This is the National Day message from Independent MP Lawrence Llamas:

A time for celebration with family and friends - a time for reflection on our past, an evaluation of our present and an honest and brave look to the future.

National day this year has the special significance of being the fiftieth anniversary of that day in 1967 when Gibraltar came together, as it has done on so many occasions before and since that date, to stand up to the challenge of its identity and to assert itself as one community, united. In this National Day message, I wish to reflect on our past, the present and a vision for the future.

The Gibraltarian reality we have experienced over the last 30 years in particular and our prospects for the future, be they social, political or economic, rely in no small measure on the competent, mature, considered and measured management of Gibraltar's constitutional and economic affairs. A proper discharge of a Government’s responsibility in this regard goes hand in hand with a sophisticated but firm approach to foreign policy, whilst resolutely and actively defending the red line issues of sovereignty. It is because, for a long time now, we pursued our interests in the international context as well as we have, that we can stand proudly in our red and white on the 10th of September every year as Gibraltarians, knowing that Gibraltar’s identity as a people and our inalienable rights to our homeland have been and will always be defended. 

I believe that Gibraltar determined its own path many years ago and that the technical impossibility of complying with the United Nation’s requirements for removal from its list of non-self governing territories is likened to the impossibility of making a square peg to a round hole. I agree with and hold true to the position established by Sir Peter Caruana’s GSD in this regard, namely that Gibraltar's referenda rejecting joint sovereignty and accepting a new constitutional relationship with the UK were both acts of self-determination.  We have the highest form of self-Government possible whilst retaining our links with the United Kingdom in a manner that is consistent with the democratically, freely and emphatically expressed wishes of the people of Gibraltar.

National day is therefore not, in my view, about asserting our rights to self determination but about celebrating our identity as Gibraltarians, an identity that, over the years has naturally and inevitably been shaped by the peaceful and prosperous quality of life we have all come to cherish.  As we assess where we are today as a people and what the future holds, I am certain that, despite all the challenges on the horizon, the main threat of which is our inability to understand, with any certainty, the specific nature of those threats, we will overcome and we will thrive and we will succeed like we have always done.  I believe that now, however, is a moment for us to reflect on who we have become and the issues we need to tackle.

I believe that Gibraltar needs to make an honest assessment of some of the issues that we face today, e.g., in respect of some aspects of our community spirit, civic pride (my #aquinoselimpia campaign speaks somewhat to this), education, digital citizenship and the importance of fostering a sense of being in this together.  Yes, we are fortunate in that we enjoy a level and quality of public services like few places in the world do, and they are invariably free. The fact that we enjoy these benefits, these ‘perks’, makes it perhaps even more important for us to be frank with ourselves, and honest about those things we don’t think are right.  We all need to do our bit, and not just in terms of keeping Gibraltar clean.  In health, in traffic and transport, in respect of the environment - we can all do more.  We can all #doourbit.

I think it is important that, moving forward, we should all work together to reset some expectations, cultivating a new climate of civic responsibility.  Success in Gibraltar has many owners - failure is an orphan.  We need to work to foster and develop a keener community sense of responsibility, ownership, sustainability, honesty and accountability.

I believe that, at this stage of the Gibraltarian story, as we look forward to tackling the challenges ahead with dedication and a determination to succeed, that we can take this context as the opportunity for developing a new social contract, establishing a commitment to each other and a sense of ownership in these challenges - the failures and the successes.

This year on National Day, let us not forget, however, the one truth that stands the test of time.  Gibraltar is neither Spain’s to claim nor Britain’s to give away.  I look forward to a future for myself, my children and all Gibraltarians, blessed with security, stability and prosperity.