Two bodies found as search continues for ‘people in difficulty’ in sea

Two bodies have been recovered from the sea after reports of a “number of people in difficulty in water” at a Yorkshire seaside town.

The alarm was raised just after 3pm on Friday (2 January) in Withernsea, East Yorkshire.

A major search, led by HM Coastguard, with assistance from the RNLI, Humberside Police, Yorkshire Ambulance Service and Humberside Fire and Rescue, is still ongoing as teams continue to look for one more person who entered the water this afternoon.

Humberside Police has confirmed a 67-year-old man died after being pulled from the sea on Friday evening, before the body of a second person was also found.

A force spokesperson said: “We can now confirm that earlier this evening (Friday, 2 January 2026) a second body was recovered from the sea. The circumstances are not believed to be suspicious.

“Humberside Police officers along with HM Coastguard, Yorkshire Ambulance Service and Humberside Fire and Rescue, remain in the area as searches continue for one more person who entered the water this afternoon.

“We continue to ask that people avoid the area to allow emergency services to work efficiently and safely.

Earlier on Friday, the HM Coastguard confirmed it was searching for two missing people in the water after the alarm was raised.

A spokesperson said: “HM Coastguard is searching for two missing people in the water off Withernsea today, 2 January.

“First alerted to reports of people in difficulty in the water at around 3.10pm, assets sent to the scene include an HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft, Coastguard rescue teams from Withernsea, Hornsea and Hull, the RNLI’s inshore lifeboat from Withernsea and all-weather lifeboat from Bridlington, and Hornsea Inshore Rescue.

“Yorkshire Ambulance Service has been sent, as well as an air ambulance. Humberside Police and Humberside Fire and Rescue are also in attendance. Searches remain ongoing.”

Humberside Fire and Rescue Services were called to the scene at 3.40pm on Friday.

A spokesperson said: “There are emergency vehicles around the central promenade area of Withernsea. We ask if people can avoid this area if at all possible and to take care because emergency vehicles will be moving in the area.”

In a post on Facebook early on Friday evening, Hornsea Inshore Rescue warned that conditions were not safe and said its casualty care crew were on the way to Withernsea to assist.

“Called out, unable to launch [a] lifeboat due to horrendous conditions and three metre waves breaking on our slipway which would knock the tractor and trailer sideways off the ramp. Our 4×4 vehicle [is] en route to Withernsea with a casualty care crew,” it said in the post.

Darren Stevens, who lives in the area, told the BBC he had witnessed lots of emergency vehicles and crews near the beach.

He also said it had snowed earlier and that the conditions were “bitter” and “freezing”.

“It’s not a good place to be in the sea,” he added.

Driver in Anthony Joshua car crash charged

Anthony Joshua‘s driver has been charged after a crash in Nigeria which injured the boxer and killed two of his close friends, police have said.

Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, 46, was charged at the Sagamu Magistrate Court on Friday (2 January).

Prosecutors have charged Mr Kayode with causing death by dangerous driving, reckless and negligent driving, driving without due care, and driving without a valid driver’s licence. The case has been adjourned until 20 January.

The boxer was taken to hospital on Monday after being rescued from the wreckage of a car crash in Nigeria in which two of his team members were killed.

The former British two-time world heavyweight champion, 36, was pulled from a mangled SUV on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, but sustained only minor injuries. He was discharged from hospital on Wednesday.

His vehicle collided with a truck parked on the side of the expressway, according to Nigeria’s Federal Road Safety Corps.

They also suggested speeding and an overtake attempt were to blame for the crash, but Ogun state’s police commissioner later told ESPN that a burst tyre on Joshua’s vehicle caused the driver to lose control and “swerve into the stationary truck parked along the road”.

Video footage from the aftermath of the crash shows Joshua sitting in his car, appearing dazed and in pain.

Joshua’s personal trainer Latif “Latz” Ayodele and strength coach Sina Ghami, who were travelling in the car with the boxer, were both pronounced dead at the scene

Matchroom, which promotes Joshua, and 258 MGT, his management company shared a joint statement: “With profound sadness, it has been confirmed that two close friends and team members, Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele, have tragically passed away.

“Matchroom Boxing and 258 BXG can confirm that Anthony sustained injuries in the accident and was taken to hospital for checks and treatment. He is in a stable condition and will remain there for observation.

“Our deepest condolences and prayers are with the families and friends of all those affected – and we ask that their privacy is respected at this incredibly difficult time. No further comment will be made at this time.”

Where to expect travel chaos today as Met Office issues weather warning

The year is beginning with millions of travellers on the move – but with disruption on the railways and roads, and in the skies. The Met Office has issued a “risk to life” weather warning as snow hits the UK, with transport links set to be affected. These are the key concerns.

Thousands of passengers hoping to fly between the UK and Amsterdam have had their flights cancelled because of snow and strong winds at Schiphol airport.

KLM, whose main hub is at Amsterdam, grounded dozens of flights to and from the UK flights on Friday. Cancellations have continued on Saturday with at least 40 flights axed. They include links from Aberdeen, Birmingham (two), Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heathrow (two), Humberside (three), Leeds Bradford (two), London City, Manchester (two), Newcastle (two), Norwich (two) and Teesside.

EasyJet has grounded 20 flights between the UK and Amsterdam on Saturday, including links to and from Bristol (two), Birmingham, Edinburgh, Gatwick (two), Luton, Manchester, Southend and Stansted.

British Airways has cancelled a round-trip from each of Heathrow and London City.

During the 17 days of the festive spell from 19 December to 4 January, aviation analysts at Cirium report 42,046 flights are scheduled to depart from UK airports with a total of 7.8 million seats. That is an average of more than 100 takeoffs per hour, with almost 20,000 seats.

Departures are up 2 per cent compared with the festive period in 2024, and available departing seats are up 4 per cent year on year.

Many airports are expecting a surge in passenger numbers on Sunday 4 January.

London Heathrow has the highest number of flights, with one in five departures being from the UK’s busiest hub. It is expecting its busiest festive spell to date, as are Birmingham and Manchester airports.

The top destinations from many airports are:

The final weekend of the festive season is seeing many travellers displaced to other lines by Network Rail line closures, while severe weather is causing disruption. The northernmost line in the UK, connecting Inverness with Wick and Thurso, is blocked.

More widely, Network Rail says: “In very cold weather, snow and ice can build up on the tracks blocking points, the equipment that allows trains to move between tracks. Ice can coat the electrified third rail and overhead power cables, preventing trains from drawing the power they need to run and leaving them stranded. Icicles on tunnels, bridges and other structures can also damage trains and overhead power cables.”

Widespread Network Rail engineering work is underway. Some key stations and lines are closed, putting pressure on other routes.

The West Coast Main Line, which connects London Euston with the West Midlands, northwest England, north Wales and southern Scotland, remains closed on the key stretch from Milton Keynes and Rugby up to and including 4 January.

A key junction at Hanslope, south of Rugby, is being replaced. Rail replacement bus services will operate. In addition, Chiltern Railway from London Marylebone to Birmingham, the East Coast Main Line north from London King’s Cross and the East Midlands line from London St Pancras will take the strain.

Further north, the West Coast Main Line is closed in Cumbria to enable Network Rail to replace an ageing bridge over the M6 motorway. The line will not reopen until 15 January. Avanti West Coast is providing a scenic train diversion along England’s most beautiful line, the Settle-Carlisle Railway.

Until 6 January the line from Carlisle to Lockerbie is also closed, with rail replacement buses.

Passengers between Scotland and London are being urged to use the East Coast Main Line from Edinburgh to London King’s Cross.

London Liverpool Street station – the busiest in Britain – has reopened after eight days of engineering work.

For the next two weekends, starting at 8pm on Friday, the M6 in Cumbria is closed to motorists between junctions 39 and 40, reopening at 5am on Monday – with the same pattern of closure from 9 to 12 January.

In addition, the M27 in Hampshire is closed between junctions 9 and 11 until 4am on 4 January.

Traffic will build through the weekend leading to the return to work on Monday 5 January. Some prospective key locations for congestion are:

Caledonian MacBrayne ferries in western Scotland are disrupted on Saturday 3 January and through the first weekend of 2026 due to severe weather. Cancellations on Friday include all ferries between Ullapool and Stornoway (Lewis), and some services between Ardrossan and Brodick (Arran).

Sailings are running normally between the Port of Dover, Calais and Dunkirk. The port authorities in Dover are urging drivers not to arrive more than two hours before their scheduled departure.

Unlike aviation, there is no penalty for missing a ferry at Dover due to congestion; you will simply be rebooked free of charge. “If you missed your ferry, please don’t worry,” the port is telling motorists. “You’ll be put on the next available sailing.”

This article is kept updated with the latest information.

A ceasefire in Ukraine would bring danger for the whole of Europe

For Ukraine, there is little reason to think that 2026 will not continue the pattern set by 2025: the war will grind on, because the repeated promises that peace is near are based on little more than blind optimism and a desperate need to pander to Donald Trump’s fantasies.

Russia will continue to try to secure through diplomatic means what it has failed to conquer in 11 years of war, and its key tool for doing so will continue to be Donald Trump. Three times during 2025, Trump blindsided Europe’s leaders by attempting to coerce Ukraine into accepting Russia’s demands under the guise of a ceasefire agreement.

On each occasion, the worst danger was averted following a transatlantic diplomatic scramble, as European leaders dropped everything to try to roll back some of the damage. It may seem like a repetitive cycle, but on each occasion, Russia improves its position.

Just as Russian troops are steadily inching forward on the front line, Putin and Trump are steadily moving the window of what Ukraine and Europe are being forced to accept. Russia’s “28-point plan” of November, instead of being rejected outright, was treated as a basis for negotiation – with the result, for example, that rather than dismissing the idea of limiting the size of Ukraine’s armed forces, Europe too has now endorsed it.

Meanwhile, the patterns of actual combat in Ukraine were set months and in some cases years ago. Russia continues to abrade Ukrainian defences on the front line at enormous cost in casualties, and to murder Ukrainian civilians nightly through drone and missile strikes against its cities in critical infrastructure. But it remains the case that the war will not be decided on the front line, and probably not in Ukraine.

The war continues because neither the coalition backing Ukraine nor the one backing Russia has decided to intervene decisively. For China, Iran and North Korea, there is a fine balance between the benefits of seeing Russia exhaust both itself and its Western adversaries, and the risks of overstepping their support for Moscow and triggering more widespread destabilisation.

Among Ukraine’s backers, meanwhile, the curtailing of US support was entirely predictable, as was the limited ability of European powers to make up the shortfall as a result of their refusal in previous years to prepare for it.

Similarly, European countries are ill-prepared for a mooted 2027 deadline for the United States to reduce or remove support for European defence – again, because those European countries refused over the proceeding years and decades to take an interest in their own defence.

The United States’ new National Security Strategy has laid out a possible future for the distribution of American forces worldwide. If it is followed through, it is not only America’s European allies, but also those in East Asia, which will find themselves facing unfriendly regional heavyweights without the American security guarantees they have relied on for generations.

The vision of hemispheric defence laid out in the strategy, with the United States concerning itself solely with the Americas, and Europe and East Asia abandoned to their respective dominant aggressive powers, raises a prospect that until recently many would have thought would only be found in dystopian fiction.

As I predicted in my book Who Will Defend Europe, written in the middle of 2024, that may see the world’s remaining liberal democracies pitted against three assertive autocracies, Russia, China and the United States. But what is more, if the ambitions of Russia and China go unchecked, the political geography that would result would be immediately recognisable to anybody that has read George Orwell’s 1984, with the world divided between Oceania, Eastasia, and Eurasia.

For the time being, however, US forces are still in place, and US secondees are still integrated with European defence structures, including Nato. Across the continent, Americans are continuing to do their jobs – unless and until the Trump White House tells them to stop.

That unpredictability should help focus the minds of European leaders on looking to their own defence and resilience in order to make themselves less attractive targets for Russia’s next move. But it also provides a benefit. There is little doubt that Russia will not move against a Nato nation until it is absolutely convinced that there will be no retaliatory steps by the United States – and for the time being, that same unpredictability from the Trump White House will not yet give the Kremlin that certainty.

Europe’s inability to wean itself off defence dependency on the US lies behind the craven pandering to the Trump White House that was on display throughout 2025. For Ukraine, and its supporters, that includes pretending that the repeated diplomatic flailing constitutes a “peace process”, and clinging to the bizarre idea that a US security guarantee against Russia would be of any value at all under the current administration.

Presidents Trump and Zelensky might even be telling the truth when they say that they are 90 per cent of the way to an agreement on a peace settlement for Ukraine. The problem is that this is agreement between Ukraine and the United States – and they could be 0 per cent of the way to a viable agreement with Russia. The repeated offers of ceasefire terms to Moscow that met many of Russia’s original objectives, and their repeated rejection, demonstrate clearly that for the time being, Russia thinks it has more to gain by fighting on than by pocketing the gains being offered by Trump. And until that calculus changes, there is no reason to expect the war to end.

The fundamental objectives of both sides remain unchanged. Russia wants, either now or later, to eliminate Ukraine as a free and independent nation; and Ukraine wants to survive. The fact that there is no common ground between those two positions is the reason the war started in 2014, and escalated in 2022.

Even any potential ceasefire would also be fraught with danger. In previous conflicts, like Georgia and Syria, Russia has shown itself adept at co-opting Western leaders into imposing impossible terms on the victims, while allowing Moscow complete freedom of operation to violate ceasefire agreements as it wishes. There’s no reason to think that on this occasion too, Russia would sign up to a ceasefire that it was not able to violate at will, and did not position Russia well for resuming the conflict at a time of its choosing. But at the same time, any easing in the intensity of the conflict would give European leaders the excuse that too many of them are still looking for to pretend that the problem has gone away, and that the urgent need for their own rearmament is no longer there.

And none of this addresses the challenge of ensuring that a ceasefire is a path to a durable peace, rather than an opportunity for Russia to reconstitute its land forces for the next attack even faster, without Ukraine eliminating them almost as swiftly as they can be restored.

Russia will continue to reconnoitre for its future move on Europe, by means of sabotage and probing attacks against civilian infrastructure and key logistics points. Europe will continue to call these “hybrid” attacks, despite criticism from well-informed intelligence chiefs who point out how unhelpful the term is. The alternative, as ever, is recognising these attacks as the warlike acts they really are – and finally facing the uncomfortable political decisions that implies.

Estimates continue to vary regarding when Russia will be ready to resume open warfare, either on Ukraine or against a NATO member state. But the one thing they have in common is that they are all earlier than Europe can conceivably be ready to defend itself.

At the end of 2024, I wrote that the end of fighting in Ukraine might be closer, but the end of Russia’s broader war against the West was nowhere in sight. As we enter 2026, despite all the claims of imminent “peace”, there’s no reason to think that has changed.

Littler and Van Veen set up final that could define darts’ future

The future, it seems, is now. The 2026 World Championship final will not only showcase the very best that darts currently offers but also give a tantalising glimpse of a rivalry that could dominate the sport for years to come.

Luke Littler – teenage darting phenom, reigning world champion, transcendent star who has made the sport cool again – and Gian van Veen – coming Dutch force, reigning two-time world youth champion, scourge of Luke Humphries – will do battle on the Alexandra Palace stage for the right to hold aloft the most famous trophy in darts.

Littler knows exactly what that feels like, having made history with his World Championship triumph 12 months ago at the age of 17, while Van Veen is trying to break new ground.

At 23, the Dutchman is essentially ancient compared to his 18-year-old foe, but Littler’s ludicrous rise has skewed things somewhat. Van Veen would still comfortably be the second-youngest world champion in history, should he beat the seemingly invincible world No 1. They will also have the lowest combined age of any world final by some margin.

This could be the first major chapter in a rivalry to match the likes of Taylor vs Van Barneveld, Lowe vs Bristow or Van Gerwen vs Wright.

The two men booked their spots in Saturday’s showpiece in contrasting styles, enduring very different semi-final experiences on a raucous Friday evening at Ally Pally.

Littler downed 38-year-old world No 20 Ryan Searle – one of the feelgood stories of this year’s World Championship after a career-best run to the last four – 6-1 with the minimum of fuss. “The Nuke” was too strong for “Heavy Metal”, barely getting out of third gear to cruise through despite losing the first set.

Meanwhile, Van Veen and two-time world champion Gary Anderson produced an instant Ally Pally classic, with one of the greatest semi-finals in championship history. The final scoreline of 6-3 barely begins to tell the story as Anderson, competing in his eighth world semi-final, hit a 102.91 average but still lost to a man in just his third semi-final of any major tournament and who had never gone beyond the second round of the World Championship before this year.

A game that was already high-quality really caught fire in the deciding leg of the fourth set when Van Veen found himself six darts into a nine-dart leg and, although he failed to reach perfection, he broke Anderson’s throw with an 11-darter to move 3-1 ahead.

What followed was a set that defied belief. Anderson opened up with a 10-dart leg to break the throw of his Dutch foe before taking out the “big fish” 170 finish – the highest possible checkout with three darts – in the next to send Ally Pally wild. Van Veen hit back with a classy 11-darter before raising the Palace roof by reeling in a big fish of his own to break back and set up a deciding leg, which he snatched with double four to seemingly take control of the match.

Anderson refused to lie down, closing the deficit to 4-3 and coming agonisingly close to levelling the match before Van Veen shook off squandering four set darts in the fourth leg of set eight to break the Scot in the decider and move within one of glory.

The Scot had one final chance to extend the match when he took out 121 to break Van Veen’s throw and put himself in position to stay alive in the contest, but the younger man knuckled down and hit back to claim an emotional win.

“Gary threw everything at me. His finishing and scoring was great,” he said after the victory. “But I felt comfortable up here on the stage, the crowd were against me, but that’s fair play because Gary is a fantastic human being and a fantastic darts player. He was my idol growing up.

“I never thought this would happen. I can’t even say it’s a dream come true to reach the world final because I couldn’t have even dreamed of this.”

After demolishing Humphries 5-1 in the quarter-finals, the fifth straight time he has beaten the 2024 world champion, Van Veen – whose run in north London has lifted him to No 3 in the world and seen him usurp Michael van Gerwen as the highest-ranked Dutch player – stated that he was the biggest threat to Littler left in the tournament.

He’ll need that confidence to overcome the unstoppable teenager in the final, but should take heart from the fact that he’s the only player with a winning record against Littler who has played him more than once, leading their head-to-head 3-2.

“Everyone has seen what Luke is capable of over the last couple of years,” said Van Veen after the semi-final. “He’s played fantastically, but so have I. Hopefully it will be a great game.”

Littler has experienced boos for the first time at a World Championship over the past fortnight and made clear his annoyance at them with some punchy post-match comments following his round four victory over Rob Cross.

His walk-on for the semi-final received a decidedly mixed reaction from the crowd, but the reigning champion soon shook off any lingering resentment to cruise into a third straight final.

Searle, who has opened up this week about the challenge of an eye condition that impedes his vision to the point that he sometimes can’t see where his darts have landed on the board, started well, picking his moments to edge the opening set despite averaging 94.50 to Littler’s 105.0.

But the teenager soon surged away, taking advantage of every Searle mistake to reel off six straight sets and triumph with a match average of 105.35 – the third time he’s averaged more than 105 this tournament.

The underdog had his moments, most notably when Littler was seven darts into a nine-dart finish before falling just below the treble 20 bed with dart number eight. Searle immediately took out a big fish in response, nailing a 170 checkout to steal the leg and earn a fist bump, accompanied by a wry grin, from his opponent.

Of course, that wry grin will turn into a full-blown smile should the boy wonder make it back-to-back world titles on the Ally Pally stage on Saturday night.

But standing in his way will be the man who may turn into the rival that defines his entire career. Littler vs Van Veen – it’s not to be missed.

‘Tis the season to connect: How to maximise your mobile

Our mobile phones are a vital part of our everyday lives, providing us with connection, entertainment and information. We rely on the device in our pocket to help us work, socialise, learn and so much more – so we want to make sure we’re getting the most we can from it.

Tesco Mobile’s new Pay as you go Essentials tariff can help you do just that, offering increased flexibility and benefits. It keeps things simple and lets you add 30-day bundles of data, minutes and texts that best suit your needs.

The tariff will replace Rocket Pack, Triple Credit and Lite tariffs for all existing Tesco Mobile Pay as you go customers.

Customers who prefer traditional Pay as you go can continue to use top-up balance for calls, texts and data at the standard rate: 25p per minute, 10p per text, 10p per MB.*

So whether you’re an existing Tesco Mobile customer or thinking of making the switch, here’s seven reasons why Pay as you go Essentials is the perfect option…

We all use our phones differently. For some, it’s all about streaming favourite shows and music, so having enough data is vital. Others just want to be able to text and call friends and family whenever they want. Tesco Mobile make it easy to find the right Pay as you go Essentials bundle for your needs. New customers can choose the best bundle for their needs, with bundles auto-renewing every 30 days using available top-up balance.

Circumstances can change and you might find yourself needing more data or minutes some months than others. Depending on how much you use your phone, a bundle is often more cost-effective than using your top-up balance and being charged standard rates for calls, texts and data usage. Pay as you go Essentials is a flexible top-up tariff designed to give users full control over their spend, letting them add bundles of data, minutes and texts to suit specific needs. You can change your bundle as often as you like or cancel at any time. If you decide to opt-out of a bundle you can continue to use your top-up balance for calls, text and data at the standard out-of-bundle rate (25p per minute, 10p per text, 10p per MB).

Pay as you go Essentials offers a range of five great-value bundle options that all include data, minutes and texts. Pay as you go Essentials bundles start from just £5 for 30 days (minimum £10 top-up at activation), while every bundle from £10 and up includes unlimited calls and texts (subject to Fair Usage Policy) – making it easy and affordable to stay connected. If you’re an existing Tesco Mobile Pay as you go customer you’ll get a free 30 day Essentials bundle based on your previous use so you can see if its the right one for you.

The new Tesco Mobile app is packed with useful features to help you make the most of your Pay as you go phone. It’s a quick and simple way to manage or change your bundles, check usage, top-up your balance change auto-renew settings and more. You can easily see your remaining data, minutes and texts, so you know whether you need to add a new or different bundle. Need a hand with something? Chat with the customer care team via live in-app messaging. This is a new app for Pay as you go customers, and customers will no longer be able to use their old Tesco Mobile Pay as you go apps.

Phone calls cutting out, videos buffering, texts that don’t send… an unreliable phone signal can be hugely frustrating. Tesco Mobile shares O2’s network, which means 99 per cent UK coverage, and a better connection in hard-to-reach rural areas – so you won’t be searching for a signal. Tesco Mobile’s 4G and 5G networks are constantly being improved, and with Pay as you go Essentials, customers can use 4G Calling (also known as VoLTE) means you’ll use your 4G connection to make and receive calls, enjoying clearer calls. You can find this option in your network settings.

With Tesco Mobile, you get a Clubcard point for every £1 you spend. Just link your Clubcard to your phone (text the word CLUBCARD to 28578 free from your Tesco Mobile phone) and watch the points add up. You can then convert your points to vouchers to save on your weekly grocery shop or exchange the vouchers for Reward Partner codes to save money on meals out, entertainment, day trips, travel and more. For a limited time, Tesco Mobile customers can get 500 Clubcard points every time they add a £15 Pay as you go Essentials bundle when they link their Clubcard within the first 28 days of adding the bundle. Clubcard points will be automatically issued within 30 days.

For more information on Tesco Mobile’s Pay as you go Essentials, including all available bundles, visit Tesco Mobile

*Offer ends 01/02/2026. See Terms And Conditions for full terms.

Why a 2026 rebrand is the most toxic way to start the year

New Year’s Resolutions have, in recent memory, been quite a straightforward tradition. In a now-infamous scene of the 2001 film adaptation of Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones Diary, Renée Zellweger sits cross-legged on her floor with last night’s smudged eyeliner down her face and yesterday’s underwear stuck to her leg, promising to become a better person. “1) Obviously, will lose 20 pounds,” she writes in her new journal. “2) Always put last night’s pants in the laundry basket. 3) Equally important, will find nice sensible boyfriend to go out with and not form romantic attachments with any of the following: Alcoholics, workaholics, commitment-phobics, peeping Toms, megalomaniacs, emotional f***wits or perverts.”

A long way back from this fictional, but ever relatable, list of betterments, are the originators of the ritual of New Year’s resolutions: the Ancient Romans. Every January, they made annual promises of improvement to Janus, the God of Transitions, in a notably more ceremonial way than Bridget, with prayers, offerings, and public ceremonies. Cut to (the end of) 2025 and the return of intricate pleas to the universe for personal growth appears to be inching ever closer, with the proliferation of the “2026 rebrand” among Gen Z users across social media sites including TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest.

According to Pinterest, searches for the word “rebrand” alone are up 290 per cent compared to data from this time last year. Meanwhile, searches for “rebranding yourself” are up by 240 per cent and “vision board ideas” are being looked up 385 per cent more than in 2024. “Over the past year, we’ve seen people increasingly looking for manifestation and ‘vision board ideas’, with specific priorities and goals including relationships, family, health and travel,” Pinterest’s managing director in the UK & Ireland, Caroline Orange-Northey, tells me. “As we head into 2026, it’s clear people aren’t just making resolutions, they’re visualising the life they want and mapping out how to get there.”

You might already be familiar with manifesting, a pseudoscience trend that gained popularity in 2022, where those employing the practice think various things into happening using the “law of attraction”. Rebranding is, to boil it down, a more aesthetic version of manifesting, where someone plans a detailed transformation for the New Year (akin to the old “new year, new me” adage) that will, in turn, make them anything from more academic to more healthy, rich, well-travelled or happy. The Romans would, perhaps, approve.

Initially, scheming a rebrand for 2026 is, simply, quite good fun. I make a list of my goals (to go to bed earlier, learn to style my hair with rollers, earn – and save – more money, eat fewer UPFs, spend more time outside, have a consistent skincare routine, keep exercising three times a week, stay reading two books per month and stop stressing about things I don’t need to). Then, I log onto Pinterest – the app du jour for moodboarding – and put together a collection of glossy images that allude to what I want to achieve. So far, it feels just like what I did in 2003 with nothing but a pair of scissors, a glue stick, and a copy of Teen Vogue. Although the publicly shared nature of it all does provide an added incentive to actually get these things done.

But then comes phase two, which is sort of like resolution prep. In order to hit the ground running on 1 January, some things need to go in the bin immediately: my lumpy old pillows, old receipts stuffed in drawers alongside expensive (forgotten about) skin products, gym kit that has lost its elasticity, and piles of old magazines. My clean out feels good, but I feel a jolt of concern when I see the 2026 rebrand videos I’m now being fed incessantly by the TikTok algorithm where some women are throwing out all their clothes and makeup in the pursuit of a better them. “I did this and now I have nothing to wear,” admits one woman in the comments. “Everything has to go,” chimes in another, overcome with new era giddiness.

Aside from this being insanely bad for the environment, there’s something sad about ridding yourself of the person you are at the end of every calendar year. The concept of simply rebranding like a product to be sold dependent on which “core” (cottage, coastal grandmother, Barbie) is trending online feels pretty soulless. “How to kill the old version of you,” reads one intense how-to guide. “Rewrite your identity,” demands another, as if a whole new selfhood is just a deep clean and £1,000 clothes order on ASOS away. But could the algorithms we inject really be changing who we believe we are?

“Algorithms can change people’s beliefs and what they think about themselves,” says social scientist Cameron Bunker, who examines the relationship between social media and the self. “TikTok is a very algorithmic platform,” he adds, nodding to Filter World: How Algorithms Flattened Culture by Kyle Jaika as evidence of how digital tastemaking is slowly making our tastes homogenised. “All coffee shops kind of look the same, so do AirBnBs, we’re all listening to the same music. Jaika thinks algorithms are the driving force behind this,” Bunker explains. “I’m interested in whether this also occurs with our self-concepts, whether algorithms make us more similar to other people – and how we see ourselves.”

Bunker tells me that he conducted an experiment where participants filled in a personality questionnaire and were told they’d receive a profile of the type of person they were, generated by an algorithm based on their answers, within 24 hours. “Regardless of what they put, we gave them a fake prediction, but they didn’t know that,” he says. Half the group were told they fit the “masculine” profile that was independent and liked to take charge in workplace settings. The other half were told they fit the “feminine” profile. “Then we had them fill out a measure of how feminine or masculine they thought they were. They were more likely to say whichever the algorithm told them they were than at the start.” So, it stands to reason that if your timeline tells you the kind of person you are, you’ll believe it.

There’s been much debate about how and why you should rebrand for 2026 among talking heads trusted online. “You have been told that if you simply create a collage of a beach house, or your dream body, or a million dollars in the bank or a Maserati, that suddenly the universe is going to hand you those things,” says guru Mel Robbins, known for her “Let Them” theory. “If the only thing that is on your vision board is the thing that’s going to take you 10 years to get done, it’s gonna feel like you might as well move to Mars for crying out loud,” she says. “It’s not motivating at all. Why? Because you start to become present day in and day out to how far away you are and that makes you start to feel less motivated.”

Robbins argues: “In order to make manifesting work for you, don’t visualise the end, visualise the steps and the actions that you’re going to take to get there. That means all that hard and annoying and tedious stuff that you’ve got to do that you don’t feel like doing in order to make that thing a reality – that’s what you’re going to put on the vision board.” Similarly, Bunker reasons: “We know from research that if you make more specific goals, they’re going to be more effective. If you say, I’m gonna exercise twice a week, it’s gonna be more effective than, say, I’m going to be better-looking. In this case, rebranding might be more ineffective than a private New Year’s resolution. But, to play devil’s advocate, rebranding could be positive if it aligns with your values… Research shows that we often think of material objects as part of ourselves. Like, if we have a really nice car. So, if you’re very materialistic, rebranding could strengthen those values. It could have a positive impact.”

But like Robbins, Bunker puts emphasis on the importance of somewhat staying in your lane when designing the shiny new you. “Influencers have a lot of resources,” he notes. “They could be a good role model and make viewers motivated to change. However, it could also provoke feelings of inadequacy if you don’t have the resources to actually make what you want to happen a reality,” he warns. Alternatively, make it your New Year’s resolution to go analogue.

I didn’t take “rebranding” to extreme levels, but the process of picking inspirational images, clearing the cupboards and planning the changes felt both cathartic and productive. It inspired a little hope that next year would be more productive and promising than the last. Still, that didn’t stop me filling my online shopping basket with a new coat, T-shirts and makeup come the Boxing Day sales, thanks to targeted ads.

Maybe we don’t all need new, rebranded wardrobes; maybe we just need less screen time.

Cold weather payments triggered in more than 400 postcodes – check if you’re eligible

The new year is off to a biting start, with areas across the UK being hit by freezing sub-zero temperatures.

Met Office weather warnings for snow and ice remain in place for the first week of 2026, with fears of health issues arising from the conditions.

To help support people during cold snaps like these, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) runs the cold weather payment scheme for qualifying households. This is a one-off payment of £25 that is triggered for every seven-day period where the temperature in an area is at or below zero degrees.

An estimated 674,000 households across 441 postcode areas can now expect a payment. These areas are split across the UK, covering northern and southern areas of England and Wales

Here are the the affected postcode areas for the period of 30 December 2025 to 2 January 2026:

Minister for Pensions Torsten Bell said: “As temperatures plunge, Cold Weather Payments will automatically get support directly to vulnerable households.

“Combined with the biggest ever Pension Credit take-up campaign and our Triple Lock commitment – set to increase the State Pension by up to £2,100 over this Parliament – we’re ensuring pensioners get the support they need this Winter.”

The scheme runs from 1 November to 31 March every year. The payment is paid for every period during which a postcode area experiences seven or more days of freezing temperatures, meaning households can receive more than one payment. Several living the Lake District received three last year, valuing £75.

Those eligible for the cold weather payment must receive at least one of the following:

Those who are not receiving Pension Credit will also typically need to have a health condition, caring responsibilities, or young or disabled children.

They must also live in an area that has experienced seven days of zero or sub-zero temperatures.

The DWP uses its own equipment to measure temperatures across all UK postcodes. Those who disagree with the judgement are able to appeal directly to the department.

Although the affected areas cover parts of Scotland, those living in the country will not received a cold weather payment. The Scottish government has replaced the scheme with its annual Winter Heating Payments.

Those eligible will get the payment automatically. They should arrive in the same bank account they receive benefit payments, within 14 working days of the cold period, with the payment reference ‘DWP CWP’.

Those who believe they are eligible but have not received the payment should contact the DWP.

Below is the full list of over 400 postcodes eligible for the cold weather payment: