Gibraltarians Almost Unanimous Against Joint Sovereignty

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

08 November 2002

Gibraltar's referendum yesterday on the principle of joint sovereignty over the Rock for the UK and Spain resulted in a stunning victory for the 'No' campaigners, with more than 98% of voters against the idea. The turnout was over 90%, and a mere 200 out of 18,000 voterss said yes in answer to the question:

'Do you approve of the principle that Britain and Spain should share sovereignty over Gibraltar?'

Gibraltar's Chief Minister called the referendum after UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw began to suggest that Spain and the UK would agree to joint sovereignty regardless of the wishes of the Gibraltarians. Talks between the two countries on the issue gave Gibraltar only observer status, and as a result Mr Caruana stayed away.

The strength of this new vote will make it very hard for the British Government to proceed with its plans, although resolution of the issue was seen as crucial for New Labour's ambitions in Europe. Spain has a visceral need to reclaim sovereignty over Gibraltar, and has used the row over the British colony as a tool to hamper or delay many important pieces of EU legislation. Tony Blair is thought to have hoped that resolution of the problem would ensure Spanish support in his undeclared ambition to become the first President of Europe.

Although the British government had said that the referendum was irrelevant to its plans with Spain (really?), yesterday's vote brings London's spinners up against the hard reality of democracy - and the vote was echoed in Plymouth, where a copy-cat poll of nearly 1,000 shoppers resulted in a 95% majority against joint sovereignty.

Over 32,000 Plymouth residents recently signed a petition calling on the British Government not to give away the Rock to Spanish rule against the wishes of the Gibraltarians. The Plymouth petition was sent to the Queen, Prime Minister Blair, and the Spanish Ambassador in London.

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