WHY BRITISH HATE EU AND AFRICA

NOVUS ENTERTAINMENT BROADCAST CENTER

British households fear EU split is going to cost … best of the rest slug it out in leaders debate … Trump introduces a caveat

The Br-exit vote has created an uncertain future, but most people seem resigned to the fact it’s going to cost them more. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Top story: The price of going it alone Good morning to you, Graham Russell here with the news to start your Friday. The terms of the split are far from agreed but almost every household appears resigned to one fact: this Brexit thing is going to cost us. A Mintel survey has found four out of five consumers are concerned about price rises on household essentials such as food, drink and clothing and 68% are worried about the economy as the uncertainty takes its toll. The slump in the pound following the Brexit vote has indeed pushed up the prices of imports, especially of food and clothing, but the report does find some silver linings. Britons have become less materialistic, prioritising spending on activities and experiences over possessions, are eating more healthily and consumer spending is rising. Away from Brexit, people were also worrying about the state of the NHS and the environment. Oh, and the survey was conducted before Theresa May called a snap general election ... Meanwhile, the EU chief Brexit negotiator fears the chances of the UK leaving the bloc without a deal are becoming real. The minutes of a meeting Michel Barnier held with senior colleagues reveal concerns that France and Germany don’t want to cover the cost of the separation, and those countries that receive the most EU support don’t really want to, well, receive less. And so the debate about the cost of the so-called divorce bill continues. * * *

Empty-chair debate – It was “all a bit dull” and the two leaders with any chance of winning the election were absent, but otherwise the first TV leaders debate seemed to go well. The Liberal Democrat, Scottish National party, Green and Plaid Cymru leaders all hurled their arrows at Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn but all missed their target due to them not being there. Actually, maybe one landed: Tim Farron said: “The fact that Theresa May isn’t here tells you she is taking you for granted, she thinks she owns this result.” Ukip leader Paul Nuttall was derided as “the prime minister’s spokesman” and kept calling Leanne Wood “Natalie”. And Marina Hyde didn’t like the post-debate “spin room” much either. Don’t forget the Snap, your all-in-one general election email. Read to the bottom for sign-up details. * * * Trump’s ‘it wasn’t me’ moment – Donald Trump’s latest denial was one with a difference. He was asked about the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel in the quest to to least try to conduct an independent investigation into claims of Russian electoral interference. Instead of the customary blanket denials and vitriol – apart from calling it a “witch hunt” – he said: “There is no collusion – certainly myself and my campaign – but I can always speak for myself and the Russians – zero.” It opens for the first time the possibility that some of his staff may have been involved. Watch his full response here. * * * Lifeline collapses – The race is on to salvage the jobs and drug and alcohol treatment services put at risk by the sudden folding of charity Lifeline. Frantic efforts are being made to save the jobs of 1,300 employees at the Manchester-based Lifeline Project, and the services it provides for 80,000 people a year, including prisoners in 22 jails and young offender institutions. The collapse – shortly after the Charity Commission warned of critically weak financial controls – is likely to reignite the debate about the running of essential public services by charities. * * * Teenage clicks – Most of the mainstream social media platforms are harming the mental health of young people, a survey of 14- to 24-year-olds has found, with Instagram and Snapchat seen as most damaging. The worst performers were very image-focused, noted the Royal Society for Health, and may be driving feelings of inadequacy and anxiety. The head of the Royal College of Psychiatrists called the findings simplistic, saying: “There is real danger in blaming the medium for the message.” Only YouTube had a positive impact. * * * That’s your lottery – A son has failed in his legal bid to get more money out of his lottery-winning father, after wasting the 1.6m he had already been given. Michael Dawes and partner James Beedle were initially handed £1m but spent nearly all of it in a month, and gave up his job. The judge in London used the tried and tested “Walter Mitty existence” zinger, and said: “There was no basis on which any rational or normal human being could conclude that they could go back for more money whenever they wanted.” * * * Lunchtime read: Indigenous Australia, after the 1967 citizenship referendum

“Things should be so much better for Aboriginal people. I think the country saw 1967 as the end of the fight,” says Sol Bellear, a former rugby league player and Aboriginal rights activist, as he sits in the soft sunshine at a Sydney cafe. “Before 1967, we weren’t counted in the census or anything as people. Dogs and cats and pigs and sheep were counted in Australia before Aboriginal people. “After the referendum, though, it was like the work was done for the rest of the country and governments – when it was actually just the bloody beginning.” Sport Tottenham demonstrated their excellence by swatting aside Leicester with regal aplomb and, in the process, Harry Kane struck four goals in the 6-1 win to enhance his chances of being crowned as the Premier League’s top scorer for the second season in a row. The former MotoGP world champion Nicky Hayden remains in intensive care in an Italian hospital after being injured in a cycling accident on Wednesday. The England captain, Dylan Hartley, is in line for a call-up to the British & Irish Lions tour of New Zealand if Ken Owens fails to recover from an ankle injury. The British Horseracing Authority has charged the trainer Hughie Morrison with a serious breach of the anti-doping rules after traces of nandrolone and one of its metabolites were found in a sample taken from his filly Our Little Sister this year. And the Football Association has ratified the modest reforms proposed to its governing council and board but, writes David Conn, don’t mistake that for revolution. Business Asia Pacific stocks were subdued on Friday thanks to the political turmoil in Washington and a growing crisis in Brazil where president Michel Temer was implicated in an attempt to cover-up the country’s huge kickbacks scandal, sending shares down 8.8%. The pound gained fractionally overnight against the dollar after enjoying its best day in months against the greenback on Thursday thanks to strong consumer spending figures. It’s buying £1.30 and is at €1.17. The papers It’s all Tory manifesto – every headline, every national.

The Sun takes the line that Theresa May is trying to win over “socialist voters” with a more leftwing manifesto. The headline is “Blue Labour” and says the prime minster’s agenda is “red Tory”. The Mail’s headline is huge and says: “At last a PM not afraid to be honest with you” – it then has two pieces on the front, differentiating one as “Comment” although you could say the whole front is exactly that. The Times splash is “Mainstream May reaches out to the Labour heartlands” and says the PM is pitching directly at the working class at the expense the middle class and elderly. The Telegraph takes up that theme with “May’s manifesto for the mainstream” which it says challenges the cult of “selfish individualism”. The FT meanwhile sums it up with “May breaks with Thatcherite faith in centrist pitch for Labour voters”. Lastly, the Mirror seems to be playing catchup on yesterday’s news with “10 million OAPs to lose winter fuel cash”. It calls the manifesto “bleak” and says it paves the way for tax rises. The Snap Get up to speed on the day before, and the day ahead, in the general election race – subscribe here. For more news: https://www.semperdiamondlodge.com/