Declares that it is a fundamental right of ours to representation in the Houses of Parliament, Westminster.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to grant Gibraltar representation in the Houses of Parliament, Gibraltar.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Andrew Rosindell , Official Report, 27 February 2019; Vol. 655, c. 460 .]
[P002427]
Observations from the Minister for Europe and the Americas (Sir Alan Duncan):
We believe that the 2006 Gibraltar Constitution—which was endorsed via a referendum by the people of Gibraltar—provides for a modern, mature and appropriate relationship with the UK. Gibraltar has a vigorous parliamentary democracy with institutions based on the Westminster model, and has responsibility for almost everything apart from foreign affairs, defence, internal security and some public appointments.
In addition, the UK Government believe that adequate mechanisms already exist for the people and the Government of Gibraltar to express their views. As well as the strong relationship between UK and Gibraltar Ministers, there is the all-party parliamentary group for Gibraltar which is proactive in raising the views of Gibraltar in parliamentary debates. The Government of Gibraltar attends the Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) for the Overseas Territories, which meets at least once per year and enables Ministers and representatives of Overseas Territories to register their points with the UK Government. In the context of leaving the European Union, the Government of Gibraltar also meets with the UK Government in the Joint Ministerial Council (Gibraltar EU Negotiations), which has met nine times since 2016, most recently in April 2019.
In summary, the UK Government believe that the fundamentals of our constitutional relationship are right but we remain as always open to dialogue on any proposals put forward by the Government of Gibraltar.