The Hungarian autocrat creates new political courts system and attacks workers’ rights – while benefiting from influx of European capital

AS Brexit chaos continues in Britain, it's easy to miss the wider crisis afflicting European society.

Nowhere is this more obvious or alarming than in Hungary, where Prime Minister Viktor Orban has for years pushed his opponents to the margins and eroded the space for dissent and opposition.

David Jamieson finds media coverage on BBC, The Guardian and Bloomberg of the Yellow Vests movement in France has at best misunderstood what is really going on, ant worst deliberately misconstrued what is a rational response to national crisis

THE Yellow Vests movement, initially against a tax increase on fuel but transforming into a generalised revolt against the French government and state, faces a slew of misinterpretations from the media.

Theresa May is meeting with her cabinet to try and shore up support for a form of soft Brexit

THERESA MAY is trying today to win her cabinet and party to a deal with the EU that would keep the UK aligned to EU institutions, at least for a period.

The measures are designed to stop the development of a hard border in Northern Ireland.

Wonga stops issuing new loans as company teeters on the edge of administration

LEADING economists are calling to changes in the structure of UK finance as the exploitative 'payday' loans company Wonga stops issuing new loans, as it sits on the verge of bankruptcy.

Wonga has been the subject of an escalating number of claims by customers relating to former loans. The company has lined up an administrator and shareholders have thrown £10m at the company to try to keep it afloat.

New poll from banking reform group Positive Money shows 72 per cent believe banks should have faced harsher penalties after financial crisis as RBS agrees to pay £3.6 billion for misconduct

A MAJORITY of the British public do not trust banks to work in the UK’s interests, believe that banks should have faced greater penalties for their role in the 2008 financial crisis, and worry that the banking sector may cause further economic disaster, new polling has revealed.

As MPs urge action on Russian money laundering in the City of London, CommonSpace looks more closely at the depth of corruption in the City

A REPORT BY the House of Commons foreign affairs select committee has argued that government inaction on money laundering has allowed Russian “kleptocrats and human rights abusers” to hide “dirty money” – but how far will proposed reforms go to addressing systemic corruption in the City of London?

Scottish jobs could be at risk after Brexit, as research bodies could be set to lose vital funding

LEADING SCOTTISH research centres could be set to lose millions in funding after Brexit, as pharmaceutical companies decide whether to relocate out of the UK. 

Motion of support for the “democratic will of the people of Catalonia” passed at SNP’s Autumn conference

THE SNP has further entrenched its support for the people of Catalonia in the aftermath of the embattled Catalan independence referendum with a topical resolution calling for international mediators to find an “agreed solution” to Catalonia’s standoff with the Spanish Government.

Macron faces problems of political polarisation, economic crisis and mass opposition to his policies 

EMMANUEL MACRON has won the French Presidency, defeating his second round far right opponent Marine Le Pen by 66 to 34 per cent.

However, the country is slipping deeper into a crisis of economic decline and political polarisation, marked by mass street movements.

CommonSpace looks at the major obstacles now faced by Macron.

1. The French crisis