UK News and Opinion - The Huffington Post United

Kingdom
Different rules seem to apply to the richest 1% compared to the rest of us. The revelations from the
Panama papers are rocking political parties around the world. Making sure that the top 1% pay their
fair share like the rest of us has become a key issue in this election.
Kezia Dugdale Leader of Scottish Labour and MSP for Edinburgh and Lothian
The 2016 series of The Voice is the last one with the BBC, and with a move to ITV on the horizon,
there's a chance for the show to fulfill its full potential. By keeping the best bits, and implementing a
handful of small but much-needed changes, a truly fantastic show could be (re)born. Seriously.
Claims and counter-claims about how much it costs the UK to belong to the European Union abound.
Unsurprisingly, both sides of the debate cherry-pick the statistics that support their side of the
argument, but both are also prone to misrepresent the facts and to neglect data that tell a different
story.
Iain Begg Professorial research fellow at the European Institute, London School of Economics and
Political Science.
I had good A Level results. I'd worked part time whilst I was at school. I was even voted the class
president of our GCSE citizenship project where we promised to eradicate poverty in Africa. I was
employable and I was going to beat the system.
In his days as corporate affairs director at Carlton Television, David Cameron would doubtless have
advised that the cover-up is always more damaging than the original sin of omission.. Mr Cameron
said he had "nothing to hide". To which, the obvious response is: 'Why not tell us in the first place?'
Whilst some may think that we are moving towards a post-racial society, this assumption is based
purely on fairy tales, myths and fantasies. In 2016 racism is still present in all institutions, including
higher education.
Mems Ayinla Politics students and anti-racism campaigner
We obviously know that social media represents an idealized version of people's lives, but still can't
help envying them. In fact, a few years ago German researchers found that the main motivation of
people going on Facebook was to get social gains in reputation and improve their social status. In
other words, comparison is inevitable.
For me personally, the shock of suicide reduced my ability to accept the demands of daily life. I felt
like I had lost my connection with the person I had once been. I knew I had to do something with my
grief, but I didn't know how to begin.
Jess Neal Student Nurse at Brighton University
The way things are now, women and fashion have an ambivalent relationship. Fashion employs
women around the world. Yet employment conditions are unacceptable. Fashion inspires creativity
and self-expression. Yet we're bombarded with messages about what our bodies should look like and

what we should wear.

Taking images of people holding an intention has been a privilege, often a humbling one and
requires skilful holding and caretaking - something I am learning more about as I go on. There is the
delicate art of when and how I intervene and how I steer the shoot. It isn't only about what I want to
see; it's about what wants to be seen.
Grace Gelder Photographer, Workshop Facilitator, Advocate of Self-Marriage
Cancer is a marathon. You have to be positive to get through it. You'll probably start feeling a lot of
pain around mile 20, but you know if you reach the finish line, you'll feel so elated, so full of joy and
pride and sense of achievement, that it'll all be worth it.
Laura Price Yorkshire lass kicking breast cancer in the ass
Jesse is very able to socialising and adores other children. But while on holiday, he does comment
that he would be having more fun if Skye were with him to play with, but then shows amazing
empathy and continues to say "but it is more sad for Skye".
Sally Hall I hope my journey will be enlightening for those suffering grief.
Day one of the Panama papers scandal was Cameron's chance to be a grown up. He had a chance to
say that he had invested in offshore funds in the past. He had the chance to say sorry. Even better,
he has the actual power to change his behaviour and commit to improving the regulation on this sort
of avoidance... It is really, really hard to say if you've made a mistake. It takes courage. The UK
Prime Minister had a chance to show courage, he had a chance to give us some faith in politicians.
Instead he was a coward. A coward who cheats. Same old same old. We deserve better.
When wealthy individuals or companies are not taxed effectively - or corporation tax is reduced as it
was in the recent budget - their wealth increases. This not only widens the gap between rich and
poor, it widens the gap between men and women.
Molly Scott Cato Green MEP for the South West of England and member of the Economics and
Monetary Affairs Committee in the European Parliament
Rugby is certain to become more and more a global game, just as Hong Kong is a truly global
tournament. New nations are already emerging and this is only set to continue in the coming years
as the Olympic opportunity grows interest in rugby from governing bodies.
We are now paying double the price for the crisis: the government's conduct has severely damaged
the prospects for the steel sector; and it has also severely damaged the prospect for the EU
referendum. The simple, unadulterated truth is that the EU has been trying hard to be part of the
solution for UK steel. The government has been consistently part of the problem.
Being young and pregnant does not automatically mean that you have failed and should pack it all
in. If you have decided to study, and you still want to do it, then go and do it!
I felt happy. I felt proud. I even smiled to myself (I'm sure much to the amusement of people passing
by) while I was running home after an hour of meandering through the streets.
I don't want to live my life as "Fiona's daughter". There are a few people I know at the moment who

think of me this way, and it feels like such a burden. It also doesn't do justice either to me or to
Mum. Mum wasn't just a mother: she was so much more than that. And I may be her daughter, but I
am so much more than that, too.
People like me, a Muslim boy who felt FGM was not my concern, are slowly waking up to the fact
that FGM is everybody's business. Grooming is also everybody's business. Radicalisation is also
abuse, and it is everybody's business. And because it is everybody's business, it is our duty to fight it
- and to protect vulnerable young people.
At some point over the last four months, I did something the Jackie of two years ago would never
have thought possible. I fell in love with a little thing called running (oh, and compression tights and
moulded insoles and basically any form of tight-fitting clothing).