Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo has accepted the Brexit debate to be ‘over’ after Boris Johnson’s landslide victory last night.
Picardo said he had written to Johnson ‘to congratulate him on his election as Prime Minister’.
It seems that the surprise margin of the Tory win leaves no doubt in his mind that Brexit is now a mere formality.
“I have written to Boris Johnson to congratulate him on his election as Prime Minister,” said Picardo on December 13.
“The result of the election in London is clear and gives him a clear mandate, just as, eight weeks ago, Gibraltar’s election result was clear and gave our Government an equally clear mandate.”
Hard work
With Boris Johnson campaigning for a Brexit deal, however, the chances are that Gibraltar’s negotiations over the last three years, the Rock will now form part of the transition process.
“The outcome of the UK general election means that the United Kingdom and Gibraltar will leave the European Union on 31 January,” confirmed No.6 Convent Place.
“However, that departure will be with an agreement and with a transitional period which will apply to Gibraltar.
“The inclusion of Gibraltar in that agreement followed years of sheer hard work on the part of the Government and this now protects the position of Gibraltar on our exit.
“The stark alternative, was for Gibraltar to have left the EU without a transition and before the UK itself.
“This eventuality has been averted through the negotiation of a Gibraltar Protocol in the Withdrawal Agreement, four Memoranda of Understanding and a Tax Treaty.
“The hard work has paid off.”
Picardo will now give a full statement to Parliament on December 16 about the way forward.
The Chief Minister added: “The argument and the debating is over.
“It’s time to prepare to deliver a Brexit that is safe for Gibraltar and delivers on the result of the successive votes of the people of the United Kingdom.
“The time has now come to do this.”