Grazia

welcome to the issue

EARLIER THIS YEAR we asked how you felt about British politics. While you were talking about it more than ever, over half said no one in Parliament represented them. After this rancorous election campaign, I’m sure for many that sentiment remains. And yet, most women want to use their vote: to have a say in an election that feels critical and to honour suffragettes such as Emily Wilding Davidson, who hid in the House of Commons on the night of the 1911 census so she could record it as her address and claim the same political rights as men. To help you decide, we quizzed Jo Swinson, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn on everything from mental health to domestic abuse (see p44). @hattie_brett / feedback@graziamagazine.co.uk…

over to you...

Have your say… Email us at feedback@graziamagazine.co.uk Post comments on graziadaily.co.uk Tweet us at @GraziaUK Find us on Facebook at Grazia UK Follow us on Instagram @GraziaUK HAPPY NEW ME After a gruelling interview that felt like a cross between Dragons’ Den and The Apprentice, I treated myself to Grazia. I got into a bubble bath and read up on the election and decided I would invest in a sequin dress for my work do and wear it with a jumper and boots (for work) afterwards. A much-needed early night later and I felt recharged. I didn’t get the job, but I didn’t let my lack of success on this occasion define me either. Maria Kenny DIVORCE’S DARK DAYS Divorces can be messy, but they needn’t be (Angelina: trapped by divorce while Brad moves…

letter of the week

THE WONDER OF WOMEN! A lot of the jokes about Kim K becoming a lawyer just show that people don’t think a woman with a public sexual identity can be smart or care about justice – well, they’re wrong (Kim gets serious – and covers up, 3 Dec). She is a remarkable woman, not just a media caricature of a party girl. She is the mother of three kids who is using her power to make a difference on a tough issue – and I bet you she is going to be very good at it. My best friend trained to be a solicitor while bringing up two kids and she’s doing a fabulous job. Good for Kim and good for my friend. Daniella…

grazia uk

EDITOR HATTIE BRETT PA/Editorial assistant MELISSA HENRY Acting PA/Editorial assistant ISABELLA D’EMILIO 020 3879 2294 Deputy editor ROSAMUND DEAN Creative director CAROLYN ROBERTS Assistant editor CHARLOTTE WILLIAMSON Fashion director KENYA HUNT Acting assistant editor EMMA ROWLEY Picture director NATHAN HIGHAM-GRADY Production director LISA HOWARD Beauty & health director JOELY WALKER Features and special projects director Managing editor DANIELLE O’CONNELL RHIANNON EVANS Acting managing editor SOPHIE PRICE Celebrity director GUY PEWSEY Copy Production editor JENNY CROALL Chief sub editor MARIA O’CONNOR Features 020 3879 2313 Deputy features editor ANNA SILVERMAN News & Entertainment Junior news editor HARRIET KEAN EDITOR-AT-LARGE POLLY VERNON CONTRIBUTING EDITOR (INVESTIGATIONS) STACEY DOOLEY Lifestyle grazialifestyle@graziamagazine.co.uk Lifestyle editor RACHEL LOOS Website graziadaily.co.uk Digital director REBECCA HOLMAN Acting digital director LYNN ENRIGHT Digital editor REBECCA REID Fashion and beauty editor HANNAH BANKS-WALKER Social media editor PHOEBE PARKE Digital writer GEORGIA ASPINALL Digital showbusiness and culture writer…

grazia view

We must cherish, defend and protect the NHS “A video went viral last week, after news website joe.co.uk took to the streets to film British people’s reactions to the cost of healthcare in the US. In it, a reporter asks passers-by to guess how much it costs to hold your newborn baby after you’ve had a C-section in an American hospital. ‘You have to pay… to hold my own child that I’ve been carrying in my womb?’ responds one stunned woman. The answer is $40. An ambulance call-out fee is $2,500 and the average cost of childbirth is $10,000. It’s a timely reminder that we must never take our NHS for granted. It needs cherishing – so let’s protect it like our lives depend on it.”…

christmas time, mistletoe and the morning after pill...

NOTHING EXPOSES OUR culture’s lingering discomfort with women who enjoy sex – want it, seek it, have it for the LOLs! – like recurring rows over emergency hormone contraception (EHC). In the last 10 days, two new morning after pill rows have erupted. The first involved drfox.co.uk, whose website I’m printing because they did a good thing: first, discounting emergency contraception to £3 (it costs up to 26 quid on the high street), then encouraging people to stock up in advance of party season (a time which can, let’s face it, enable sex of the not-entirely-clever variety). While drfox.co.uk’s actions could have exposed the scandal of habitual, non-festive overpricing on EHC by others – a cost that both exploits women in panic mode, and writes off those too poor to pay…