The politics of Gibraltar takes place within a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic British Overseas Territory, whereby the Monarch of the United Kingdom is the constitutional head of state represented by the Governor of Gibraltar. The Chief Minister of Gibraltar is the head of Government. As a British Overseas Territory, the Government of Gibraltar is not subordinate to the Government of the United Kingdom. The British Government, however, is responsible for defence and external affairs but Gibraltar has full internal self-government under its 2006 Constitution.
The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former British Empire and do not form part of the United Kingdom itself. The permanently inhabited territories are internally self-governing, with the United Kingdom retaining responsibility for defence and foreign relations. Three of the territories are inhabited, chiefly or only, by a transitory population of military or scientific personnel. All but one of the rest are listed by the UN Special Committee on Decolonization as non-self-governing territories. All fourteen have the British monarch as head of state. These UK government responsibilities are assigned to various departments of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and are subject to change.
The Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party (GSLP) is a social-democratic political party in Gibraltar. The GSLP is the oldest surviving active political party in Gibraltar. Its roots are based in the trade union movement, as its founder and former leader Joe Bossano was the District Officer of the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU). The party has been led since 2011 by Fabian Picardo, who as served as Chief Minister of Gibraltar since the 2011 general election. The GSLP forms the GSLP–Liberal Alliance in partnership with the Liberal Party of Gibraltar.
Gibraltar elects on the national level a legislature. The Gibraltar Parliament has 17 members, all elected for a four-year term in one constituency with each voter getting to vote for their selection of ten candidates. Gibraltar forms a single constituency but voters have only ten votes. Hence the electoral bloc with the most votes will normally get ten seats and the runners up seven.
The 2004 European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's part of the wider 2004 European Parliament election which was held between 10 and 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union. The United Kingdom's part of this election was held on Thursday 10 June 2004. The election also coincided with the 2004 local elections and the London Assembly and mayoral elections. In total, 78 Members of the European Parliament were elected from the United Kingdom using proportional representation.
This is a list of referendums related to the European Union, or referendums related to the European Communities, which were predecessors of the European Union. Since 1972, a total of 48 referendums have been held by EU member states, candidate states, and their territories, with several additional referendums held in countries outside the EU. The referendums have been held most commonly on the subject of whether to become a member of European Union as part of the accession process, although the EU does not require any candidate country to hold a referendum to approve membership or as part of treaty ratification. Other EU-related referendums have been held on the adoption of the euro and on participation in other EU-related policies.
European Parliament elections were held for the first time in Gibraltar on 10 June 2004 as part of European Union-wide elections. Although part of the European Union, Gibraltar had never before voted in European Parliamentary elections, in part due to its small electorate of just over 20,000 which would cause Gibraltar to be over-represented by about 30 times if even a single seat were to be assigned.
South West was a combined constituency region of the European Parliament, comprising the South West of England and Gibraltar. Seven, later six, Members of the European Parliament using closed party-list proportional representation allocated using the D'Hondt method of distribution were elected. The constituency was abolished when Britain left the European Union on 31 January 2020.
Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory and city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. It has an area of 6.7 km2 (2.6 sq mi) and is bordered to the north by Spain. The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, at the foot of which is a densely populated town area, home to over 32,000 people, primarily Gibraltarians.
The 2009 European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2009 European Parliament election, the voting for which was held on Thursday 4 June 2009. The election was held concurrently with the 2009 local elections in England. In total, 72 Members of the European Parliament were elected from the United Kingdom using proportional representation.
The Gibraltar Constitution Order 2006 was taken to a referendum in Gibraltar on 30 November 2006. A coalition of groups opposing the proposal held that a majority of 60% should be required to give effect to a new Constitution, quoting other instances, but the political parties held that the result should be decided by a simple majority in favour of the new constitution. The constitution was approved by 60% of the votes anyway.
The 2009 European Parliament election in Portugal was the election of the delegation from Portugal to the European Parliament held on 7 June 2009.
The Schengen Area is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice policy of the European Union (EU), it mostly functions as a single jurisdiction under a common visa policy for international travel purposes. The area is named after the 1985 Schengen Agreement and the 1990 Schengen Convention, both signed in Schengen, Luxembourg.
Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea. During the early days of the British administration, Gibraltar was maintained primarily as a military outpost with limited attention paid to its role as a trading post. Initially long term settlement of Gibraltar was uncertain but as Spain's power waned it became established as an important base for the British Royal Navy. Throughout the 19th century there was conflict between the competing roles of military and trading posts, leading to tensions between the civilian population and the Governor of the day. Some Governors encouraged the development of the civilian role in government, whilst others regarded it as a nuisance. As a result, compared with other former British colonies, civilian Government in Gibraltar emerged largely in the 20th century as the needs of the civilian population were often considered by Governors as subordinate to the needs of the military. Since World War II, Gibraltarians have increasingly asserted their own individual identity. The Rock's relationship with Spain and the sovereignty dispute continues to affect the Politics of Gibraltar to this day.
The 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country should remain a member of, or leave, the European Union (EU). It was organised and facilitated through the European Union Referendum Act 2015 and the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. The referendum resulted in 51.9% of the votes cast being in favour of leaving the EU. Although the referendum was legally non-binding, the government of the time promised to implement the result.
The European Union Referendum Act 2015 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made legal provision for a consultative referendum to be held in the United Kingdom and Gibraltar, on whether it should remain a member state of the European Union or leave the bloc altogether. The Bill was introduced to the House of Commons by Philip Hammond, Foreign Secretary on 28 May 2015. Two weeks later, the second reading of the Bill was supported by MPs from all parties except the SNP; the Bill subsequently passed on its third reading in the Commons on 7 September 2015. It was approved by the House of Lords on 14 December 2015, and given Royal Assent on 17 December 2015. The Act came partly into force on the same day and came into full legal force on 1 February 2016.
The European Union (Referendum) Act 2016 was an Act of the Gibraltar Parliament, which implements the United Kingdom's European Union Referendum Act 2015 in Gibraltar. It was the first time a referendum has been held in Gibraltar on the issue of continued EU membership since the territory joined along with the United Kingdom in 1973 and was the first time that any British Overseas Territory had participated in a UK-wide referendum. The Act commenced on 26 January 2016, and received assent from the Governor of Gibraltar on 28 January 2016.
The 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum took place in the United Kingdom and Gibraltar on 23 June 2016. Membership of the European Union had been a topic of political debate in the United Kingdom since the country joined the European Communities in 1973. This referendum was conducted very differently from the European Communities membership referendum in 1975; a more localised and regionalised counting procedure was used, and the ballot was overseen by the Electoral Commission, a public body which did not exist at the time of the first vote. This article lists, by voting area for Great Britain and Gibraltar and by parliamentary constituency for Northern Ireland, all the results of the referendum, each ordered into national and regional sections.
The Conservative Party in Gibraltar is the part of the Conservative Party that operates in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is a branch of the South West Region of the Conservative Party. The party does not field candidates in the local elections in the territory, and so far has only ever stood candidates for the European Parliament constituency of South West England and Gibraltar.
The effect of Brexit on Gibraltar concerns the status of Gibraltar after withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020 after having voted to leave in the 2016 referendum and formally notified the EU of its intention to withdraw in March 2017. Gibraltar is not part of the UK, but unlike all other British Overseas Territories it was a part of the European Union along with the UK. It participated in the Brexit referendum and it ceased, by default, to be a part of the EU upon the UK's withdrawal.
