Politics of Gibraltar
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- See also Disputed status of Gibraltar.
Template:Politics of Gibraltar Gibraltar is an overseas territory of the UK, with full internal self-government under its 1969 Constitution. The preamble to that Constitution states that "Her Majesty's Government will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their freely and democratically expressed wishes.".
In a referendum on September 10 1967, the people Gibraltar voted by 12,138 to 44 to reject the transfer of sovereignty to Spain and to remain under British sovereignty. This day is now celebrated as Gibraltar's National Day. In a referendum organised by the Government of Gibraltar on November 7 2002, voters overwhelmingly rejected the principle that Spain and the United Kingdom should share sovereignty over Gibraltar, by 17,900 votes to 187 on a turnout of almost 88%.
Unlike most other British colonies, Gibraltar has not been offered independence by the UK. This is on the grounds that the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), under which Spain ceded the territory to the British Crown, states that should the British dispose of Gibraltar, it must be offered to Spain, which has right of first refusal.
Spain argues that Gibraltar's status is an anachronism, and that it should become an autonomous community of Spain, similar to Catalonia or the Basque Country. It also argues that the principle of territorial integrity, not self-determination applies, drawing parallels with the British handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997.
The Gibraltarians continue to assert that they are British not Spanish, and HMG repeatedly states that there can be no change in the status of Gibraltar without their consent.
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The Governor
Queen Elizabeth II is represented by the Governor and Commander-in-Chief, presently Sir Francis Richards (appointed 2003). The Governor appoints the leader of the largest party in the unicameral legislature, known as the House of Assembly, as Chief Minister, along with other members of the Council of Ministers. In addition, he appoints the Financial Development Secretary and the Attorney-General, who are ex officio members of the House of Assembly. They, along with the Governor, the Deputy Governor and the Chief Minister, are members of the advisory Gibraltar Council. The Governor is also directly responsible for the local police force, known as the Royal Gibraltar Police, while the Deputy Governor is responsible for public service appointments.
The Executive
The present Chief Minister is the Hon Peter Caruana, QC, of the Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD), who have been in office since May 17, 1996, and were returned to power in elections held on February 10 2000, and November 27 2003. The Leader of the Opposition is the Hon Joe Bossano, of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Pary (GSLP), which is in coalition with the Liberal Party of Dr Joseph Garcia. All parties support Gibraltar's right to self-determination, and reject agreements with Spain on the issue of sovereignty. Traditionally, the GSLP has been more hardline towards Madrid, the GSD more conciliatory, although less so in government than in opposition.
The Legislature
The Gibraltar House of Assembly consists of fifteen elected members, the Speaker, and the two ex officio members. Under the electoral system used since 1969, voters must choose eight candidates, who need necessarily not be from the same party but usually are, in what is called 'partial block voting'. Consequently, a party seeking to form a government stands eight candidates, and the result is usually that eight of the elected seats are won by the most popular party, which forms the elected Government; the remaining seven are usually won by the 'best loser' which forms the opposition. The last election was held on November 27 2003.
See Elections in Gibraltar for recent results.
Constitutional Reform
Select Committee Proposals
In 1999, the Government of Gibraltar established a Select Committee on Constitutional Reform, to consider how the 1969 Constitution should be reformed. It envisaged decolonisation by creating a modern and non-colonial relationship with the United Kingdom. A draft Constitution was published in 2002, which envisaged the following:
- The right to self-determination being enshrined in the preamble, as in the Falkland Islands.
- The replacement of the Governor by a Lieutenant Governor, as in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as the Queen's representative, with the office of Deputy Governor being abolished.
- The abolition of the office of the Financial Development Secretary, whose functions would pass to an elected member of the Council of Ministers, with the Attorney-General being similarly appointed.
- The House of Assembly, henceforth called the Gibraltar Parliament, to consist solely of elected members.
- The abolition of the Gibraltar Council, and its replacement by a Consultative Council for European Union matters, consisting of Gibraltar and UK Ministers
- The right of the Government of Gibraltar to dispose of Crown lands in Gibraltar
Integration with the UK
Many in Gibraltar have spoken out in favour of a far closer relationship with the UK, in the form of integration or incorporation into the UK itself, similar as was offered to Malta in 1955, in which the Rock would be represented in the British House of Commons, while retaining internal self-government. This would be a similar status to France's Overseas Departments, and indeed to Spain's North African enclaves, Ceuta and Melilla, claimed by Morocco. One of Spain's arguments in rejecting comparisons between Gibraltar and these teritories, is that they are part of Spain, whereas Gibraltar is merely a British crown colony, and not part of the UK.
However, the British Foreign Office rejected the idea in 1976, along with independence, on the grounds that any further constitutional reform or decolonisation would have to take into account the so-called 'Spanish dimension'. Many in Gibraltar have also argued against integration on the grounds that it would mean the surrendering of many powers of self-government. While there is still emotional attachment to the idea of Gibraltar being British, some see the Rock's future as being within a larger 'Europe of the Regions', rather than as part of one nation state or another.
Condominium
The idea of a condominium, with sovereignty shared between the UK and Spain has even less support in Gibraltar. Some have spoken in favour of a status similar to that of Andorra, in which Queen Elizabeth II and King Juan Carlos would be joint heads of state, in the same way that President of France and the Spanish Bishop of Urgell are Co-Princes of Andorra. While this would give Spain a symbolic constitutional role in Gibraltar, this would not go far enough in moving towards effective Spanish control of the Rock, and even a symbolic role would be a step too far for many Gibraltarians.
Political Parties
Main article: List of political parties in Gibraltar
There are a number of parties in operation in Gibraltar:
- Gibraltar Social-Democrats
- Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party
- Gibraltar Labour Party
- Gibraltar Liberal Party
- Gibraltar Reform Party
European election 2004
Main article: European Parliament Election, 2004 (Gibraltar).
Although affected by European Union law, Gibraltar has not voted in elections for the European Parliament. This changed in the 2004 election, when it was counted as part of the South West England region, as its electorate of 20,740 is too small to justify even a single seat set aside for it.
This was the first election Gibraltar has ever voted in with the mainstream UK parties contesting it. The Conservative Party took 69.52% of the vote, which has generally been interpreted as a protest against the handling of Gibraltar by the Labour Party.
External links
- History of the Eurovote Issue (http://www.gibnet.com/eurovote)
- Conservatives Abroad in Gibraltar (http://www.conservatives.gi)