Gibraltar Conservatives

Gibraltar Conservatives
HeadquartersP.O.Box 419

Suite 16

Watergardens 5
Ideology
Political positionCentre-right
National affiliationConservative Party
European affiliationAlliance of European Conservatives and Reformists
European Parliament groupEuropean Conservatives and Reformists
International affiliationInternational Democrat Union
Colours  Blue
Local affiliationGibraltar Social Democrats
Website
Official site

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.

History

Michael Howard, then Conservative leader, addressing voters outside the Gibraltar House of Assembly (now the Gibraltar Parliament) for the 2004 European Election.

Gibraltar was first represented in European Elections in 2004 as part of the South West England constituency. None of the main Gibraltar political parties ever contested European elections, so voters chose from United Kingdom party lists. The Gibraltar Social Democrats have however endorsed the Conservatives in European and UK Parliamentary elections.[1][2]

2004

The Conservative Party polled over two-thirds of the Gibraltar vote, with no other party exceeding 10% support. This was to a large part due to the perception that the Labour Government in Britain had "betrayed" Gibraltar by attempting to negotiate a constitutional settlement involving joint sovereignty with Spain.[3] This arrangement was rejected overwhelmingly by Gibraltarians in the 2002 sovereignty referendum. The Conservatives were perceived as being unequivocal in their support for Gibraltar's continued British status. In addition both the leader of the Conservative Party, Michael Howard, and his deputy, Michael Ancram, flew in to rally support. Before the election the local Conservatives mounted a vigorous campaign.

2009

The Conservatives won with 51% of the votes.[4]

David Cameron speaking at the Gibraltar National Day by video link in 2013.

2014

On the previous two occasions Gibraltar has participated in European elections, the Conservative Party had topped the poll. The Liberal Democrats won the popular vote in the territory for the first time.[5]

2019

Consistent with the poor performance of the Conservatives throughout the UK in the 2019 European Parliament election, the party received just 2.7% of the votes in Gibraltar, moving into fifth place with the Liberal Democrats and the Brexit Party taking the first and second places in the election. Incumbent MEP Ashley Fox lost his seat.[6]

Electoral performance

The below table lists performance in European Parliamentary elections.

Year Votes (Gib.) Votes (SW Eng) % (Gib.) % (SW Eng) Change (SW Eng) Seats Position
2004 8,297 457,371 69.52 31.6 -10.1 3 1
2009 3,721 468,742 53.30 30.2 -1.3 3 1
2014 1,236 433,151 17.2 28.9 -1.4 2 2
2019 256 144,674 2.7 8.71 -20.19 0 5

MEPs

Former Conservative MEPs for Gibraltar Caroline Jackson
Conservative
2004-2009[a] 		Neil Parish
Conservative
2004-2009[b] 		Giles Chichester
Conservative
2004-2014[c] 		Julie Girling
Conservative
2009-2017[d] 		Ashley Fox
Conservative
2009-2019

See also

  • Conservative Friends of Gibraltar

Notes

  1. ^ Was an MEP since 1984, prior to Gibraltar's inclusion in the elections
  2. ^ Was an MEP since 1999, prior to Gibraltar's inclusion in the elections
  3. ^ Was an MEP since 1994, prior to Gibraltar's inclusion in the elections
  4. ^ Was an MEP until 2019, suspended for voting against the party whip

References

  1. ^ "May 08 - GSD Welcomes Tory Win And Repeats Call For Unity Ahead Of Possible EU Referendum". yourgibraltartv.com. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  2. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "PARTY LEADERS ON EUROPEAN ELECTIONS 19.05.14". YouTube.
  3. ^ Wilkinson, Isambard (18 May 2004). "The Tories won't let you down, Howard tells Gibraltar". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
  4. ^ Reyes, Brian (8 June 2009). "LANDSLIDE FOR TORIES DISAPPOINTMENT FOR LABOUR". Gibraltar Chronicle. Archived from the original on 10 June 2009. Retrieved 8 June 2009.
  5. ^ "Gibraltar Parliament General Election". Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  6. ^ Gibraltar voteschronicle.gi May 2019 Archived 27 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine