James BryceBy James Bryce
PRIME Minister David Cameron has left Spain in no doubt as to Britain’s position on the issue of Gibraltar’s sovereignty.
It comes after Cameron met Spain leader Mariano Rajoy to discuss a range of issues including the Eurozone crisis and labour reforms.
But while the pair were at pains to stress their ‘excellent relations’, Cameron raised tensions by reaffirming his position on Gibraltar.
“On the issue of Gibraltar, we do have different positions,” Cameron admitted.
“There’s no change in the Government’s position. It is for the people of Gibraltar to determine their future and we wouldn’t engage in any discussion about Gibraltar that the Gibraltarians did not want us to engage in. That is important to understand.
“But I don’t believe that should get in the way of a strong bilateral relationship between Britain and Spain,” he added.
Gibraltar’s government welcomed Cameron’s stance on an issue which has featured prominently on the Spanish agenda in recent months.
Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said: “David Cameron gets it, knows what the issues are and he does Gibraltar proud.”
Despite the stance, Spain’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo has called for the sovereignty issue to be discussed by the UN General Assembly.
He wrote a strongly worded letter to foreign secretary William Hague the day after the meeting insisting that the former Tripartite Forum should go back to 1984 discussions when Gibraltar did not have the right to a veto.
He wants the UK and Spain to make the key decisions with both the Campo de Gibraltar area and Gibraltar itself having some say. A ‘Two flags, four voices’ discussion, as he put it.
Let’s hope that Cameron doesn’t backtrack and that Gibraltarians are allowed to decide their own future without outside interference. They’ve been let down by enough British governments.
Gibraltar is England and any attempt to change this must be defended . Spain has messed up enough of the world leave Gibraltar alone ………………………….
The last referendum in Gibraltar on the subject was if my memory serves me right was 99% for remaining British…. why now again waste time and effort …the result will be the same… ! Spain should tackle it’s own internal mess and not indulge in silly political tactics to draw attention away… same as Argentina is doing now with the Falklands…. and last but not least… what about the Spanish enclaves in north Africa…Ceuta etc….?????
@louie lou Gibraltar is NOT England. A quick look at any map will show you that. You pay nowhere near the amount of tax we do. Gibraltar is full of dodgy tax evading companies,and they want the British to sort out their problems for them.
englishman …… you have no right to call yourself an englishman.
I am proud of Gibraltar and understand its signifigance .
bankrupt spain wants to get at the money in Gibraltar; that’s the only reason they want it. If Gibraltar was an impoverished fishing village the spanish wouldn’t even want to know it.
louie lou…. I was born in England and can trace my heritage back to 1600. I have lived in England all my life and paid my taxes so I have every right to call myself English. But I am not living in the 19th century like you seem to be. It is places like Gibraltar and other tax havens which are bleeding this country dry. Britain doesn’t need you and would be better off without you.
I was born in Gibraltar ….so in this matter and more than likely many others I am better placed to have a valid opinion than you .As you state you have lived in the U.K ALL YOUR LIFE therefore your knowledge is limited by lack of experience and too many days spent reading the daily mirror or similar left wing rags…..
….sorry, i thought it was the year 2012…didn’t realise that there were still colonial outposts…
daily mirror ‘left wing’? ha ha, back in the day maybe… it’s just another tabloid rag.
the right wing and their friends the multi national bankers – now they HAVE something to answer to dont they!?
the screwed the planet and, great quote ‘ privatised their profits, then nationalised the debts’ when they screwed up…. simply put, when the going was good they kept the money, when they got found out they then got the poor to pay for it whilst still pocketing obscene bonus’… the left mess things up, sure, but the right should rot in hell for their greed and their lack of concern for anyone but themselves.
most expat daily mail readers will, of course, disagree… but they simply reflect their newspaper of choice, a little englander bigoted rag masquerading as a serious paper.
happy days.
louie lou…. Since you have lived in Gibraltar all your life, then you have no experience of paying taxes at a realistic level. And as for having a “more valid opinion” than me, that just shows your arrogance. You are living a subsidized life and need to come into the real world.
Me living a subsidized life !!! lol
Firstly to comment you require knowledge of the subject as you are not Gibraltarian nor do you live here how can you have the arrogance and temerity to insist others live by your standards and philosophies . We pay tax and we live well . I think your posts smack of jealousy nada mas ….
It is not arrogance and temerity to suggest fairness, well not in England but since you know better it obviously is in Gibraltar.
So you wish to degenerate this comments system into a personal attack ?
fair for whom may I ask ?
To Englishman
I have lived and worked in the UK and Gibraltar
I paid both NI and Tax (PAYE) on my wages, this was in the last 5 years.
The Tax Rates and NI were not that dissimilar, and they were on parity with Spain, the people who lived in Spain (Spanish and Others) paid Tax and NI in Gibraltar and it was then subsequently transferred to the Spanish Tax Man to enable Spanish State benefit entitlement etc.
Until you have lived and worked in Gibraltar and Spain and have FIRST and knowledge of the Tax and NI system, stop talking out of your backside!