Nov 28 - Government Marks Three Years From Election Win
Three years ago, on 27 November 2015, the GSLP/Liberals were elected into Government with 68% of the vote after the elections the day before. The Government has said that this was a “resounding vote of confidence” in both the delivery of the 2011 general election manifesto and in the programme of Government that we set out in detail for this term of office.
A statement released yesterday evening continued: “In February 2016, barely three months later, the then Prime Minister David Cameron announced that a referendum would take place on whether the United Kingdom should remain in the European Union or leave the European Union. Gibraltar participated in the referendum which took place in June 2016 and although we voted overwhelmingly for continued membership, the overall result was a vote to leave.
“Our departure from the European Union and the terms of that departure have dominated the political agenda and the diaries of relevant Ministers and officials both in the United Kingdom and in Gibraltar. The number one priority for the Government was to secure the application of the Withdrawal Agreement and its transitional provisions to Gibraltar. This has been achieved following countless hours of work and over five hundred meetings with decision-makers all over Europe.
“Despite Brexit, the domestic programme of the Government has also progressed during that timeframe, although this is now expected to accelerate with the Withdrawal Agreement out of the way. Indeed, the bulk of the Government’s manifesto commitments for 2015-2019 have been completed, are on-going or are in progress.
“It will be recalled that our 2015 manifesto was centred around new housing, new schools and new sporting facilities for the community.
“The school-building programme of the Government continues to advance, with the new Notre Dame School already open and the construction of the new Westside and Bayside Schools visible for all to all to see. New sporting facilities are on the way to be provided at Lathbury and at Europa Point, including a new headquarters and training centre for the Special Olympic movement. The brochures for the new homes on the east side of Gibraltar will be released in the next two weeks.”
“The Government is very grateful for their patience to all those persons and entities whose meetings with the Chief Minister or with me have been delayed. This was due to the exigencies of the Brexit calendar. We are confident that the closure of the Withdrawal Agreement will now allow that access in a more timely manner than was the case before,” said the Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia.
The Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said: “Today [Tuesday] marks three years from our last general election win. The team of Ministers has been working flat out for Gibraltar and its people while the Deputy Chief Minister and I have tackled the many challenges posed by Brexit. I want to thank my Ministers and all the Civil Servants and Public Sector workers who have helped us deliver this far. I could not have delivered as much as we have without them. I am so proud of the work we are doing across the board - especially in education, health, housing, employment, transport, financial services, finance, sport and equality. Major projects, all ongoing, despite Brexit. As we move towards the end of the second phase of the Brexit process, the end of the "withdrawal" phase, I look forward to going back to seeing people about their personal issues and tackling problems that help to improve our citizens everyday lives. Brexit has robbed me of three years of my political life. I look forward to a short hiatus as we start to work with the UK in the negotiations for our future relationship with the world including the EU. What's clear to me is that Gibraltar is now stronger, more secure and closer to the UK than ever. We have delivered and we will continue to deliver."
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