Martín Roberts 🇪🇺 🇪🇸 🇬🇧 🚲
@madridcorro.bsky.social
Best Foreign Correspondent in Spain Prize-winner, roamed the world for @Reuters. @nytimes.com acclaimed translator. Anglo-Spaniard in Madrid. Cyclist. Replies≠endorsements.
Premio al Mejor Corresponsal Extranjero en España, traductor literario, ciclista.
Premio al Mejor Corresponsal Extranjero en España, traductor literario, ciclista.
Might explain why so many Leavers -- including B. Johnson --seem not to have foreseen the consequences of the UK having a land border with an EU MS.
November 19, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Might explain why so many Leavers -- including B. Johnson --seem not to have foreseen the consequences of the UK having a land border with an EU MS.
Come to think of it, LBJ is reputed to have said something which is just as valid today: "If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best coloured man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."
November 19, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Come to think of it, LBJ is reputed to have said something which is just as valid today: "If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best coloured man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."
That too, like kids in the playground sucking up to the school bully. I believe Berlusconi once said that why people voted for him: "They want to be like me".
November 19, 2025 at 2:21 PM
That too, like kids in the playground sucking up to the school bully. I believe Berlusconi once said that why people voted for him: "They want to be like me".
"There is no claim that #Farage the man must still hold the same views as the ones ascribed to Farage the boy." No, but that still leaves room for his views getting worse because he can get away with a lot more nowadays, as well as being in a position to put them into practice.
November 19, 2025 at 7:12 AM
"There is no claim that #Farage the man must still hold the same views as the ones ascribed to Farage the boy." No, but that still leaves room for his views getting worse because he can get away with a lot more nowadays, as well as being in a position to put them into practice.
My question was rhetorical, but I'm staggered that so many don't see through him.
November 19, 2025 at 7:08 AM
My question was rhetorical, but I'm staggered that so many don't see through him.
And she's so shamefaced about it. I'm still staggered the Security Council let him twist their arms.
November 19, 2025 at 7:07 AM
And she's so shamefaced about it. I'm still staggered the Security Council let him twist their arms.
P.S. Yet again Spain's newspaper of record didn't even mention the UK this morning. Not so much a supplicant as increasingly irrelevant.
November 18, 2025 at 2:29 PM
P.S. Yet again Spain's newspaper of record didn't even mention the UK this morning. Not so much a supplicant as increasingly irrelevant.
A third country can only expect to be treated like any other third country and there are rather a lot of them.
November 18, 2025 at 2:25 PM
A third country can only expect to be treated like any other third country and there are rather a lot of them.
They approached it as if her bombshell had no wider impact than a football manager deciding to play 4-2-3-1 instead of 4-4-2.
November 17, 2025 at 2:10 PM
They approached it as if her bombshell had no wider impact than a football manager deciding to play 4-2-3-1 instead of 4-4-2.
FYI, New Statesmen whitewashed Mahmood in its newsletter this morning. I only subscribed because I naively thought it might provide a counterfoil to RW UK media.
November 17, 2025 at 11:26 AM
FYI, New Statesmen whitewashed Mahmood in its newsletter this morning. I only subscribed because I naively thought it might provide a counterfoil to RW UK media.
Which is why I believe bikes with 27" wheels were known as "safety bicycles" when they first came out.
November 16, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Which is why I believe bikes with 27" wheels were known as "safety bicycles" when they first came out.
Seriously, have you thought of dropping a line to the ed or the defensora del lector?
November 16, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Seriously, have you thought of dropping a line to the ed or the defensora del lector?
Christ on a bike, I can still remember when only Enoch Powell or the National Front spouted this kind of hate speech, not ministers on prime time TV.
November 16, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Christ on a bike, I can still remember when only Enoch Powell or the National Front spouted this kind of hate speech, not ministers on prime time TV.
I can still remember the 70s when you only heard this hate speech from Enoch Powell or the National Front, and they were reviled.
November 16, 2025 at 2:18 PM
I can still remember the 70s when you only heard this hate speech from Enoch Powell or the National Front, and they were reviled.
Brexit really is the poisoned chalice of UK politics, isn't it?
November 16, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Brexit really is the poisoned chalice of UK politics, isn't it?
Ought to be banned by the Geneva Convention!
November 16, 2025 at 7:14 AM
Ought to be banned by the Geneva Convention!
Remember the heady mix of excitement and amazement when that came out, just like the raw energy when "Jean Genie" did, the seductive world weariness of "Life on Mars" (with "Man who sold the world" as the B-side!), the thrill of "Heroes", and so on. Spoilt for choice.
November 15, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Remember the heady mix of excitement and amazement when that came out, just like the raw energy when "Jean Genie" did, the seductive world weariness of "Life on Mars" (with "Man who sold the world" as the B-side!), the thrill of "Heroes", and so on. Spoilt for choice.
The president's brain is missing?
November 15, 2025 at 10:25 AM
The president's brain is missing?
Good if it works.
November 15, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Good if it works.