May 31 - Chief Minister Speaks With Sam Gyimah MP
Today, the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister met with Sam Gyimah MP.
Sam Gyimah MP said: “This is my first time in Gibraltar. I was born in the UK and raised in Ghana, a Commonwealth country. I’m married to a New Zealander, whose grandparents crossed the world to fly Mosquito aircraft during World War Two. So we share the same kinship with Gibraltar as part of the same family of nations.
"The strength of our country is in its Union and its family of nations.
"We are united, not by our precise constitutional arrangements, which in this context are immaterial, but by our allegiance to the Crown, which is what binds us all together.
"Nowhere is this better illustrated than in the shared history of Britain and Gibraltar.
"We’ve been part of the same British family for over 300 years and have stood fast in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds together as the Empires of 18th and 19th Century Europe struggled for power.
"The 75th Anniversary of D-Day reminds us how we fought tyranny and liberated millions from Fascism. Gibraltar served as gatekeeper to the Mediterranean and Atlantic during World War Two.
"It’s these combined values and our willingness not just to stand for them but to fight to defend them that have allowed our Union to endure and flourish.
"No Deal Brexit will lead to strains on the Union that are highly likely to destroy this Union.
"But Brexit, particularly a No Deal Brexit, and the decisions that could still yet be made by this Government or indeed the next leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister would put everything we have achieved together and can still achieve at risk.
"No Deal Brexit will be catastrophic for Gibraltar and its residents, betraying a long history together and threatening our joint future prosperity. We all know that the essence of Gibraltar’s independence as an overseas territory is the resolute emphasis of its right to self-determination and coupled with an understanding of working in friendship with Spain and helped by shared EU membership.
"Leaving the EU with No Deal reduces these very abilities for the UK and Gibraltar to exercise sovereignty together and, without a deal, is heavily exposed. As we know that the EU acting in its interest would primarily look out for the interests of its own - Spain. This expresses the fears and concerns of the people on the ground in Gibraltar.
"The essence of the Conservative and Unionist Party is the UNION (it says it on the tin); it is fundamentally unconservative to contemplate any course that would risk breaking up that priceless achievement. Conservatism is about putting the country first. It is fundamentally unconservative to jeopardise or break up institutions in pursuit of a utopian future.”
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