Andrew Mackinlay joins me for our 10th edition of A Hard Place to look at where volatile politics, globally and at home is leading us.

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Andrew Mackinlay joins me to talk about the shock impact of the Minnesota ICE incident, the Tory haemorrhage to Reform and where Gibraltar sits in all this with its own political landscape.

*Transcript is computer generated

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Andrew Mackinlay joins me for the first Hard place podcast for 2026 discussing global and local issues.

* more info Kennedy Center reference to https://www.thecookersmusic.com/

**ref to The Skibbereen Eagle - one story that explains this https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/28/local-newspaper-tsar-of-russia-19th-century

https://fotbot.org…

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After skipping the last General Election when their then leader Marlene Hassan stood down, socialist Nick Calamaro and the party’s leader tells Dominique Searle this is more than a pressure group and he will lead the party into the next General Election. What if he wins enough seats to make a difference?

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Dominique is joined by Andrew Mackinlay as we discuss the challenges Europe faces as Trump sets the agenda and UK’s Labour falling into the leadership challenge trap.

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I speak with William Chislett Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Elcano Royal Institute. William covered Spain’s transition to democracy for The Times of London between 1975 and 1978. He was then based in Mexico City for the Financial Times between 1978 and 1984. He returned to Madrid on a permanent basis in 1986 and since then, among other things, has written more than 20 books on various countries.

The Elcano Royal Institute published between 2002 and 2016 four books of his on Spain. He wrote a monthly review of Spain (Inside Spain) for the Institute between April 2004 and September 2021, and since November 2021 writes a monthly post on Spain. He has been a visiting scholar at Bilkent University, Ankara, and at New York University and has spoken at the universities of Oxford, Harvard, Princeton, Chicago, Georgetown and the London School of Economics.

See the report: ‘Fifty years after Franco: Spain’s profound transformation, 1975-2025’

Selected Publications: Spain. What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press, second edition, 2025), Microhistoria de España (Espasa, 2020), A New Course for Spain: Beyond the Crisis (Elcano Royal Institute, 2016), Spain and the United States. The Quest for Mutual Rediscovery (Elcano Royal Institute, 2005), Spanish Direct Investment in Latin America: Challenges and Opportunities (Elcano Royal Institute, 2003) and The Internationalization of the Spanish Economy (Elcano Royal Institute, 2002).

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I am joined by Andrew Mackinlay who gives us an insight into just how far Harold Wilson feared the UK security services were after him, Pedro Sanchez, Spain’s premier welcomes Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabian Picardo’s GSLP socialists into Socialist International.. and the gaming industry hit by a cash hungry Chancellor

.

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Andrew Mackinlay joins me to discuss politics in the UK, this week’s Joint Ministerial Council of the British Overseas Territories and whether we need Governors in these territories.

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I have known Giles Tremlett from my years as a journalist as far back as the 1990s when I was Editor of the Gibraltar Chronicle and stinger for The Times and Reuters. Always a highly regarded Madrid correspondent, his books are both informative and a very good read.

Giles is a British historian, author, and journalist born in 1962 in Plymouth, England. He is based in Madrid, Spain, and has lived there almost continuously since the mid-1990s. He graduated in Human Sciences from the University of Oxford in 1984 and also studied at the universities of Barcelona and Lisbon. He has worked as a correspondent for The Guardian, covering Spain, Portugal, and the Maghreb, and was the Madrid correspondent for The Economist for about a decade. He has been recognized as Correspondent of the Year by the Madrid International Press Club and contributed as a commentator to various Spanish media outlets.

Additionally, Giles is the author of at least five books of history and non-fiction, many translated into multiple languages. His notable works include “Ghosts of Spain,” “Catherine of Aragon,” “Isabella of Castile,” which won the Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography in 2018, and “The International Brigades.”

His writings focus largely on Spanish history and contemporary affairs. Beyond journalism, he has been a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics and a guest lecturer at numerous universities worldwide.

The new book El Generalisimo Franco - power, violence and the quest for greatness is just out in English both print and e-book. Available in all the best bookshops.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit searledom.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit searledom.substack.com