Apr 13 - Rosindell: In Campaign Is “Scaremongering”
Brexit campaigner Andrew Rosindell accused the Government of Gibraltar of “scaremongering” the public to get them to vote to stay in the EU.
The Conservative MP for Romford, together with UKIP MEP Julia Reid and Grassroots Out organiser Alex Deane were in Casemates Square on Monday evening rallying for Gibraltarians to vote for the UK to leave the EU.
Mr Rosindell said they were here to talk to the people of Gibraltar about the referendum and explain to them why Britain is thinking of leaving the EU.
The main reason why Mr Rosindell believes the UK should leave the EU is to help restore the UK’s independence and right to self-government without the interference of the European Commission. With regards to Gibraltar, he adds that being part of the British family is the more secure way of keeping it independent.
He said: “If Gibraltar is part of the European Union, which is gradually becoming a super state, in the end there won’t be a Gibraltar British territory, it will just become part of the European super state, and I think the people of Gibraltar have to understand this when they go to vote on the 23rd June.”
Although numbers were scarce, made up mostly of GO campaigners and passers by, Mr Rosindell believes his message has been well received in Gibraltar by a number of people.
He added: “There is a lot of fear about what Spain might do if Gibraltar and Britain were to leave the EU, and yes I don’t deny that Spain might make life difficult for the people of Gibraltar, but that’s where Britain has to be firm and strong and stand up to bullying from Madrid. And if they try to bring harm to Gibraltar, we have to be strong. In the past we have been too soft and too passive.”
In response to Spain’s Caretaker Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo’s statement about closing the frontier should the UK choose to leave the EU, Mr Rosindell believes the Government of Gibraltar and the UK Government are using this as a “scaremongering tactic.”
He explains: “I think there is a huge amount of scaremongering going on in Gibraltar and the UK at the moment, and I ask the people of Gibraltar to think about our long-term future as well as look at our past – we have never been bullied and we have been free to make our decisions.”
Mr Rosindell, the Vice-Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Gibraltar, said Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory but that by being in the EU, Britain and Gibraltar are losing their right to self-determination.
With regards to the Panama Papers scandal, Mr Rosindell doesn’t believe this should have an impact on the referendum vote as they are two separate issues.
He said Gibraltar and other small financial centres are not tax havens, but instead are low-tax economies which are well-regulated and abide by the law. He adds that if Britain were to stay in the EU, Gibraltar would no longer be allowed low tax rates and would be expected to conform with tax regulations across the EU.
Mr Rosindell said: “In the short term we might have some problems, but in the long-term Britain and Gibraltar will be standing together shoulder-to-shoulder and Britain must include Gibraltar in everything we do. No more treating Gibraltar separately, it must be treated as part of the British family.
“I am not elected by the Gibraltarians, but I would love to see a Gibraltarian walk into the House of Commons and representing the Rock. I am campaigning to give Gibraltar the equal right to represent themselves in the Houses of Parliament. Gibraltar would be an equal part of the British family like England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.”
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