GIBRALTAR has been a melting pot of nationalities and faiths through the centuries.

Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim faiths all co-exist while nationalities include British, Moroccan, Spanish, Indian and Pakistani.

When you consider the actual size of the Rock, it is a real testament to the nature of Gibraltar that they all get along and, although relations with Spain may not be at their best at the moment, they are at least small signs that things are improving.

The introduction of a racist party like UKIP could, in theory, upset this balance.

The fact that this is a party that has a strongly pro-British manifesto and that on a recent visit Sean Howlett met with the group ‘Defenders of Gibraltar’ should certainly set off alarm bells in Madrid should they pick up support.

We will await UKIP’s summer launch with interest, but doubt their right wing rants will get them far.

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37 COMMENTS

  1. Please don’t call UKIP racist unless you can provide evidence for this in there manifesto and I assure you there is none, as they are the only party in Britain that as a policy does not allow any one that has been a member of a far right organization to join the party, I repeat the only party in Britain to have this policy, in fact the Labour party has two former prolific BNP members,if you want to be a credible media format please report the truth and do not pass you own ignorant views on a party that is fighting for the values,beliefs and fear’s of many hard working respectable member’s of are society, ukip are fighting to preserve what is left of a once great nation before it given away and fully controlled by the deeply undemocratic anti British EU.

  2. Don’t let’s be naive. Farage may be a clown, but he’s not daft enough to insert racist policies in his manifesto. The racism is implicit. “the hate that dare not speak its name” Just listen to the man on the “danger” from the “floods” of Rumanians that are about to “swamp” the U.K. This party is designed cunningly, to appeal to the very worst in people who blame “the other” for all the troubles in the country.
    A one-trick pony who is riding high on the current antipathy to the E.U. He would, incidentally, leave expats of every stripe, floundering outside of what is already a shaky umbrella of E.U. protection.

  3. Considering the fact that number of migrants into the UK as a result of the 2004 EU enlargement was an order of magnitude greater than predicted, and considering that fact that Rumania is considerably poorer than the countries that joined in 2004, Bulgaria to a lesser extent, it’s naive not to think that floods of Rumanians are going to swamp parts of the UK. This has happened already, Boston in Lincs is just on example, and the results are dangerous, especially for those needing medical attention, but unable to get it from a system which has been overwhelmed by uncontrolled migration.

    Considering the UK is one of the few members paying th piper, I think it only fair that the UK is allowed to call the tune. Even Spain does not make a net contribution, and let’s face it, money talks, so I doubt UK nationals living in the EU are under any real threat.

  4. @Vincent…

    “if you want to be a credible media format please report the truth and do not pass you own ignorant views on a party that is fighting for the values,beliefs and fear’s of many hard working respectable member’s of are society…”

    This article appears in the ‘Opinion’ section of Olive Press; the writer is expressing their opinion, it is allowed.

    As for the predictable hand-wringing about a ‘once great nation’? Please…. its the 21st century; get over yourself!

  5. ” As Downes sees it, “A lot of people of our generation – the grey pound, sort of thing – really feel, why has our culture become unimportant?””

    Downes is a UKIP activist. I wonder what he means by “our culture”.

    Could it be white anglo-saxon culture, the kind that is so tolerant of other cultures?

    “http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/may/17/ukip-the-battle-for-britain”

  6. Tony, I had a quick read of that very long article and got a bit bored and gave up. The problem for UKIP is that they have all the papers against them and the papers are coming up with all sorts of silly stories to try and push the public away from them. What was the one I read the other day, an elderly donor said he prefers women in skirts, I think they had a page on that… If you go and speak to any elderly person they have stories of a bygone era like some in the labour link paper article. The problem for the establishment is people are not quite as quick to believe or care what silly things the newspapers print. 20 years ago that would have worked. The main facts outweigh the petty media stories. Look at Italy, a comic got 25% of the vote so the main parties should be worried as Nigel is not a comic. The only way I can see the Tories winning is if they either renegotiate a good deal with the EU which won’t happen (Look at the increase last week of over £700million to the EU) or they give the public the vote before the next election. I think there are too many third world countries in the EU, that is the problem. We have no control over our own Country including how much money we have to hand over every year to the EU, the laws and how many people are allowed here. I don’t really support UKIP but to change the above points one way or another all makes sense to me.

  7. What a ridiculous article doing the Olive Press no credit what so ever.
    Are you trying to stir up racist/religious conflict?

    In fact under the conditions explicit in the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) ceding Gibraltar from Spain to Britain only ONE religion is allowed on the “Rock”.
    Christianity – either Catholic or Protestant.

    This is just one of several instances where Britain has defaulted on its Treaty obligations – and those familiar with laws of contract will know that when a covenant is broken the treaty is deemed null and void and the offending party can be sued for damages…

    Back home the British have voted for a succession of governments who have encouraged unrestricted immigration of people with religions other than Christianity – for example in my home town of Bradford 80 (eighty) mosques are now open for Muslim prayer.

    Similar situations exists in many other British towns and cities, but this is what the British elected to happen in their free and democratic society that now embraces Islam the fastest growing religion on earth ….

    International law prevents the British from doing the same on Gibraltar.
    Or in other words Gibraltar is not Bradford.

  8. THE UKIP PARTY MANEFESTO IN FULL

    1. Smoking to be allowed in pubs
    2. Waxed jackets to be made mandatory
    3. Chaps not obliged to help with the washing up
    4. VAT on beards
    5. Massive investment in golf club (house) construction
    6. Driving gloves to be worn in cars at all times
    7. Bring back Robertson’s Golly on marmalade jars
    8. Police permitted to give young offenders a clip on the ear
    9. Black and white TV to return
    10.Johnny foreigner to get marching orders … oops!

    Love Maria. A UKIP supporter!

  9. Apart from the cleverly disguised fascist filth spewed forth by UKIP here a few reason not to vote for them:

    UKIP is sceptical about the existence of man-made climate change (WHAT?) and would scrap all subsidies for renewable energy (WHAT?). It would also cancel all wind farm developments (WHAT?). Instead, it backs the expansion of shale gas extraction (WHAT?), or fracking (WHAT?!!!!).

    UKIP opposes the move to legislate same-sex marriage.
    (The leader is more than likely a repressed homosexual)

    UKIP wants to bring back smoking in pubs (WHAT?)

    If people like Maria get their way we’ll soon have ‘WHITES ONLY’ signs up everywhere.

    UKIP need to know that there is not and never has been one monolingual, monocultural British culture. UUURGH! Watch out for these people!

  10. You no what its shocking and deeply disturbing to here the rhetoric of some people on the left when discussing UKIP the left wings approach to dealing with any views that are patriotic,traditional Christian,or that may suggest that they would sooner find jobs for the 1 million unemployed young British people before any one in the EU, or that we should have strong borders to protect us from all the criminals in Europe that are committing terrible crimes, is to call them Racist or fascist this ses a lot more about the lefts total ignorance of any thing beyond there tiny worlds than it does the people they are attacking,the fact you are calling your own country men racists and fascists for standing up for there country and there fellow country men or flying there national flag,shows that you are the bigoted ones bigoted to your own country and it culture this makes you the lowest of the low in a historical view or modern,you have demonized the roots of who you are and what gave you every thing and what seen your fore farther’s through centuries of war,you have demonized patriotism found the worst words in are vocabulary and used them to attack any one that stands up for you or your country,if you look through history people like you are no were to be found you are a new anti culture anti national and there is a name for people like you that attack there own culture and the people that fight for it its called a traitor and that’s what the left has become traitors to Britain and its people and to all people that fort for Britain and it beliefs and culture, I have travelled 51,000 k by land visited 24 country’s and over 100 city’s,you see how nations and there culture come and go,the nations that last have the bravest souls and the proudest people to protect them the nations that become ruins in the sand are the ones that were not strong enough or patriotic enough to survive,the left is killing the very heart of are country and they are betraying there own children shame on you all. UKIP’s political approach would see Britain and its culture last for centuries left to Labour & the Libdems you will be lucky if there is any thing of British culture left intact in a few decades,But good luck and god bless all those making Britain’s last stand,history will remember your efforts

  11. Vincent Price

    Don’t waste your time and energy communicating with brain dead lefties who like robots are programmed not to think but simply duplicate the standard left wing rhetoric spewing out hatred about how evil and racist people of European descent are in their own countries.

    They claim to be at war against ” racism ” and ” extremism ” implying that the indigenous people of Britain do not morally deserve to exist by reason that the British colonised, killed and made war against other peoples so they deserve everything they get, and now it’s our turn to suffer and feel guilty about imperialism and colonialism which neither we nor they were ever a part of.

    Anybody who has travelled the world understands perfectly well that Americans, Canadians, Kiwis, Australians, Brits and other Western Europeans are far more tolerant of racial minorities than many other countries, yet the lefties claim to be in a crusade to crush ” racism ” wherever they can sniff out the last remnants – or at least in any white countries including their own in the very same society, the very same race and civilisation that has done more than any other to create social capital , democracy , individual human rights,freedom from poverty and oppression than any other, and (ironically) create the life style these lefties have become so accustomed to benefiting from.

    Racism is rampant against white people in non-white countries and even worse for blacks in Asian countries – and anyone with a modicum of worldly understanding and experience would understand this.

    Except the UK lefties who motivated by some racial revenge vendetta of retribution and justice conducted against their own people in a campaign of demographic , territorial , cultural , psychological , political and ethnic terror against tens of millions of innocent people perhaps with the ultimate goal of dispossessing them from their ancestral homelands.

    If this does not conform to the definitions of what International Law and the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous peoples classify as “genocide ” then what does?

  12. While my political/culture philosophy is right wing I am a great admirer of the works of George Orwell who, although an opponent of Fascism, would freely ridicule the exploitation of the word:

    He wrote:

    “It would seem that,as used, the word “Fascism” is entirely meaningless.

    In conversation of course it is used even more widely than in print. I have heard it applied to farmers, shop keepers, Social Credit, corporal punishment, fox-hunting, bull-fighting, the 1922 Committee, the 1941 Committee, Kipling, Gandhi, Chiang Kai-Shek, homosexuality, Priestley’s broadcasts, youth hostels, astrology, women ,dogs and I don’t know what else.”

    Orwell may be even more disconcerted by the present day exploitation of the word “racism” and uncomfortable about the abuse of the word “Orwellian” which his philosophy is purportedly responsible …

  13. then you leave comments like that on.. oh well good luck guys!

    please try not to let these sections become specifically for people slagging off Spain like Fred, stefanjo, M in Spain, Tony Bishop, Robert etc etc

    I think you need to have a meeting

  14. Tony Bishop – ‘’ If you think I have EVER slagged off Spain, you and I don´t speak the same language. I never have and never will’’. That is the problem, that is not a balanced view point, nowhere is perfect so not being able to admit to any shortcomings is silly if I am putting it politely. Maria, I was surprised to hear there are 80 mosques in Bradford. The problem is, and I am not religious at all, and my next door neighbour in the UK is a Muslim, the best neighbour you could have, but once the Muslims are in Council power as is the case in a few places they can vote through as may mosques as they like and change the landscape to whatever they please, this would be OK if we loved mosques. In a few decades we may well look more like Morocco than the UK. In the UK the last census informed us of white flight where a large amount of white people have moved out of the ethnic mixed areas to the suburbs and this will at some point extend to people leaving the Country as it does to some extent at the moment. If all the wealth creators, inventors, leaders, top executives leave then there is not much left. We are not at that stage yet but as Vincent said, it is potentially heading that way. If you read the world news many countries are stating the obvious really, if you mix up too many religions and backgrounds then you create a problem for yourself. Some of the programmes I have seen in the UK on National TV where a local girl had a camera crew and TV doc in Luton amazed me. That is not the direction I want this Country to head in and although I live in a good area and a bubble I have to be aware of the potential of that type of culture of killing the infidels could spread like a virus. My kids are clever and one is probably within the top 0.5% of the brightest pupils, by the time he finishes his qualifications he may well be off elsewhere. We need to change the way it is all heading.

  15. I will just add 1 thing dont most of the contributors live here in Spain!! The country in Europe that does not allow us as ex pats Healthcare, employment benefits etc?? Surely what is good for 1 must be good for the others or is EU law just to be ignored by all but the UK??

    Just a thought

  16. Let’s hope for protests against this party by Gibraltarians!! UKIP are only targeting Gibraltar because in Nigel Farage’s eyes he just associates the place with lots of British flags everywhere…

    UKIP should realise Britain’s proud multicultural history & disappear down a dark racist hole somewhere!

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