A recent interview on British podcast “The Rest is Politics” has revealed what Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez thinks of the UK rejoining the EU, the upcoming Gibraltar deal and what the future holds for the Spain-UK alliance.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has gained a level of international attention that arguably no Spanish presidente has ever enjoyed before.
Whether it be being named Person of the Year 2025 by Italian magazine L’Espresso, or dubbed “Europe’s left-wing icon” by prestigious British publication the New Statesman, Sánchez and Spain have in recent years punched above their weight as an outrider voice in international affairs and immigration.
The country’s booming headline economic figures certainly don’t hurt, either, such as when it was voted economy of the year by The Economist magazine.
It makes sense, then, that Sánchez would be a guest on one of the world’s biggest political podcasts. This is especially true when you consider that Sánchez is the first Spanish Prime Minister to speak fluent English, something that has undoubtedly aided his rise to international prominence.
Sánchez recently appeared on the globally popular The Rest Is Politics, hosted by former Conservative Minister Rory Stewart and notorious New Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell.
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Already at well over 300,000 views on YouTube, the episode has been lauded and criticised in both Spain and the UK.
Sánchez supporters point to the episode as an articulation of Spain’s progressive foreign policy, while many critics viewed it as a softball interview in which neither host is an expert on Spanish politics and Sánchez wasn’t properly interrogated on alleged corruption in his government.
In his appearance, which lasted well over an hour, Sánchez, among other issues, outlined his foreign policy stances on Gaza, Ukraine and Iran, made the economic argument for migration, and addressed his outsider position when it comes to relations with Nato and the US.
Inevitably on a British podcast hosted by two Brits who’ve both worked at the highest levels of government, Britain and Brexit came up in conversation on several occasions.
On Spain’s relationship with the UK specifically, Sánchez said: “We have a great relationship. I think that the framework has changed, obviously, because of Brexit. But on the other hand, you know, the relationship is very good between governments and also within our societies.”
This comes as Spain and the UK recently announced bolstered business ties and a potential visa waiver for short-term workers, and Campbell and Steward, two passionate Europhiles, also pushed Sánchez on Brexit.
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“I would definitely like to have the UK on board again,” Sánchez said. “I think that societies can make mistakes, but also you can review those mistakes. And I think it was a mistake for the UK to leave the European Union. And today, I think that there’s a lot of data and facts that, of course, shows that that path was not the correct one.”
Hinting at the UK possibly rejoining the EU, Sánchez said “the big question mark is what the UK will do in the future.”
“I think that is a big question mark that the British should answer. We need to keep that alliance. Brexit was a terrible loss not only for the British, but also for the European Union. We have also lost one of our major political actors when it comes to international politics and welfare of the European Union as a whole,” he said.
Sánchez also discussed the recent deal between the UK, EU, Spain and Gibraltar on the overseas territory’s post-Brexit deal, noting that there are “three Labour governments in Gibraltar, in Spain and in Britain.”
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“Thanks to generosity, responsibility, and, of course, thinking about people in Gibraltar and in the Campo De Gibraltar, we managed to reach a very important agreement. So I think that this was a very important milestone in order to scale up and strengthen our bilateral cooperation with the UK.”
“But this is my hope with all due respect to have again the UK and the European Union,” Sánchez said.
“I think that the destiny of the UK and European Union is the same. And I think that we need to do a political effort to join forces and see in the future how we frame this relationship. Again, as a member of the European Union or not, in my view, it’s clear that it is in the interest of the UK.”
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