Nov 02 - GSD Candidates Sign On For Upcoming Elections
Ten GSD candidates put their names forward for the upcoming elections at Parliament House today.
The full slate of candidates, including party leader Daniel Feetham, signed the nomination papers ahead of the elections, to be held on Thursday 26th November.
Mr Feetham said he is pleased with his slate, and said that it is the right team to take Gibraltar forward.
He added: “You have experts in the right field, and the right field undoubtedly has to be the public finances of Gibraltar, and also questions of openness and transparency.
“Our debt at the moment, the gross debt is £850 million, and we still have to build a power station, and we still got to build a sewage plant, and that is going to take us well over a billion pounds, that is an awful lot of debt for Gibraltar to carry.
“It’s about time that we started to think of the impact this has on our future generations, our children, our political stability – because economic stability gives political stability – and I don’t think that the government is actually doing that.
“The government has a policy of spend spend spend, but we have to think about the consequences sometime in the future, and that is not right.”
With regards to savings, Mr Feetham said he is not talking about austerity measures, but rather prioritising where money is spent.
When asked why people should vote for him, Mr Feetham said: “I think that the right vision for Gibraltar is one that involves responsibility, prudence, sustainability, and that there are important curves up ahead such as Brexit, for example, and we need to think not just about the present but about the future.
“I have been consistent in that message for the last three years, and I believe we owe a duty to our children and our children’s children to focus on the effects on the way that we are running the administration of this community on our future generations.”
Trevor Hammond said he is excited about the run up to the elections.
He said: “There will be a lot of hard work, and a lot of commitment to the policies that we are putting together, which are all about bringing a responsible government back to Gibraltar.
“If people vote for me, they will get a dedicated hard-working individual, whether in Government or in Opposition, and the intention is very much on being in Government, who will deliver on commitments, who will behave in an honest, transparent and fair manner, and who will make sure that the commitments we make during the elections are delivered – every single one of them.”
Mr Hammond has been campaigning against the Government’s proposals to build an LNG power station at the North Mole.
He said: “For many people in Gibraltar, LNG is a make or break issue, primarily because there are two very different visions on how to provide power to Gibraltar. There is definitely a decision that the electorate have to make during this next election about what they want in that respect.”
When asked what she’ll bring to the election campaign, Marlene Hassan-Nahon said she feels like she is well-connected to the electorate and can act as an advocate for people’s causes and issues in Parliament.
She said: “I am concerned about the way that this Government is running Gibraltar, and I believe in the GSD vision for Gibraltar. I think that people have to step up to the plate and represent this place if they want a difference in the way things are run.”
Elliott Phillips said the focus he is bringing to this election is one on employment and training, and said they GSD has already released its apprenticeship programme, which he describes as a modern approach to training.
He said: “I think people should vote for the entire GSD team - they represent a professional team, a mix of people from all the community and we are not lambasted with too many lawyers.
“What we represent is a very prudent, trustworthy, responsible set of 10 individuals who really have Gibraltar at heart, and I think in regards to employment, we need to take it to the next level. This election has to be about opportunities for young people.”
Robert Vasquez said it is great to be part of the new GSD team, which he describes as a reinvigorated team that will provide open government through parliament, and will ensure that public money spent will be done so properly.
He said: “What you can expect from me is a very strident message relating to fairness, openness, democracy, and a return of Gibraltar to that which I knew when I was younger which is a democratic environment, rather than an environment which we have ended up with, constantly ruled by a Chief Minister.”
Edwin Reyes will be standing for elections for the third time because he is worried about the long-term future of Gibraltar for his children and grandchildren. He said he hasn’t seen as much progress as he would like in his former ministries of sports, culture and heritage over the past four years, and one of his main focuses will be to bring a sports village to the Victoria Stadium area, to allow all local sporting teams the opportunity to compete in their respective sports.
With regards to public expenditure, he said: “I am not going to leave any debts for my children and grandchildren, either personal or collectively as a Government. We have to live within our means. We are a prosperous country, but the same as we do at home with our salaries, we need to do the same in the big Gibraltarian picture.”
Chris White said he is bringing a passion for democracy to this election campaign. He said that over the past four years, in particular with issues such as public expenditure, the LNG power plant and the Gibraltar Savings Bank, the Government has demonstrated it is not comfortable in letting the people know what it is doing and why it is doing it.
He added: “What worries me is the health of democracy depends on having a government which can be trusted on being open and honest with its people. In short, democracy needs us.”
Roy Clinton said he expects the next couple of weeks to be exciting, and is hoping to bring his skill set as a qualified accountant to political debate. He said he is concerned about the government employing certain mechanisms to get around the legal borrowing limit, and said we have to be prudent with our money and look after it.
He said: “I hope to bring some clarity to the numbers, and understand where the money is coming from, where it is going to, and explain it to the electorate in hopefully the most simplest way.”
Lawrence Llamas said people should vote for him because he can combine the voice of the average hard-working Gibraltarian with a person who has been in the system from his work in the tax office over the last 11 years. He said the way forward is in fairness and good governance, and believes GSD’s focus on transparency is a cornerstone for healthy democracy.
As a woman in politics, Kim Karnani is hoping to bring a completely different perspective to these elections. She highlighted the 12% “tampon tax” that has come to attention, which is an example of women’s issues that needs to be raised in Parliament.
She said: “I think it is important to have an influence in policy-making decision with regards to how we want to steer the future of Gibraltar, and the direction in which we want to steer the future of Gibraltar. As a mother, it’s important to have sustainable, responsible, prudent policies which we can effectuate in a manner that allows Gibraltar to be secure.
“We need to shine a light on social issues that can sometimes be swept under the carpet – they need to be raised up and as a relationship counsellor I see a lot of the social problems that effect the break down in families, and family is the fabric of society, and so we need to nurture that and create a safe place for Gibraltar.”
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