Soft power sell-off: anger as British Council announces sale of historic Madrid building

Backlash grows among European staff against radical cuts to pay off Covid-era debt, with some accusing council of ‘colonial attitude’ The historic Palacete building at 31 Paseo del General Martínez Campos in Madrid’s upmarket Chamberí district has been home to the British Council in Spain for about 70 years. About 5,000 students each year pass through its 35 classrooms, learning English, attending exams, and forging cultural ties with the UK. Over the years that is hundreds of thousands of Madrileños (people from Madrid), while it also serves as a centre for the expat community. But no longer, it seems. News that the high-end building is to be sold has brought staff on to the streets in protest. With no confirmation of where the 320 staff members will be relocated to, there is anger and real concern that their jobs may be at risk. The sale of another building in Barcelona is also proposed, it is understood. It is part of a growing backlash across Europe by British Council staff against radical cuts and restructuring, without which, the organisation’s senior management has warned, the world’s leading soft-power agency could disappear “within a decade”. This week, staff in Italy stag