Dominique Searle

A Hard Place - Podcast

News EN ↓ 23 episodes

My personal Substack on current affairs covering Gibraltar, the UK and beyond. Regularly featuring former British MP Andrew Mackinlay searledom.substack.com

Author

Dominique Searle

Episodes

'Et tu, Labour?' 22.06.2026 34:44

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

Elections from England to Gibraltar, and can we really go back to the EU? 15.06.2026 35:32

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

Electorates - unhappy? unreasonable? 21.05.2026 35:28

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

After the week's election: where next for the United Kingdom? 09.05.2026 36:32

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

Starmer, the abyss and hope between Gibraltar and Spain 24.04.2026 38:13

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

Will former King Juan Carlos return finally to Spain? As the UK-EU Gibraltar Agreement unfolds, what are the pitfalls that could lie ahead? 08.04.2026 26:13

Recent article by William Chislett on the Gibraltar Agreement 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

Spain a moderating force in a time of uncertainty... 06.04.2026 28:09

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

Droning our way to inflation and a black cab into the future.... 30.03.2026 33:05

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

Oil, Starmer and where we go next 20.03.2026 40:02

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

The border between Gibraltar and Spain about to vanish... 26.02.2026 29:36

Andrew Mackinlay joins me to discuss the issues of the day affecting us 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

Information, disinformation, shenanigans and the role of defence in our lives today 16.02.2026 29:10

* The accompanying transcript is AI generated 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

Sticking it out...politicians in Westminster and Gibraltar wait for the rain to stop 09.02.2026 28:33

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

Trump a relativist? Starmer blocks Burnham. Gibraltar sets April 10 target for removing Europe's last border 01.02.2026 26:05

Andrew Mackinlay joins me to discuss the news of the past few days. 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

After Davos, the rethink 25.01.2026 34:17

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. 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

ICE, REFORM AND THE ELECTORATE 16.01.2026 39:25

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 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

2026 Rabbits out of the hat or canards 08.01.2026 43:49

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 … This is a public episode. If you would like...

Holding Together? 20.12.2025 21:49

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? Thanks for reading A Hard Place! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work....

Europe, erasure and the rest of us.... 14.12.2025 29:59

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. 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

What is the real Spain that Gibraltar is now engaging with? 04.12.2025 29:44

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 countri...

Gambling on the Budget, Wilson and a few loose nuts.... 01.12.2025 28:46

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 . This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subs...

Budget week watershed: where next for British politics... 23.11.2025 32:45

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. 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

Franco: Dead, or Alive? 19.11.2025 25:09

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 t...

Why podcast, how media, inquiries and reading... 12.11.2025 28:46

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