Leader of the Opposition’s Speech - Opening Of Parliament
The following speech was delivered by Keith Azopardi, the Leader of the Opposition, at today’s ceremonial opening of Parliament:
We wholeheartedly support the appointment of Mrs Justice Ramagge Prescott as the next Speaker.
She has had a distinguished career at the Bar and then on the Bench earning numerous plaudits for her judicial style and ability. This will be a new world for her where she is not required to sit in judgment, a world with different rules and practices, often less tempered and more boisterous than the hallowed interiors of a courtroom but we are sure she will keep the peace in those moments and give the appropriate guidance to members to help the House navigate through its work
Mrs Justice Ramagge Prescott was Gibraltar’s first woman judge and now will be Gibraltar’s first woman Speaker. She continues to break through glass ceilings which we on this side absolutely welcome.
The number of women Parliamentarians has grown at a slow pace around the world and the number of women presiding Parliaments at an even slower rate still.
The Austrian parliament was the only one to have a woman speaker before the Second World War. Between 1945 and 1997, only 42 countries had a woman preside over a national Parliament at least once. The overwhelming majority of these countries were located in Europe or in the Americas.
Here in Gibraltar Dorothy Ellicott was the first female member of the City Council in the late 1940s originally with the AACR and then an independent member of the Legislative Council in 1959. After leaving politics she was appointed a Justice of the Peace in the early 1970s. She did the parliamentary and judicial functions in reverse to Mrs Justice Ramagge Prescott.
The Inter-Parliamentary Union notes that the under-representation of women is changing in the 21st century although not fast enough. Between 2005 and 2015, the percentage of women in presiding officer posts in parliaments nearly doubled, going from 8 per cent to 15.6 per cent. On 1 November 2016, the number of women speakers reached a record 53, making up 19 per cent of the 277 top leadership positions in 193 national parliaments of independent countries. In 2023 the numbers had however fallen back to just 41 women Speakers.
It was high time that one of Gibraltar’s distinguished women should take the Speaker’s chair. So we welcome and fully endorse her appointment.
We would also like to take the opportunity on the debate on this Motion to acknowledge the work of the outgoing Speaker Melvyn Farrell and thank him for his role over the last 4 years. Mr Farrell served this Parliament in two distinct and distinguished roles over the years – first as Clerk and then returning as Speaker. Our thanks to him for his public service and we all wish him well as he retires from this role
CEREMONIAL OPENING REPLY
Welcome His Excellency in his constitutional role as representative of His Majesty and formally opening Parliament.
On behalf of His Majesty’s Opposition I welcome Madam Speaker to this House and to her new role which we are sure she will discharge with the distinction that her previous duties have indicated. We also welcome the new Clerk who follows his distinguished father in that role.
Madam Speaker joins us at a time when we have the highest number of women Parliamentarians in our history. Even so there is still a long way to go before we embrace real equality not least by adopting working practices and creating facilities that encourage more of our citizens to seek to participate in the Parliamentary process and aspire to become Members.
This is as much up to this House and political parties as it is for people out there to offer themselves for candidature. We need to encourage participation and create the right climate to do so.
It will improve our decision-making to have greater diversity in our Parliament. The UN has warned that at the current rate of representation of women Parliamentarians global gender parity in national parliaments may not be achieved till 2063.
We cannot wait that long and the issue of improving that prospect for Gibraltar is ripe for consideration by a Select Committee on Parliamentary Reform.
There are plenty of new faces in the Chamber – nine in total – 10 with Madam Speaker. That is a good thing for the regeneration of politics and for the injection of freshness into the political debate. I wish all new Parliamentarians the best of luck in their endeavours on both side of the House.
It is of note however that we have seen a number of political departures of members who have made significant contributions to politics and I want to acknowledge the work of those who during the last few years have worked for Gibraltar in either a Ministerial or Opposition capacity. The House will miss their contributions and it reignites the debate of whether some of those could not have continued to make their contributions to a better general debate in a larger Parliament from the backbenches.
From our own perspective my special thanks to Elliott Phillips and Danny Feetham who have both in their own ways made an enormous contribution to the GSD over the last few years – Elliott as a close loyal friend as well as a political colleague; Danny as a former Leader of the Party and Leader of the Opposition was tremendously helpful and supportive to me during the last Parliament.
Four years ago, when this House met for the Ceremonial Opening we could not have envisaged that Gibraltar and indeed the world would be plunged into a global pandemic that affected how we lived our lives, subjected citizens to restrictions and affected our economy profoundly.
Despite our differences with the Government on so many issues I am glad we were able to work together for Gibraltar during those times. I express the hope that we do not have any new, dramatic or unforeseen challenge that needs to be dealt with in the next four years. But if one does emerge the Government knows that when the crunch comes we can be relied on to work together to see the Gibraltar we love through any crisis.
Like four years ago we still have the post-Brexit deal to land. We were told before and during the campaign that the Government was close to reaching an agreement and could do so once there is clarity on the investiture of a new Spanish Government. That may now be clearer given recent political developments in Spain – some happening today. We will see how the possibility of securing that safe and beneficial agreement that we all want develops in coming weeks and months.
We have recently emerged from one of the most intensive election campaigns that I have experienced in my 30 years in politics. And with features that were as intense as they were ugly.
The people delivered the closest election result ever with the GSD having been a swing of a mere 150 votes away from forming Government. For the first time since the introduction of the 2006 Constitution the Government will have a majority of one seat in this new 9-8 dynamic.
Stepping back from that electoral process and reflecting on that result there are lessons for many people not least ourselves. We will learn those lessons. But there are lessons too for the Government.
This was not a campaign that was fought on made-up issues which had duped people as was rather ungenerously observed in its immediate aftermath. I make the allowance that sometime later and with a bit more reflection the Chief Minister adopted a more understanding tone that acknowledged the need to do things differently. Time will tell whether those issues are addressed and whether they are resolved.
We will be there to hold Government to account on those issues and any new ones that arise in keeping with the role given to us by the people of Gibraltar. A role that we will discharge seriously.
The issues that we campaigned on were not invented nor have they magically gone away.
They won’t be airbrushed away with simplicity with photo opportunities or a barrage of superficial media spin. The result of the last close election was driven by the force of popular support because many people felt left behind, unsupported and not listened to by a Government that failed to deal with their issues constructively and did not address the systemic issues facing this community.
When we spoke about broken systems it’s because in many ways public services are deficient, inadequate and thoroughly ineffective at properly dealing with the modern needs of Gibraltar.
When we provided a voice for people with housing, health, social services or employment needs – that was real.
For every issue we brought up there were real people with real concerns behind those points expressing frustration at hitting political brick walls. Young people bouncing from zero-hour contract to zero-hour contract – without real or dignified employment after years of trying. People who could see others jump over them purely because of who they knew and not on their merits or an assessment of their needs. People who lacked opportunities or support.
Lack of fairness in systems whether on jobs, awards of contracts or land deals simply breeds a dismay that erodes confidence in political administration. And in the end what is lost is not just trust but a belief that things can be fixed. We cannot let that happen.
The financial issues we pointed out were also real. No amount of misrepresentation can obscure the unprecedented levels of debt and the basic fragility of public finances.
Getting out of the public finances crisis, tackling the systemic issues affecting public services or reforming the way Gibraltar is governed will take courage and conviction. It cannot be done in piecemeal ways and there needs to be far-reaching and deep changes.
To the extent that Government heeds the message the public has given it we will be there to support the work to make the necessary changes Gibraltar needs.
To the extent the Government fails to listen to the clamour for reform we will continue our campaign for those changes and increase the volume.
The closeness of the election provides an opportunity (that a landslide never does) for a recalibration by the Government of its own way of doing things. A landslide can perhaps understandably be seen to provide an endorsement of what went on before. But a wafer-thin majority – majority nonetheless that it is – is not a ringing endorsement of how things have been done. It is an invitation to listen much more deeply to the voices of criticism.
The Chief Minister said before the election that this was his last term. If that remains his view I would hope that during the time he has left in office he will act accordingly having reflected meaningfully on the result and will put in place reforms that deal with all those issues that concern people. I regret the indications in the Chief Minister’s speech today to the contrary. If arrogance rather than humility become the Government’s calling card it will be a grave mistake.
There are many aspects of the election campaign or its aftermath that deserve analysis and reflection. Too many to dissect today. There are, however, a couple of features that impact on governance that I would want to highlight.
It is entirely right in a robust Parliamentary democracy that elections are fought on issues, with competing pitches of ideas, commitments or promises. It is quite different when tactics are adopted where the truth no longer matters in a win at all costs attitude. Or when there is an adoption of a bargain basement style of politics which endangers the constitutional safeguards that are there for good reason.
S45(9) of the Constitution says that:
“Upon the dissolution of the Parliament the Chief Minister and Ministers in office at the time of such dissolution shall remain in office and shall discharge their functions until new elections are held ...but such executive authority may not be exercised, save in the event of public emergency (including public order or safety), to commit or bind the next successor Government of Gibraltar to public funding or liability except in the ordinary course of the day to day affairs of Gibraltar.”
The spirit of that sub-section is to prevent a caretaker Government from entering into new financial obligations unless they are absolutely necessary for the discharge of their duties while it remains the Government until the elections are held.
Such a clause is not there to provide cover to a Government fighting for its political life so that it can enter into new financial commitments during that period of dissolution with parties, bodies or entities to curry favour or votes for the forthcoming elections.
It is not there so it can enter into new contracts or resolve non-urgent industrial claims unless they come within the strict workings of that section.
To the extent that happens it is a plain abuse of that clause and it is time for there to be specific and clearer rules that are put in place to give meaning and support to that key provision and that guide civil servants in advising Ministers on what can or cannot be permitted after the dissolution of Parliament. Especially in a tight election any blurring of that restriction can be material in the outcome of it.
The independence of Parliament as an institution and in the conduct of its democratic function of holding the Government to account has been a hobby-horse of mine and something that I think needs to be improved. I have long been an advocate of Parliamentary reform and we had an ambitious package of measures in our manifesto. I would hope that we can engage constructively with the Government on such issues in months to come.
Integral to the role of Parliament is its independence. Its role cannot be carried out without its staff. As such, the time has also come for the recognition that the staff of this place cannot be moved or removed without at the very least the agreement of the Speaker. If the post of Speaker is vacant then there should be no move until a new Speaker is appointed and with his or her agreement. The unannounced sudden transfer of the former Clerk of Parliament days after the general election when he still had live functions as Returning Officer was a matter of surprise, was odd and to be regretted. Parliamentary staff should be in a special category in the public service so as to ensure the independence of this institution.
At the Ceremonial Opening of Parliament in 2019 when describing how we would approach the four years ahead I said:
“Our politics will reflect the core values of the GSD modernized for our times. It will be a mainstream, centrist and progressive vision of social democracy. Protecting civil rights; fostering equality; enhancing conditions for working people; economically liberal and ensuring fairness, transparency, opportunity and value for money.
We will continue the work of regenerating the Party further. We will seek to enthuse young people with our new core message and represent all sectors of our society as we have always sought to do. We will get out into the community as we have been doing already but with efforts redoubled. We will cover every estate or district or representative association in our outreach programme. We will be there for everyone.”
I believe we have done that over the last four years although there remains work to be done. We have given a clear message of that modern inclusive vision for Gibraltar. We have gone out into the districts in a vigorous outreach programme and engaged with all sectors of society. The results of the work we did over the last four years are there to be seen in the electoral result. But it was, this time, insufficient to make it to Government – just.
That work must continue to further galvanise support and continue to inspire those who have already backed us.
So, as I did in 2019 I reaffirm my commitment to that mainstream, centrist and progressive vision of social democracy in keeping with modern times and faithful to our core values.
That is the clear and undoubted path to follow.
In our work we will continue to promote civil rights, freedoms and equality. We will seek to improve the conditions of the under-privileged and continue to fight for fairness, transparency and opportunity for all. We will, as before, strive for value for money because with that will come a greater opportunity to reinvest in public services and return money to the people.
This is a vision for an expansive modern form of social democracy – one of opportunity, of rights, of liberties, of fairness, of meritocracy, of respect, of transparency, of value for money, of sustainability and of quality of life.
The people who voted for us can rest assured that we will continue with our work, robust but constructive.
For those who did not choose the GSD on this occasion we will be your watchdog in Parliament too and we hope that you will decide to back us when the next opportunity for change comes along.
