.
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The city of Brussels held an event to mark its relationship with the UK ahead of its departure from the European Union. Sean Gallup via Getty Images
When could this happen?
After years of divisions over Brexit, there is almost zero political will right now in Westminster to even contemplate campaigning to reverse the 2016 vote.
And as Menon argued, it would likely now be “inconceivable we rejoin without a referendum”.
The Conservative Party, which under Edward Heath took the UK into Europe in 1972, is now an avowedly pro-Brexit party. Many of its most europhile voices have left parliament.
Labour under Jeremy Corbyn sought to straddle the divide at the 2019 election by offering a second referendum. But it was comprehensively defeated at the a ballot box.
Whether this was due to its position on Brexit is the source of intense arguments within the party.
But none of the leadership candidates, Keir Starmer, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Lisa Nandy and Emily Thornberry, are advocating the party adopt a rejoin platform.
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Starmer, who as shadow Brexit secretary played a leading role in pushing the party to commit to another referendum, has said Labour needs to “move on”.
The Lib Dems campaigned on a platform of unilaterally revoking Article 50, but failed to capitalise on pro-Remain sentiment in the country and actually lost MPs.
Ed Davey, the party’s acting leader, used a speech on Thursday to concede the immediate fight had been lost. “I accept that tomorrow at 11pm our campaign to stop Brexit is over,” he told an audience in Manchester.
And will the UK even still exist?
The SNP are avowedly pro-Remain. But the party’s focus is on securing an independent Scotland’s entry into the EU - not on taking the UK back in as a whole.
A YouGov poll released on Thursday showed Scots now back independence by 51% to 49%. It is the first “yes” lead since 2015. One reason for this shift is that Remainers are increasingly moving towards favouring independence.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-31--This Brexit Day, My Heart Breaks Knowing The EU Failed At Explaining Its Importance

As Britain leaves the EU, I can't help but feel I've failed, David Poyser writes. Getty
One of the few things we have gained since leaving the EU is a new English adjective “Brexitty”. I have heard it used to describe pubs in Yorkshire, or a crowd of Brits drinking in a bar in Majorca. Do not voice your liberal London views in a Brexitty bar – they will not go down well.
Central London, where my family live, is certainly not Brexitty. On 31 January, when the UK formally leaves the EU, half the houses in our street will display the posters I have handed out of a withering flame in the middle of an EU flag.
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My friends from the “Islington in Europe” group will go together to hug, cry and commiserate in the Canonbury Tavern, writer George Orwell’s local pub. At 11pm (midnight in Brussels) a gang of us will hang around outside my neighbour Cary’s house as she blasts the Brussels anthem (Beethoven’s Ode to Joy) loudly across our freezing London street.
In contrast, on the same evening, Brexiteers will listen to (something like) the bongs of Big Ben to celebrate the UK leaving the EU, and, no doubt, spontaneously sing “Britannia Rules The Waves”.
The next day, Islington, our local council, has organised a community event in a local park so we can console ourselves together and say to our continental European friends they are welcome and always will be.
I personally and “Islingtonally” hope our council proudly flies the European flag till the country has another referendum taking us back in.
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I would like to say I am heartbroken because our 17-year-old daughter, who has wanted to work in fashion all her life, (her totally impartial Dad thinks she is really talented), will now find it more difficult to get on a course or land a job in Paris or Milan, the European fashion centres.
I would like to say I am heartbroken because I feel ashamed to be a Brit when my Italian friend with two children in London asked if this city would be safe for foreigners on 31 January.
I would like to say I am heartbroken as my many Brit friends working in Brussels who love Britain (you should see us all watching an England, Wales or a Scotland football match in a pub in Brussels), who have dragged their “trailing spouses” to live abroad, and left family and friends in the UK, have now had their careers ruined or they are simply on a “Brussels career shelf”.
I would like to say it is because I want to look my former Brussels colleagues in the eye and say “we are all team Europe” fighting for better lives for Europe’s citizens.
There are endless reasons for despair, some private (our daughter’s school has struggled to get language teachers since Brexit) and some more public (Brits seem to be developing as many misunderstandings about the effects of Brexit as they did about which rules came from the EU and which were British law totally made for Britain by British MPs).
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The greatest heartbreak, though, is my own sense of failure.
I worked for many years in Brussels, and in London, I am paid to explain what the European Parliament did. In my view, the EU has been a total failure over forty years at explaining what it is does.
Of course I “get” that people, especially Brits that feel in our guts we are “unconquered since 1066″, do not want to feel in any way subordinate to an outside power. We failed to explain that the EU was never any sort of outside power, and the regulations it was involved in were areas that governments have always regulated.
My family and my roots are in the heart of Brexit country, the East Midlands. My Dad, who fought proudly in the Royal Navy in World War Two, is alive and, given he is now 96, in good health. He was a jeweller and spent much of his life unsuccessfully fighting to get an EU Directive (i.e. to get Brussels regulations to replace UK regulations) on a very detailed aspect of jewellery “hall-marks”. When I go and see him, I can guarantee a rant against “Brexiteers”.
People voted for Brexit from their hearts, yet we argued back from our heads saying that virtually all economists (and political Leaders in the EU) said the UK will suffer financially.
Back in the early 2000s, when we were trying to get UK businesses to come out and say that British jobs depended on the EU (as they did in our 1975 in/out referendum) none had the guts to come forward, except for the Japanese car industry based in the UK.
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And this is the tragedy. My wife and I will be fine, living off pensions in the UK (and before anyone asks, my EU Pension is less, pro rata, than my pension from the BBC) and the money can simply and swiftly be moved by pension funds from an underperforming FTSE to successful companies in Singapore, for example.
As well as the absence of EU immigrant seasonal labour to pick fruit and vegetables, it is the export-based jobs that will go. The Japanese car manufacturers. The areas that voted for Brexit are tragically the ones that stand to suffer most.
As a Brit, this breaks my heart.
Brexitty pubs will be less welcoming five years from now.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-31--Elise Christie Was In A 'Vicious Circle' Of Self-Harm. This Was Her Turning Point

Christof Koepsel / Getty Images / HuffPost UK Elise Christie
Head In The Game sees athletes across a variety of disciplines speak candidly about their mental wellbeing – from occasional periods of poor mental health to ongoing, sometimes debilitating, struggles with mental illness. They also share coping mechanisms and the support they’ve turned to during their lowest points.
From the off, 2018 brought unwelcome events for short-track speed skater Elise Christie: her father’s terminal cancer diagnosis, money problems and injuries that impacted her performance in the Winter Olympics. When her relationship with fellow speed skater Shaolin Sandor Liu broke down later in the year, it all became too much.
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“The first time I self-harmed was pretty much when I was going through the breakup with Shaolin,” the three-time world champion tells HuffPost UK. “It wasn’t what caused it; there were a lot of things that led to that point.
“It was just like the end, I’d lost control, I was at the breaking point. It all just added up, and it felt like I just wanted to run away from the situation. But I couldn’t, because I had to train.”
Self-harm – the practice of intentionally injuring one’s own body – often results from severe emotional distress. The problem is on the rise in Britain. A Lancet Psychiatry study found that in 2014, 6% of people had self-harmed, up from 2% in 2000. The pain can provide a potent distraction from emotions, with some even experiencing a short-term feeling of “release”. However, it doesn’t address the cause of distress or make it go away, as Christie knows all too well.
Sometimes the physical pain would briefly detract from the emotional pain she was experiencing. Other times it would make her “feel something” when she seemed numb to everything else in the world. “But it never fixed the problem,” she says.
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The 2018 Winter Olympics were full of disappointment for Christie, who fell in the 500m final and 1500m semi-finals, before being disqualified in the 1,000m heats while competing with an ankle injury. The Games were supposed to be a redemption story for the skater, who had been disqualified from three events in Sochi, four years earlier. That year, she was blamed for a collision in the 500m final, which took out a South Korean skater, and she received death threats and online abuse.
Ahead of the 2018 Olympics, she had trained hard to try and be the very best. But it wasn’t enough. She later became known as the skater who sobbed on the rink. “I am supposed to be prepared for this, but it hurts,” she tearfully told the BBC after crashing out of the 500m final. “Hopefully I can come back again. Right now I can’t see living with this feeling.”
What many didn’t know is that during this time, Christie was struggling with anxiety and depression.
Dean Mouhtaropoulos via Getty Images Elise Christie crashes out during the Ladies Short Track 1000m Heats at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The skater, now 29, speaks openly about her struggles with mental health. At points, things have been so bad that she’s had panic attacks on the ice, she says. “When you first have one, you don’t know what’s going on. It’s like you’re having a heart attack. But obviously they become more manageable the more you have, and then you understand it a bit more and you learn to know when it’s on its way to happening.”
In 2018, Christie adopted a routine where every time something bad happened, she would self-harm. “It almost becomes normal that that’s how you respond to things,” she says. “But when I started to get better, and get back on my feet, I thought, ‘What is this actually solving?’ It’s such a vicious circle, and then you feel crap that you’ve done it.”
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Just after Christmas that year, Christie terrified herself into making a change after “a really bad self-harm” incident. It’s not something she’s discussed publicly before. “It was scary for me,” she says. “I think that was when I was like: ‘You know what? This has gone too far now. It needs to stop.’ I thought, ‘This can’t happen anymore.’”
The following April, Christie announced on Instagram that she had been on antidepressants for two years to help treat depression and anxiety, but had since come off them.
“It was just an instant thing,” she says, thinking back to how she felt at the time. “I woke up and had been off medication for about three weeks, and it was the first day I’d woken up and felt [emotion] – they always say medication doesn’t do this, but I think it does, to an extent, block you from feeling certain emotions.
“I felt emotion. I felt everything. Then the next thing I felt was ok to not be ok. I felt ready to deal with the problems instead of avoiding them.”
She continues: “I thought it would impact people, of course, that’s why I posted it. I thought, ‘This is something that could’ve killed me, and it could save lives. It could help another person know what other people are going through, and that it’s ok, and that they’ll get there.’”
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Christof Koepsel - International Skating Union via Getty Images Elise Christie: “I’m a lot more on a level now."
After she shared the post, she was inundated with messages of support and similar mental health admissions from strangers online. “It’s mad, because you feel so alone but there are so many people, for different reasons [who are struggling] – even the ones who you think are unbreakable,” Christie says.
Sharing her struggles publicly felt like an achievement, and as the comments came flooding in, she felt renewed motivation to focus on her mental health. “I didn’t want to relapse and go back [to self-harming]. It made me want to keep going forward.”
Since then, she’s been seeing a clinical psychologist who has helped her to “retrain her brain” and learn how to navigate some of her anxieties. “I used to be a very emotional, erratic person,” Christie says. “I’m a lot more on a level now… You try and rationalise before acting on things.
“I know a lot of stuff led to what happened in my breakdown. There are loads of tiny events in your head, and suddenly you can’t cope with them anymore – and it is retraining how your brain views things. For me, I struggled a lot with the [Winter] Games and getting death threats and abuse on the internet all at once.”
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The death threats, in particular, were difficult to endure. “I genuinely thought I was going to die,” Christie says. And the continued abuse online would trigger her anxiety – “even if it was a little stupid comment,” she says. “I had to retrain my brain that actually it was safe.”
“The brain is powerful, but you’ve got to be more powerful than it, to an extent.”
Joosep Martinson - International Skating Union via Getty Images Elise Christie competes in January 2019.
Self-care has also been instrumental in Christie’s ongoing quest for better mental health. “I used to go to sleep a lot,” she says. “That, initially, is what stopped the self-harm, because instead of doing that, I’d go to sleep. I had 2 to 40 minutes [sleep] and then would wake up feeling pretty different.
“Now I tend to try and get out. If I’ve had a really bad day, in the evening I might just go to the cinema or be around people. Firstly, that takes your mind off the crap anyway, but secondly, I believe it’s another way to retrain your brain. If your brain is in that panic or that trauma mode, and you react to it by going and doing something you enjoy, it’s training your brain to not be panicked about whatever it is you’re panicked about.”
She also tries to banish negative thoughts by focusing on positive ones. If somebody says something negative to her – whether online or in person – she tries not to dwell on it. “I think about something nice someone has said, or something I’ve done that’s good,” she says.
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It hasn’t been an easy process – 2019 was a “crap year” both mentally and physically, Christie says. And in January, she announced she’d be taking a break from social media. “I’m really not happy with who I am at the moment, and my poor mental health is getting the best of me and affecting my behaviours,” she said in a statement. “I need to find myself again and be myself again.”
But she’s continuing to skate and train. Her big focus now is the 2022 Winter Olympics. “I’ve achieved everything else in my sport,” she says. “The only thing I’ve not got is an Olympic medal.”
Visit HuffPost UK’s dedicated Head in the Game site to read our full series of daily interviews with sports people about their mental health and wellbeing.
Getty Images / HuffPost UK Head In The Game
Getty Images / HuffPost UK Head In The Game interviewees: (top, left to right) Frank Bruno, Jordanne Whiley, Becky Downie, Elise Christie, Andrew Strauss; (bottom, left to right) Rebecca Adlington, Liam Broady, Eniola Aluko, Marcus Trescothick, Jo Pavey.
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Useful websites and helplines:


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-31--An Introvert's Guide To Enjoying Exercise – By Introverts

From school, we’re taught that exercise is something you do alongside others, with team sports like netball, football and rugby taking centre stage. During cross country runs and gymnastics, we were surrounded by other bodies. And as adults, it can be just as hectic during a solo session at the gym.
Some people may thrive when bumping shoulders with others while exercising, but for introverts – who often feel drained in the constant company of others – it’s a slightly different story. And group workouts are unlikely to leave them feeling energised.
That’s not to say they can’t enjoy keeping fit, though. We spoke to people who identify as introverts about their changing relationship with exercise, from initial challenges to discovering a life-long love for it. Here are their stories.
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“Cold water swimming is the perfect balance of community and doing something alone.”
Alice-May Purkiss
Alice-May Purkiss, 31, from London, often opted out of exercise as school because of her introverted tendencies. In her 20s, she experimented with running and Zumba – taking part in the latter “always at the back, in the corner, furthest away from the mirror”.
But she didn’t discover her true passion, swimming, until 2015. She’d had treatment for breast cancer and wanted to find a way to reconnect with her body – in a space where she felt comfortable.
“Cold water swimming has done that for me,” she says, “and it’s the perfect balance of community and doing something alone. I don’t really talk to people when I’m in the water, but I might have a chat in the changing room if I feel like it.”
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Malte Mueller via Getty Images
Now she’s a regular in the water, Alice-May sees the mental, as well as physical, benefits of exercise. “It helps me make sense of the world when it feels like there’s no sense to be found,” she says. “It gives me clarity when everything is cloudy and reminds me what it means to be alive.
“I don’t know if this is a generalisation, but I often think introverts think about things a lot – I certainly do – and so finding space for those thoughts, or stepping away from them, has been a game-changer.”
Alice-May’s tips for introverts: “Don’t shy away from exercise just because it feels terrifying. Also, accounts like See My Strong on Instagram, run by Poorna Bell, remind me that everyone has hang-ups about exercise but we can all work through them.”
“I run by myself so I can switch off and tune into my body.”
Danielle Pegg Mowbray
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Danielle Pegg Mowbray, 39, from Newcastle upon Tyne, runs alone two or three times a week. “There’s a group of people at work who go running, play football together or go to the gym at lunchtimes, but I just can’t do it,” she explains. “I like to be by myself so I can switch off and tune into my body.
“I don’t intentionally try to be unsociable, but I do find that being around people all day is draining – even if they’re lovely and I have a nice time. I need alone time to recharge my batteries.”
Danielle hated running in school, but gave it another try four and a half years ago when she’d been made redundant and wanted to keep her spirits up. She challenged herself to run a marathon over a month for the British Heart Foundation, in memory of her dad who died in 2013.
“Without the pressure of other people around me, or it being a race or a cross country expedition like at school, I really enjoyed it. And I’ve been running ever since.”
Danielle’s tips for introverts: “Don’t feel pressured into exercise being a social thing. That’s great for some people, but if you need space to be alone then do it. You don’t have to chat to everyone in a class. You don’t have to be the one at the front. Find your sport and your space and revel in it your own way.”
“I’m more confident after signing up to an online fitness programme.”
Tutu Akinyede
Tutu Akinyede, 35, from Kent, thrives in quiet, calm environments, which has discouraged her from joining fitness classes in the past. But in February 2019 she started exercising for the first time in her adult life – initially to lose weight – and hasn’t looked back.
Tutu found her groove by signing up to a programme by online fitness instructor, April Laugh. “I’ve lost 30lbs and I’m still hoping to lose another 20lbs,” she says. “I’m much more confident in my appearance. I’m super energetic and my mental health is at top notch.”
Tutu runs a tutoring school in Kent and is also a mum, so she often struggles to find time for herself. But establishing a fitness routine, which also included running, has helped her redress the balance.
“Exercise helps me get that me-time, it clears my head completely,” she says. “I recently discovered that I don’t think when I run, my head is completely clear.”
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Tutu’s tips for introverts: “Start moving! Run, walk or join a small, quiet gym.”
“Branching out and trying a spin class has left me feeling so much more confident.”
Lucy Farrington-Smith
Lucy Farrington-Smith, 27, from Leamington Spa, also likes running alone – having started last year to boost her fitness. “I love not bothering anyone else when I exercise,” she says.
But she marked the new year by attending her first spin class after previously being “terrified” of the idea. She wanted to push herself to try something new – and “what better than a dark room full of strangers sweating to the same beat on a bike?”.
After window shopping the gym for about a month, she booked a class, went on her own, and threw herself in. “I’ve never looked back,” she says. “My legs don’t feel as appreciative yet, though.”
Lucy says branching out and trying spin has left her feeling so much more confident and empowered. “It’s a moment in time that’s my own, and I can rely on it to be there after a rubbish day in the office when all I want to do is angrily pedal to The Prodigy,” she says.
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Lucy’s tips for introverts: “Do your research. I feel safer when I’m equipped with knowledge – even tiny things like if there’s a toilet or where I put my bag. I used YouTube voraciously and followed vlogs of people doing similar things to me, and learned through their experiences – especially how much you’ll need a towel!”
“I prefer to run in the dark when less people are around.”
Tariq Butt
Tariq Butt, 40, from Bolton, is an inspector with Greater Manchester Police and says when he’s not “catching baddies” he likes to work out – which, for him, means avoiding the gym at peak times.
Staying fit was a requirement for his job when he was an officer, so he had to find a way to enjoy it. He started running with music through his headphones – both for motivation and to stop any unwanted conversations – and discovered running has its perks.
“Being an introvert has driven me off the road, as I prefer running up on the hills, where there are less people and more sheep!” he jokes. “If I do run on the streets, I prefer to go in the dark when less people are around – even though I know they aren’t watching me, because I’m certainly not that interesting.”
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Tariq says exercise allows him to have thinking time, especially on long distance runs. “It’s when I come up with some of my best ideas,” he says. “It’s also great for my mental health and wellbeing because, being a police officer, there are some things that you can’t un-see. That time while running allows me to process some of the more traumatic experiences.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-30--Incredible Footage Shows The Sun In More Detail Than Ever Before

Incredible Footage Shows The Sun In More Detail Than Ever Before
This is the sun like we've never seen it before. The footage, taken by a 4-metre long solar telescope in Hawaii, shows our closest star at its most detailed ever. Each cell of turbulent plasma you can see is roughly the size of France, giving some idea of the immense scale of our 5-billion-year-old solar neighbour.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-03--Casa Amor Returns To Love Island: From New Contestants To Whose Head Will Turn, Here's What To Expec

Casa Amor Returns To Love Island: From New Contestants To Whose Head Will Turn, Here's What To Expect

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The first ever winter series of Love Island has been pootling along quite nicely so far – but it’s about to get a serious injection of drama.
That’s because everyone’s favourite twist is returning – yes, it’s time for Casa Amor.
Monday night’s episode of the ITV2 reality show will see the introduction of a second villa, which is set to put the existing couples to the ultimate test.
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From who is entering, to whose head you should expect to turn, here’s everything we can tell you about this year’s Casa Amor twist...
Casa Amor is returning to Love Island ITV
What is Casa Amor and how does it work?
Casa Amor was first introduced during the third series of Love Island back in 2017, and has returned for every following series.
The twist sees the show make use of a second villa – named Casa Amor, obviously – with the existing boys and girls split up, and new Islanders introduced, who attempt to turn the heads of the original contestants.
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Series three and four saw the boys woken up in the middle of the night and secretly moved into Casa Amor, before a new bunch of girls joined them and new boys were sent into the original villa.
In series five, producers chose to mix things up a little bit, with the girls moving to Casa Amor, and the boys staying in the original villa.
The Islanders all get to know each other over a three-to-four-day period, before there is then a dramatic recoupling ceremony, in which the original Islanders get the chance to form new couples, or remain in their previous pairing.
Any newcomers left single at the end are dumped from the Island immediately, while any original Islanders who suddenly find themselves single are then “at risk” of being sent home too.
Where is Casa Amor?
The second villa is reported to be only a stone’s throw from the main one, which is located in the suburb of Constantia in Cape Town, South Africa.
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As fans will know, the summer series of Love Island is usually set in Mallorca in Spain, and Casa Amor is so close to the original villa that sometimes sometimes contestants in the main villa have heard the other Islanders.
What does the Casa Amor villa look like?
Much like we have seen before in Spain, Casa Amor takes on a similar theme to the main villa – albeit slightly less fancy.
As you can see from the pics below, the South African Casa Amor features many classic Love Island motifs, including a large swimming pool, the firepit, daybeds and an outdoor kitchen area.
Take a closer look around in the gallery below...
Love Island's Casa Amor villa 2020 See gallery
Who are the new Islanders?
A total of 12 new contestants will be descending on the Island as part of the twist – six boys and six girls. And they are...
Ched Uzor ITV Age: 23
From: Suffolk
Occupation: Scaffolder
He says: “It’s not Friend Island, if I fancy someone and she likes me and not you it’s not my fault!”
Who does he have his eye on? Rebecca and Siannise George Day ITV Age: 27
From: Southampton
Occupation: Estate agent
He says: “I love an accent and good teeth are important too. It’s the first thing I look at, I’m drawn to the mouth. I’m not a dentist, but I should have been!”
Who does he have his eye on? Paige, Siannise, Jess and Demi Josh Kempton ITV Age: 21
From: Surrey
Occupation: Model
He says: “They need to make me laugh otherwise I’ll get bored.”
Who does he have his eye on? Rebecca and Jess Advertisement Alexi Eraclides ITV Age: 23
From: Essex
Occupation: Butler in the buff
He says: “I’ve met Jess on a night out before, we exchanged Instagrams then we sent a few messages but nothing came of it. It’ll be interesting to see how we get on when we meet again...”
Who does he have his eye on? Shaughna and Demi Biggs Chris ITV Age: 27
From: Glasgow
Occupation: Car body repair specialist
He says: “I’m a goofy, funny guy. I’m all about being funny and bringing a funny vibe.”
Who does he have his eye on? Rebecca and Jess Natalia Zoppa ITV Age: 20
From: Manchester
She says: “No couple in there seems strong enough not to be broken. I’m just going to go for it!”
Occupation: Student and club promoter
Who does she have her eye on? Callum, Finn and Luke M Advertisement Jamie McCann ITV Age: 24
From: North Ayrshire
Occupation: Eyelash technician
She says: “I’m really outgoing and a bit extra. I like to have fun so I’ll be in amongst the action in the Villa. I’m a relationship person, I fall in love hard so if I meet someone in there who I really like I will end up falling in love with them.”
Who does she have her eye on? Callum Eva Zapico ITV Age: 21
From: Bromley
Occupation: Recruitment consultant
She says: “I’m a 10/10 - how can you expect someone to love you if you don’t love yourself?”
Who does she have her eye on? Mike and Nas Molly Smith ITV Age: 25
From: Manchester
Occupation: Model
She says: “I like somebody who is confident and honest. I’ve been going for boys, I need more of a man.”
Who does she have her eye on? Luke M Advertisement Priscilla Anyabu ITV Age: 25
From: Battersea
Occupation: Model and operations manager
She says: “I did a few pageants. I won Miss Face of Africa, that was nice. I’ve done quite a few music videos in the Afrobeat industry, including for Fuse ODG and Wretch 32.”
Who does she have her eye on? Mike, Nas and Luke M Jordan Waobikeze ITV Age: 24
From: London
Occupation: Administrator
He says: “I like to knit and I’m pretty good at it.”
Who does he have his eye on? “All of them.” Jade Affleck ITV Age: 25
From: Yarm
Occupation: Sales professional
She says: “Some guys are coupled up but that’s a minor setback for me, I’ll do anything it takes to get my man.”
Who does she have her eye on? Luke M, Finley and Callum Advertisement
What will happen?
Monday night’s episode sees they boys given the secret mission of packing up and leaving the main villa without the girls realising.
There’s immediate frustration from Shaughna, who is annoyed to discover Callum has not left anything behind in their bed for her, unlike Finn, Luke T and Nas, who left gifts for Paige, Siannise and Demi.
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ITV
“Every single bed had stuff on it apart from mine,” she complains. “I go for the idiots all the time. I just feel like it’s happening again. It’s just annoying.”
Luke M is the most excited for Casa Amor, having just lost Jess to Mike, and it isn’t long before he develops an attraction to Molly.
“My jaw just hit the floor,” he admits in the Beach Hut. “She is just like fire. She is just the full package. I can’t wait to get to know her. Wow!”
However, Molly also catches the eye of Callum, who shocks Finn as the pair start to flirt and get to know one another.
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ITV
And when talk turns to the sleeping situation that night, is Callum about to invite a new bombshell into his bed?
Meanwhile, Laura Whitmore arrives in the main villa to surprise the girls with news of the new boys’ arrival.
ITV
It isn’t long before Shaughna finds herself on the receiving end of Josh’s advances, who tells her he feels he “can give her a bit more than Callum can give”.
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Does this spell the beginning of the end for the show’s most stable couple?
ITV
What drama has unfolded in previous series?
Casa Amor has served up some of the most memorable – and indeed controversial – moments in Love Island history.
Back in series three, the main villa was sent a postcard that showed Kem Cetinay cracking on with Chyna Ellis behind Amber Davies’ back, which effectively ended their relationship, albeit temporarily.
Then in 2018, the show received over 2500 Ofcom complaints when Dani Dyer was sent a video message of Jack Fincham reacting to the arrival of his ex Ellie Jones in Casa Amor.
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Many complained the producers had caused her unnecessary emotional distress given there was nothing going on between them.
Series four also saw Josh Denzel and Kaz Crossley get close in Casa Amor while Georgia Steel was back in the main villa stating her belief that he would stay “loyal” to her.
However, there was drama at the recoupling when Josh walked back into the villa with Kaz, leaving Georgia with a face like absolute thunder.
Similar scenes unfolded in 2019, when Michael Griffiths chose to recouple with Joanna Chimonides, despite being in a seemingly steady relationship with Amber Gill beforehand.
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Love Island airs Sunday to Friday at 9pm on ITV2.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-02-03--The Etiquette Of Calling In Sick To Work

GeorgePeters via Getty Images
If your alarm goes off and you’re feeling unwell, unable to make it into work, how do you let your boss know? It might be tempting to drop them a quick WhatsApp message, but is that the best way to do it?
The issue is topical, considering the first Monday of February is dubbed ‘National Sickie Day’ – the day people are most likely to call in sick to work.
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In 2018, an estimated 141.4 million working days were lost because of sickness in the UK – that’s 4.4 days per worker. Those most likely to phone in ill were women, older workers, people with long-term health conditions, part-time workers, and those in organisations with 500 or more employees, according to data by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Among the most common reasons for absence were minor illnesses like coughs and colds; problems like back pain and neck; and mental health conditions including stress, depression and anxiety.
By calling in sick when you’re ill, you’re doing your colleagues “a courtesy” by containing the spread of anything that might be contagious – so try not to feel bad about it, says Lucy Hume, associate director of etiquette training company Debrett’s. So how do you do it?
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Phone, email, text message?
Ben Willmott, head of public policy at CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, says you need to make sure you follow your employer’s policy. “The best way is the method that has been agreed by your workplace,” he tells HuffPost UK.
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“In some instances people will be required to call and try and speak to their line manager, while in others an email or text will be fine.”
Hume suggests the method you use should also depend on the time of day. “Typically a phone call is best, but if it is outside of office hours, send an email,” she says.
Let your manager know as soon as you make the decision you’re not well enough to work, so they have as much notice as possible. This will be first thing in the morning for most people, says Willmott. Or if you’re feeling really unwell the night before, you might want to send them a message to let them know.
What do you say?
Should you ask permission for a sick day, or simply tell your boss you’re taking it? “You are within your rights to inform your employer that you are ill and will be taking time off sick,” says Willmott. “Employers have a duty of care for the health and wellbeing of their staff and if they are not seen to have acted reasonably in this regard, they are likely to fall foul of the law.”
It’s worth noting that employees must give their employer a doctor’s ‘fit note’ (sometimes called a ‘sick note’) if they’ve been ill for more than seven days in a row and have taken sick leave.
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And what about the gory details?
It might be tempting to go into detail about your illness, so they don’t think you’re making it up. But they probably don’t want to know the number of times you’ve rushed to the bathroom to vomit. “Keep your message short and to the point,” says Hume.
All you need to do is provide a broad reason for your absence, like whether it’s due to a cold, flu, tummy bug, headache or mental health condition. Ultimately, your health is your business, says Willmott, so you don’t need to provide any more information than you’re comfortable with “unless there is a clear workplace health and safety reason for doing so”.
Providing some information about the reason for your absence can also help your boss consider what support you might need and how long you’re likely to be off for.
Any definite no-nos?
Plenty. First up, don’t wait until you’re due in to let your employer know you’re sick, as this gives them little time to organise cover for your absence. Secondly, don’t rely on a colleague to leave a message with your manager that you’re not coming in – tell them yourself.
“Don’t completely drop off the grid,” adds Hume. “Always make sure your phone is nearby, in case of an emergency at work.”
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