Oct 05 – Chief Minister’s Address At The Conservative Party Conference
The following is the full text of the speech given by the Chief Minister Fabian Picardo at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester.
Foreign Secretary
Minister for Europe
Ladies and gentlemen
Friends
It is a great pleasure for me to be back here in the great city of Manchester.
This is where many of our students study.
And I am glad to say Gibraltar has direct air links with this Northern powerhouse of British industry.
First let me start today by thanking you all for being here.
Of all the party conferences, we are nowhere as well supported as we are here, amongst our Tory friends!
I know our support in the Conservative party runs from the very top down to the grass roots that give the party it's lifeblood.
Thank you in particular to Andrew Rosindale, Jack Lopresti, Ashley Fox and Julie Girling for their continual representational work in the Westminster and Brussels parliaments.
They are incessant in their defence of Gibraltar.
And so let me repeat here the heartfelt congratulations of the Government and people of Gibraltar to David Cameron and all of you for the stunning election victory earlier in the year.
The people of Gibraltar have long enjoyed the support of the Conservative party in terms of core British values.
Because we share many of those basic British values. The defence of self-determination of people and the resistance of simple might over moral right.
We admired the way in which the people of Scotland were offered a referendum to decide for themselves whether or not their future should lie in or out of the United Kingdom.
As a Unionist, I am glad they chose freely and fairly to remain part of the great British family.
You certainly don’t need another referendum to know that we Gibraltarians also wish to remain British and loyal subjects of Her Majesty the Queen.
That will never change .
We are shortly to enjoy another referendum on membership of the European Union.
The Minister for Europe, my good friend and good friend of Gibraltar, David Lidington and the Prime Minister, have been true to their word and some 22,000 Gibraltarians will be able to vote in that referendum as British European citizens.
We want to retain access to the 520 million people who make up the single market.
Because ever since Margaret Thatcher in 1984 urged us to build financial services and tourism as pillars of the economy after the MOD withdrawl we have done so with diligence and in compliance with international standards and regulation.
It has been the making of us.
Because of that we long ceased to take Overseas Development Aid from Britain. The myth of us being a net cost to UK has long been dispelled.
We now pay almost £10m in university fees for our students each year direct to UK institutions of further education.
It is important for us all to sustain this self-sufficiency.
We do so in Europe and also as leaders in regulatory compliance.
In this field David Cameron has led too.
He made the recent G8 meeting he chaired about transparency in financial services.
He committed to central registers of beneficial ownership.
And today, I can confirm to you that BEFORE THE END OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR, Gibraltar will have a central register of beneficial ownership of all companies established on the Rock.
And we saw in the last two years, as Spain tried to squeeze our frontier to a virtual standstill, that the Prime Minister was able to call on the European Commission to inspect the frontier and put pressure on Spain to comply with the rules on free movement.
Because the EU does many things wrong that need to be fixed. But it also secures some fundamental rights and some of these are important to Gibraltar.
That is why I support entirely the work of David Cameron and his ministerial team in seeking a better, more modern and more representative Europe.
I know, Foreign Secretary that you are working with the Prime Minister on that important endeavour.
And I believe citizens from around the whole of the EU support the British position that seeks to improve the Europe we leave our children.
And I know some of you in this room have your own reasons for wanting to leave the European Union.
I know that that sentiment does not detract one iota from your long-standing and continuing commitment to the people of Gibraltar.
I know that whatever comes our way we can count on your support for Gibraltar and its people.
But clearly we must flag up, for those who are undecided, that it is important to us that we should remain a jurisdiction with free movement of people and services and the right to access the European single market.
My friends, Phillip Hammond and David Lidington have both been a huge support for the Rock. Both have a good feel for the aspirations, wishes and hopes of the people of Gibraltar.
Both have been good friends to Gibraltar and the relationship between our respective Governments has been a stronger partnership than ever before in the recent history of Gibraltar.
And with that partnership comes trust.
Trust that enables us to continue to work together to seek dialogue, friendship and co-operation with Spain.
Trust that we can rely on the United Kingdom to take appropriate action if repeated, dangerous and reckless incursions into our Territorial sea do not desist.
And trust that, working together, we may finally be able to bring about greater co-operation on issues of law enforcement as we show the world that our police and customs stand ready to work with their Spanish counterparts.
There is also strong support between us and in the British parliament for the return of the Tripartite Forum which can lead to a return to meaningful dialogue with Spain, to heal old wounds and to look forward to a better future.
I sincerely hope that together we will be able to start a dialogue with the Government of Spain after the election process is over in Spain and Gibraltar this autumn.
Foreign Secretary, your support has been clear in the increased presence of British naval assets including nuclear powered submarines.
HMS Ambush left Gibraltar last week. HMS Bulwark is in Gibraltar today. So is HMS Echo. Both traverse British Gibraltar Territorial Waters unchallenged, as they are uncontestably British waters. But we still see lives unnecessarily endangered by the reckless actions of some Spanish state agencies. And I know we agree that these are unacceptable and must be stopped.
Your support has no doubt also been there in the appointment by Her Majesty of a senior Royal Marine, Lieutenant General Edward Davis as Governor of Gibraltar.
These are reflections of a government in London that listens to and values its relationship of partnership with Gibraltar.
And as the world sees its biggest challenges surfacing on the shores of the Mediterranean, Gibraltar’s strategic value becomes clearer once again.
Have no doubt that the people of the Rock are and always will be there for Britain and its allies.
Because our ties are deep and heartfelt.
And because Gibraltar is not just red and white.
We are red, white and blue through and through!
Ladies and gentlemen, ministers there is an old saying in Gibraltar that amongst friends "my home is your home".
And so I hope we will see more of you all in our home in Gibraltar in the coming year. Thank you.
Pics: Top left: CM with Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond. Middle: CM with Secretary of State for Defence Michael Fallon. Below: CM with Julie Girling.
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