Tell an Italian you’re going to Genoa, otherwise known as Genova, and the response ranges from surprise to unrestrained shock. Compared to Italian delights nearby – the still beauty of Lake Como, the buzzing life in Bologna, the culinary delights in Modena – Genoa is seen to fall short in tourist attractions. “It’s not beautiful,” a well-meaning Italian will implore, comparing it to the rustic charm of Tuscany. That’s partly because Genoa, Italy’s busiest port town, has only begun to...

Britain's prison have become a revolving door for offenders because they're too overcrowded to work as effective forms of rehabilitation. In a scathing interview with The London Economic former prison officer Paul Ward said prisons "do not rehabilitate the vast majority of offenders", merely acting as a way of "keeping people out of harms way for a length of time". Despite the efforts of the staff on the front line prison officers are largely powerless to rehabilitate inmates in a meaningful way because...

Recruiters for the Yates pub chain use a secret ‘good-looking only’ policy for female staff. Elless promotions ruled they must be ‘at least seven’ out of 10 to work as shot girls and ex-employee Jade Garner, 30, claims she was sacked for being ‘too fat’. Messages on Elless area managers Whatsapp group message discussing Jade Garner. The firm also posted a picture of a larger woman on Facebook with the words: “This really isn’t suitable for staff is it?” Size...

‘I spent 48 hours exploring the mysterious islands located between Scotland, Norway, and Iceland.’  Credit: Greg Annandale - @Greg_A copy On the flight to the Faroe Islands, it dawns on me how little I know about the country. The picture in my mind is of an old-fashioned, rundown farming community. A place like Craggy Island from Father Ted. The islands' only airport, Vagar, does little to change this perception. It reminds me of an old, forgotten Scottish outpost. Mainly because...

This is nothing short of an attempted cover up, but it’s no wonder that Ministers fought tooth and nail to cover up these damning figures GMB, the union for public sector workers, has exposed a shock Treasury report which Chancellor Philip Hammond tried to hide showing public sector wages are now below those in the private sector. The union has accused the Treasury of ‘covering up’ the study – which reveals that in 2016 public sector workers were paid 0.6...

Treatments for cancer, arthritis and multiple sclerosis (MS) are among drugs costing the cash-strapped NHS over a billion pounds a year - despite public funding playing a substantial role in the medicines’ development. Our new joint report with Global Justice Now, Pills and Profits: How drug companies make a killing out of public research shines a light on the level of UK public money used to develop new drugs - with two out of five of the NHS’s most expensive...

Thank you for that fantastic welcome and thank you for inviting me here today. I want to begin by saying that today’s “Socialists Together” conference is a great initiative, and when Gianni Pittella invited me to speak, I was very glad to accept. I want to thank everybody from all the participating organisations, from many different countries, for being here to take part and contribute to this critical debate about the future of socialist and progressive politics and the future...

“The elixir of quietude”, according to E.B. White – the iconic Martini has become one of the world’s best-loved cocktails over the past century. Now with so many variations on the classic (traditionally made with gin and dry vermouth) readily available, from the lauded Espresso Martini to the Porn Star Martini, through to the Dirty Martini. One of the most iconic versions, apart from the classic Dry Martini; the Dirty Martini is typically embellished with a splash of brine from...

Most of us have dreamt of becoming truly rich but how does your typical billionaire compare to the average worker today? The eagle-eyed team at insurance provider Budget Insurance have analysed data from the Forbes 2017 rich list to uncover the secrets of the world’s richest. They compared a range of factors to identify some fascinating differences (and some surprising similarities) between the Forbes' top 10 and the average Brit. Here are a few highlights. On the age front, only...