§ 7. Mr. Robert Syms (Poole) (Con)What steps he will be taking to celebrate the 300th anniversary of British possession of Gibraltar. [157417]
§ The Minister for Europe (Mr. Denis MacShane)As I told the House before Christmas, I look forward to the celebrations of the arrival of English and Dutch ships in Gibraltar 300 years ago. The royal family, Ministers, hon. Members, and all friends of Gibraltar will enjoy these events, which have started this morning—even as I speak—with the service of thanksgiving that is taking place at St. Clement Danes. Units of Her Majesty's armed forces will take part in a total of more than 20 events throughout the year. I spoke this morning to the Chief Minister, Mr. Caruana, and welcomed in particular his offer to fly out 500 veterans to enjoy the hospitality of Gibraltar.
§ Mr. SymsGiven the Government's recent rather shabby treatment of the people of Gibraltar, the 300th anniversary of British rule is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the relationship between Gibraltar and this country. Should we not be doing more to celebrate this wonderful occasion?
§ Mr. MacShaneI do not want to repeat my answer, but the celebrations will involve the royal family, Ministers, 20 different occasions in which the armed forces will participate, Members of Parliament, veterans—and myself. I can think of nothing more.
§ Chris Bryant(Rhondda) (Lab)May I urge the Minister, as part of the celebrations, to visit Madrid, and particularly the Gibraltar tourism office in Madrid, to try to encourage more Spaniards to visit Gibraltar? In the end, it is only when we have a proper relationship between Gibraltar and Spain, as well as Gibraltar and Britain, that we will provide a secure economic future for the people of Gibraltar.
§ Mr. MacShaneI convey that message to my opposite numbers in Madrid, and have done so consistently since I took responsibility for the area. We should not forget the more than 500,000 British citizens, many of whom live close to Gibraltar on the Andalusian coast, who live in perfect harmony and happiness in Spain. If we can move forward in a spirit of tolerance and harmony, and try to find agreement rather than making maximum cheap political capital out of the matter—as, I would 748 gently say, some members of the Opposition Front Bench do—we will all move forward much more successfully.
§ Mr. Richard Spring (West Suffolk) (Con)I suggest to the Minister that the best way the Government could celebrate Gibraltar's 300th anniversary would be to apologise publicly for trying so energetically and unethically to dump Gibraltar. Does he not see any irony in the fact that at a time when the Home Secretary is inviting new citizens to recognise their Britishness, 30,000 British citizens have been treated entirely differently? More specifically, will the hon. Gentleman explain why this morning's church service in London to celebrate our historic relationship with Gibraltar is shamefully marked by the absence of senior Cabinet Ministers, including the Prime Minister? What a disgraceful snub.
§ Mr. MacShaneI regret the hon. Gentleman's tone, which is not up to his normal amiable style. Last week in the Daily Mail, the right hon. and learned Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram), the shadow Foreign Secretary was reported as saying that he
regretted he would miss the service…because he would have tobe at the House. But of course now that the words "shameless opportunism" and the Conservative party have become completely intertwined, the hon. Gentleman has done another U-turn. There is good news for the people of Gibraltar, however. The Conservative party in Kensington and Chelsea has selected Sir Malcolm Rifkind as its candidate. When he returns to the House, as I expect he will after the election next year, he will sit on the Opposition Front Bench, and at long last there may be some consistency, principle and style on foreign policy questions from the Conservative party.
§ Andrew Mackinlay (Thurrock) (Lab)I have a better idea for celebrating the 300th anniversary of Gibraltar: the UK Government should robustly resist the temerity and audacity of Spain, which is not only trying to frustrate the construction of the franchise in Gibraltar but is seeking to deprive millions of voters in the UK of the opportunity to vote in the European elections, in Blackburn and elsewhere: it wants to prevent Commonwealth citizens voting in the European elections both in Gibraltar and in the UK.
§ Mr. MacShaneThat move, if it comes to pass, will be stoutly resisted. Let us not forget that in the other place we witnessed the shameless opportunism of both the main Opposition parties in trying to deny the constituents of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and others elsewhere the right to a postal ballot. Unelected peers—hereditary peers—voted to stop the British people exercising their votes duly in the election. The real scandal is the anti-democratic behaviour of the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives.